National Young Writers’ Festival Lineup Announced!

If I were to say Newcastle to you in some kind of abstract word-association game, what would come to mind? If replied aloud to your screen “The National Young Writers’ Festival, of course” you receive bonus points because you read the title of this post.

Not only is the National Young Writers’ Festival in its 17th year, but they’re celebrating with a giant party across Newcastle with guests from all over the country.

From the press release:

Confirmed attendees include Benjamin Law, Lawrence Leung, Clementine Ford, Genevieve Fricker, Steph Harmon, Patrick Lenton, Omar Musa, Luke Ryan, Duncan Felton, Rebecca Shaw, Claire Sullivan, Michelle Law, Kat Muscat and Zoya Patel. We’ll also be partying with the likes of Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Lauren Bok, DA Carter, A.H Cayley, Grace Bellavue, James Colley, Jane Howard, Raelke Grimmer, Georgina Chadderton, Elizabeth Flux and many many more. For the full list click here.

This year’s event will see over 80 artists and a huge number of literary lovers from across Australia assemble for a four day celebration of the written and spoken word from October 2-5, 2014.

From the hilarious panels Funny Ladies, Stand Up, Sit Down, Mustard Chef and Is Jurassic Park a Thing That Should Really Happen, to pertinent talks on slacktivism, mandatory detention, culture and identity, there’s over 60 events to choose from and they’re all FREE. Spill your guts over coffee and toast with one of our artists at the Breakfast Club, test your knowledge at our very own spelling bee contest, recently renamed the Epic Word-Nerd Battle Dome, and get awkward and sweaty with Luke Ryan and guests as they discuss the soundtrack to their early sex lives.

Each year the National Young Writers’ Festival team holds a themed ball – and this year is no different! So start finding your inner star, alien or red giant for our super fun intergalactic space ball.

The 2014 festival will take place in venues and spaces across Newcastle from theatres, hotels and cafes to churches, public malls and carparks. This year those who can’t make it in person will still be able to live the magic in their own cities through podcasts, reviews and live-streamed events on our website.

The National Young Writers’ Festival runs annually in conjunction with This is Not Art(TiNA) along with Critical Animals and Crack Theatre Festival.

NYWF is the country’s largest gathering of young and innovative writers working in both new and traditional forms including zines, comics, blogging, screenwriting, poetry, spoken word, hip hop, journalism, comedy, songwriting and prose. The festival presents ‘writing’ in its broadest sense through panels, discussions, workshops, launches, performances, readings, installations, and more.

The NYWF will also feature the Younger Young Writers’ Program (YYWP) for writers aged 13-17, which includes events run by authors Will Kostakis and Garth Nix. Supported by the Centre for Youth Literature, the YYWP runs from September to November and includes a digital program for young writers who can’t attend the festival in October.

You can stay in the loop with the festival via their website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.