By Sam Elkin (Image by Craig Newell)
In the last six months alone, three independent Australian publishers have been acquired by bigger fish, leading to fears of a loss of local stories and diversity on our bookshelves. So, it’s a welcome relief to see a slew of new writer’s festivals being announced this year, including our own Footscray West Writers Fest, celebrating western suburbs authors, journalists and creative storytellers.
The festival kicks off on 28th March at West Footscray Library with readings from award winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke (The Hate Race), Ernest Price (The Pyramid of Need) and André Dao, whose debut novel Anam won the 2024 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction. You might even be lucky enough to be captured in a street portrait by the beloved local cartoonist and illustrator Oslo Davis.
On the Saturday, there are loads of author talks and participatory events, such as ‘Type Your Fucking Heart out’, where you can write your first draft of your next masterpiece on a trusty typewriter at the Chestnut Tree Bookshop. On Sunday, you can continue honing your creation with a fiction writing workshop with Imbi Neeme (Kind Of, Sort Of, Maybe, But Probably Not), followed by group poetry readings at West Footscray wines. One festival highlight will no doubt be the conversation between Helen Garner and Bob Murphy at the Whitten Oval about all things football, which has, alas, sold out. The closing event at Harley & Rose features readings of six brand new stories by local writers who’ve been crafting their tales out on location at local hotspots like Savers, Cheaper By Miles, the Westgate Bridge and the South Road Coin Laundry. Your humble correspondent may even tell a tale of love and loss set at the West Footscray dog park.
Writers’ festivals have come to form an increasingly important part of our civic life in Australia, offering up space for spirited public debate, celebration of debut and established authors alike, and bringing the community together to discuss all the strange things about being a human.
It’s a tough time for writers with recent research from Macquarie University, the Australia Council, and the Copyright Agency, showing that the average Australian author’s annual salary is just $18,200. With even our greatest living storytellers having to scratch around for small annual grants, freelance speaking gigs, and the occasional haul of prize money, supporting a local author by purchasing their book and getting it signed means a lot more to them than you think. I for once can’t wait for the inaugural West Footscray Writers Fest and the opportunity to celebrate all my favourite things at once; dogs, wine and Australian storytelling, all a stumbling distance away from my front door. See you there.
Footscray West Writers Fest is on Friday 28ᵗʰ March to Sunday 30ᵗʰ March.
Sam Elkin is a writer and co-host of Triple R’s Queer View Mirror. His debut book Detachable Penis: A Queer Legal Saga has been shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize for humour writing. Sam will be appearing at the Footscray West Writers Fest at the closing event, Stories from the Belly of the West, reading a story set at his local off-lead dog park in West Footscray.
