The 2012 Sydney Writers’ Festival focuses on the line between the public and the private. The question of the limits of what is personal is one of the hottest subjects around.
“Privacy is for paedos,” ex-News of the World journalist Paul McMullan told the UK Leveson Inquiry into the media. Now, via Facebook and Twitter, we voluntarily tell the world things we previously might not have told even our loved ones. Investigative journalists thrive on leaks and finding out what others don’t want us to know. And the state knows few boundaries (personal or political) in its need to prevent another 9/11.
We introduce new stars: the acclaimed debut novelist, Chad Harbach, US National Book Award-winner Jesmyn Ward, and from Iceland, poet, novelist (and Björk lyricist) Sjón. All tell stories of the personal.
This year brings one of our best-ever children’s and young adult programs, including Jeff Kinney, whose Diary of a Wimpy Kid series shows that our captivation with the idea of a personal account of one’s private thoughts begins at a very young age.
Event Date: Saturday, May 19, 2012 to Friday, May 25, 2012
