History-writers Festival coming to Sydney

Ann Curthoys and Ann McGrath  

MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: NSW WRITERS CENTRE

True crime, dastardly politics, dark and secret tales from backyards and from our great city, warts-and-all biographies or kiss-and-tell memoirs — how do you Write the Past?

The NSW Writers' Centre is delighted to announce the first in its annual program of festivals for writers, Writing the Past, the festival for writers of history.

The emphasis of this one day festival will be on writing history books that people want to read. As opening panellist and noted academic Ann Curthoys has written:

“Sadly, historical writing has quite a bad reputation. Newspaper reviewers will often praise a history book because it’s not like a history book. They will say it is ‘as good as fiction’ and thus ‘a pleasure to read’, or that they can imagine the film that might be made from it.

It’s as if historians have no style, unlike those cool ‘creative’ novelists.”

Festival coordinator Mark Rossiter says Writing the Past is the title of the 2010 History Festival and is certainly a good definition of the broad genre of history writing, but we could hear the title in another way. Perhaps as “Righting the Past”.

All writers can be said to be making the world right. Telling a story their way, making their world, introducing characters and a situation and then making it “turn out right”. Doesn’t this also apply to history writing? Isn’t it also “righting the past”, trying to tell a story, a true story, in the right way?

Doesn’t it show the reader how a particular piece of the past should be seen — this person’s life, that story of a nation, a crime in high or low places, the tale of a city or of a local community?

As with all NSW Writers Centres events we have invited the finest writers to pass on their thoughts, expertise and advice, including novelist JAMES BRADLEY discussing his best-seller, The Resurrectionist, Award-winning poet Robert Gray on his memoir The Land I Came Through Last and Novelist Delia Falconer on her personal history, Sydney: Haunted City.

Attendees will also find out How to write history that people want to read with Ann Curthoys, have the opportunity to listen to Indigenous leader Cathy Craigie.

The NSW Writers' Centre, situated in the grounds of Callan Park, Rozelle, is a resource centre and information service for professional and emerging writers.

Visual artist and storyteller Leanne Tobin discuss their collaboration writing an historical character for theatre.

From the mean streets of Sydney crime we have novelist Tom Gilling (co-author of Smack Express with Clive Small) and academic Peter Doyle (Crooks Like Us).

For all writers of history, old and young, there’s a panel for everyone. Full program details on the website www.nswwriterscentre.org.au.

Writing the Past History Festival

When: Saturday 13th March, 9.30am-5pm

Where: NSW Writers Centre, Callan Park, Balmain Road, Rozelle

Bookings: www.nswwriterscentre.org.au or 9555 9757

For more information visit the NSW Writers' Centre website here.