Book Week

Festival of literature

Festival of reading and writing

For Book Week, we invited four writers to run six workshops with our students. We put out the call and received responses from Glen Quartermain, Chief Sports Writer at The West Australian newspaper, Chris Isaacs, Literary Director for the Black Swan Theatre Company, Sophie Minissale, writer, editor and photographer, and Casey Muller, Ballardong Noongar writer and freelance editor.

Over the week, the writers ran workshops that covered everything from the art of developing news stories to why dramatic narrative differs from other ways of telling stories. We paired students to writers, so that they could ask good questions of them and discuss the realities of writing for a living. Most importantly, we lived up to our “city as text creed” establishing relationships with real-world writers that we fully intend to “grow as we go”.

I am indebted to the generosity of these talented people for responding to our requests so openly, and for sharing their talents and time. I would also like to thank my wonderful team for the manner in which they have liaised with our writers and the professional manner in which they have incorporated these workshops into their existing programs.

I have received nothing but positive feedback from writers, teachers and students alike and am confident that this initiative has forged connections we will make wonderful creative use of, going forward.