Secondary Report

Bendigo Writers’ Festival

Plastic Bunnings chairs, time-travelling magicians and pop songs are only some of the things we saw on Thursday at the Bendigo Writers’ Festival. Comprised of four different sessions, the festival took us across Bendigo to talks from amazing Australian authors.

In session one, Anna Ciddor gave us her crash course on making your writing historically accurate. Including fun facts about the toileting habits of the ancient Romans, Ciddor communicated the importance of being invested in the story you’re telling as well as letting us know that it’s okay to be bad at first. 

Session two brought magic and deception into the mix with Nicholas J. Johnson providing his advice on learning the art of magic and giving us a spectacular show along the way. With a final time-travelling trick that left us speechless, Johnson sent us home determined to figure out how he did it. 

Stepping into the world of fantasy, in session three Vanessa Len and C.S Pacat discussed the precarious nature of worldbuilding and how to subvert your readers’ expectations. Whether it be a world where monsters walk among humans, or one where you can’t tell who’s the hero and villain, these amazing authors relayed the hard truths of the “Taste-Gap,” but comforted us with the knowledge fantasy novels can harbour powerful messages about good and evil and be fun to read. 

Finally, we went to the La Trobe Art Institute where we got to see a collection showcasing contemporary works by international artists, including Rebecca Baumann’s “Untitled Cascade,” Melati Suryodarmo’s “Butter Dance,” and my favourite “Gather” by Lou Hubbard (the Bunnings chairs). 

Thank you, Mr. Southon and Ms Hildebrand, for taking us on this fantastic and peculiar journey into the world of writing. Suffice to say, we all went home with a better understanding of what it means to be an author and the sound of teenagers singing “Shake it Off” stuck in our heads forever.