Our top picks for kids & teens at Melbourne Writers Festival 2019
The program for the Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) 2019 has been revealed, and there’s plenty of fabulous events for kids and teens.
Browsing the amazing Family Day and YA Day programs is a great place to start, but here are our top recommendations for enjoying MWF with young people.
FOR KIDS
Maxine Beneba Clarke: Fashionista
Maxine Beneba Clarke’s latest picture book, Fashionista, encourages people of all ages to express their own sense of style and embrace their individuality. Join author/illustrator Clarke for this celebration of fashion, poetic language and colourful collage. Recommended for ages 3+.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 12.30pm
Oliver Phommavanh: Natural Born Loser
Irrepressible author Oliver Phommavanh (Natural Born Loser, Don’t Follow Vee, Con-nerd) celebrates eccentricity and weirdness in his wonderful middle grade novels. Join him for a pee-your-pants, laugh-out-loud lesson on how letting your creativity shine and being your wacky self is all that’s needed to be happy. Recommended for ages 5+.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 2pm
Tai Snaith: Drawing Live!
Artist and writer Tai Snaith, creator of the wonderful picture books The Family Hour in Australia and Slow Down, World, will build a picture on stage, right before our very eyes! Snaith’s latest book, You Might Find Yourself, explores how endless life’s opportunities can be. Recommended for ages 3+.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 11am
Andrew Daddo: Sailing the Seven Seas
Old salt author Andrew Daddo and swashbuckling illustrator Stephen Michael King unfurl their masts and set sail in search of adventure. Will they find treasure? Monsters? Everlasting friendship? Only one way to find out! Join them on their raucous quest, inspired by Atticus Van Tasticus, their forthcoming book about a ten-year-old pirate captain. Recommended for ages 5+.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 3:30pm
FOR TEENS
Becky Albertalli
Best-selling US author Becky Albertalli, of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Love, Simon) fame will be a guest at this year’s festival!
You can see Albertalli at two sessions:
Watching Them Grow: From Page to Screen (Sat 31 Aug, 1pm)
After spending months and sometimes years gestating a novel, what does it feel like to see it transformed into something new on the screen? Albertalli will join fellow novelists Melina Marchetta (Looking for Alibrandi) and Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap) to discuss the emotional tumult involved in having your book adapted for film.
Becky Albertalli: Love, Simon (Sun 1 Sep, 5.30pm)
Celebrate the runaway success of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and its film adaptation, as Albertalli joins local author Jenna Guillaume (What I Like About Me) to explore adolescent love, heartache, and representation in literature.
Find out how to see Becky Albertalli at MWF here.
Writing Rap
Rapper and songwriter KROWN shares how to write your very own rap lyrics in this participatory class.
When: Sat 31 Aug, 5pm
Growing Up African in Australia
Contributors to the excellent Growing Up African in Australia anthology share how they use their writing to heal and prosper.
When: Sat 31 Aug, 6.30pm
Why YA?
Superstar authors Melina Marchetta (The Place on Dalhousie) and Randa Abdel-Fattah (When Michael Met Mina) are celebrated for works that touch on complex themes of love, and are here to discuss why they write for YA audiences. With fellow YA author Melissa Keil.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 11.30am
Meet Me at the Intersection
Writers whose voices are seldom heard – those who are First Nations, people of colour, queer or living with a disability – come together in the awesome anthology Meet Me at the Intersection. Three contributors to the anthology share a snippet of their work, along with anthology editor and author Rebecca Lim.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 11:30am
Kindred: Queer #LoveOzYA Stories
Queer stories with queer characters by queer writers, Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories is a YA collection for our time. Editor Michael Earp will speak with contributors Christos Tsiolkas, Ellen van Neerven, Marlee Jane Ward, and Nevo Zisin to discuss awkwardness, love, friendship and hope.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 1pm
It’s Complicated
Nina Kenwood and Jodi McAlister are experts at writing about complicated, messy relationships. Nina’s award-winning It Sounded Better in my Head and Jodi’s lauded Valentine series interrogates the zigs and zags of young love.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 1pm
Readings Recommends: Young Adult Book Prize
You know we had to recommend our own session, right? The Readings Young Adult Book Prize celebrates emerging voices in YA literature. In this session we celebrate the 2019 winner of this prize, in conversation with award-winning author and Readings staff member Leanne Hall.
When: Sun 1 Sep, 10am
