In Summary

The art of writing is being celebrated at Swinburne University of Technology with the Swinburne Writers Festival, a four day event that showcases the extraordinary talents of the university’s writing-related teachers and students.

Running June 1 – 4, Swinburne will host an array of free panels and workshops that are open to the general public, with the event providing invaluable networking opportunities for writers of all levels.

One of the lead festival organisers and professional writing teacher, Nicolas Brasch, describes writing being at the heart of all professions.

“While it's obviously critical to creative and professional writers, everyone has a story to tell. I have found that the people who reach the top of their field, no matter what that field is, are those best able to tell stories and communicate,” Mr Brasch said.

“People will be blown away by the talent, experience and other lives of the panellists and workshop facilitators - all of whom teach at Swinburne and have also been very successful writers in many different fields.”

Carolyn Beasley, Program Director of Writing in the Department of Media and Communication, is excited at the high quality of authors that audiences will get to experience at the festival.

“Children’s author Mark Carthew has written well over twenty books, including his award-winning ‘The Gobbling Tree’. Many of our other writers have won prizes too, including Julian Novitz, Dominique Hecq, and Nicolas Brasch. It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to be able to meet them and talk about the writing life,” Dr Beasley said.

Swinburne’s vocational education Head of Department for Design, Media & ICT, Simona Jobbagy, said the festival was another example of the industry links available to students studying at Swinburne.

“Our vocational education courses have always had a strong industry focus, which is clear by the calibre of speakers appearing at the Swinburne Writers Festival. The festival is also a fantastic opportunity for our students to have their work featured publicly and to collaborate with members of the writing community,” Ms Jobbagy.

The Swinburne Writers Festival takes place as part of the 2015 Emerging Writer’s Festival, which is Australia’s premier festival for new and emerging writers.

Find out about the Swinburne Writers Festival and see the full schedule of events on Swinburne’s Events page.