What Melbourne Writers Festival events should your book club attend? Those that seem spot-on to getting discussions going over a glass or two after the event are a must, in addition to those that feature favourite authors. Here's a few hot topics.
What defines a good life – and a good death? In his novel The Easy Way Out, nurse Steven Amsterdam asks moral questions about euthanasia, while Dr Ranjana Srivastava interviews her patients about life, death and the ethics of both in Tell Me the Truth.
A Good Death, September 2, 11.30am, Deakin Edge.
The boundary between fact and fiction, where that border is when it comes to writing non-fiction, and to what extent writers of fiction are beholden to fact has long been up for debate. And how do readers respond when what they think is fact turns out to be somewhat less than that?
Geoff Dyer's work hovers around this intangible area, whether he is writing novels or travel works. And if you combine Dyer with the session in which Helen Garner discusses her new collection of non-fiction pieces, Everywhere I Look, you'll be set for an in-depth session on fact and fiction.
Being Geoff Dyer, August 27, 1 pm; Helen Garner, Everywhere I Look, August 27, 8.30 pm. Both at Deakin Edge.
They say that reading fiction makes you a more empathetic person, so could literature actually have a benign effect on the way we are governed? What books would you give politicians or indeed anyone in authority in an attempt to make them come to better decisions? Man Booker-winning writer Yann Martel, and Miles Franklin-winning author Anna Funder will discuss the concept and key works they suggest might benefit the body politic.
Books for Better Policy, August 27, 4 pm, Deakin Edge.
What's at the heart of book clubs? Reading, of course. But what do we actually get out of it? Melbourne philosopher Damon Young, who has just published The Art of Reading, and Magda Szubanski, actor and author of Reckoning: A Memoir, will discuss the books that have inspired them and reveal the details of their own reading lives. Perfect fodder for book club disagreement and debate, and getting a few tips.
Why I Read, September 2, 1pm, Deakin Edge.
With Feminist Writers Festival events within this year's Melbourne Writers Festival, you might want to head to the session that considers past and present, in which activist, publisher and author of Damned Whores and God's Police Anne Summers, and new-generation voice Yassmin Abdel-Magied, consider the evolution of feminism over the past 40 years, its role and relevance today and what may happen in the future. Great topics for discussion.
Feminism Then & Now, August 28, 1pm, ACMI Cinema 1.
For the full program, see mwf.com.au.
