The Sydney Writer’s Festival is getting Live and Local again this year with some of Australia’s biggest names in journalism and literature being livestreamed to various branches of the Central Northern Regional Library Network.
Headline events from the festival will be streamed directly to the Manilla, Narrabri, Nundle, Quirindi, Tamworth, Uralla, Warialda and Werris Creek libraries from Thursday 23 May through to Sunday 26 May, with session availability varying between the different library branches.
Acting Library Services Coordinator Jonathan Stilts said, “This will be the 3rd year we’ve run the livestream of the Writer’s Festival and it’s such a great opportunity to be able to experience a Sydney festival without having to travel to Sydney.”
As one of the largest writer’s festivals in Australia, the 2024 lineup promises some great author talks. Some of the highlights include writers such as Trent Dalton, Suzie Miller, Leigh Sales and Barrie Cassidy.
“It’s a really varied mix of who likes to attend. Some want to hear their favourite author; some are budding authors themselves and some are more interested in a specific topic” said Mr Stilts.
“We’ve got some great names in journalism speaking this year as well – for example, the 5km From the Frontline discussion on Friday (24 May) will allow people to hear about things like the war in Ukraine so it’s definitely not all about fiction, there’s some amazing real-world content in the mix as well.”
Many of the libraries within the Central Northern network will be working extended hours to ensure that locals can see as much of the live stream as possible.
“Some of our libraries, like Tamworth, will be open until late some evenings and even on Sundays during the Live and Local program, we don’t mind doing the extra hours though because it’s such a well-worthwhile program and we enjoy watching as well,” said Mr Stilts.
For Tamworth Library it’s a big week of events, with National Simultaneous Storytime also being held on May 22.
“If you’re attending Tamworth Library you’re in for a real treat – there’s usually a lag of about 1hour between the events but we’ve got the Archibald Prize upstairs at the moment so I’d highly recommend taking the time to pop up and see that in between talks,” said Mr Stilts.
“We’ve got the best of the Syndey Writer’s Festival and the best of Sydney’s art at the same time.”
Attending any of the live stream events is completely free, however, reservations are preferred to assist the libraries in setting up for each event.
For more information, and a full program of events for each library branch, visit the Central Northern Regional Library website.
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