May at SCWC
by Martin Veres
We’ve got a lot of events packed into the back end of the month, so it – haha – May be difficult to get to them all, but as long as you come to some of them, we won’t hold it against you.
This month, the SCWC will be hosting the Sydney Writers’ Festival right here in Wollongong, including Live and Local at Wollongong Town Hall. We’ve got a more detailed events schedule here, so head on over to that if you'd like the blow by blow.
19 – 25 May
Indigenous Writer in Residence Schedule
Dr Tony Birch is the fourth Indigenous writer in residence at the SCWC and the recipient of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing 2016. Over the course of May, he will be holding a number of workshops, lectures and readings, the details of which are below.
19 May, Friday
Inserting History Workshop
12.30pm – 3.30pm, Wollongong Art Gallery
Cost: $35 ($25 for SCWC members)
A workshop focusing on responding to Aboriginal art through creative writing. This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in Aboriginal art or art analysis in general, and is a unique chance to see Art Gallery’s Aboriginal art collection from a whole new perspective.

22 May, Monday
English Literature Lecture
9.30am, University of Wollongong, Building 24, Room 103
23 May, Tuesday
10am – 12pm
Consultation
Bookings are essential for these sessions, and you can do so through the SCWC. If you aren’t able to make the Tuesday session, there may be other consultation times later in the week. Please advise us when you book, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
23 May, Tuesday
TAEM Public Lecture: Common Threads?
4.00pm, University of Wollongong, Building 25, Room 128
Tony Birch discusses Indigenous knowledge, climate change, and colonial encounters. Please RSVP to mickg@uow.edu.au.

25 May, Thursday
Black Wallaby Writers’ Night
6.00pm – 8.30pm, Wollongong Art Gallery
Join Black Wallaby Writers for the book launch of the fifth year anniversary edition of the Dreaming Inside anthology, a collection of creative writing pieces by inmates at Junee Correctional Facility. Tony Birch will deliver the keynote speech, and there will be readings by John Muk Muk Burke, Aunty Barbara Nicholson, Judi Morison, and SCWC Director Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis.
The night will also include an Aboriginal art auction to raise money for the SCWC Indigenous Literary Program.
27 May, Saturday
Live and Local
Starts at 10.00am
Cost: Session Tickets (morning or afternoon) are $20, or $15 for students/concession
Workshop Tickets are $15
Following on from the success of last year’s event, Sydney Writers’ Festival goes once more unto the breach (Wollongong) in 2017! The event will feature both a live stream of SWF headline events from Roslyn Packer Theatre, as well as a number of live panel discussions, workshops and other events that will allow you to engage with Australia’s greatest creative and literary minds (though I, personally, won’t be there).
For a breakdown of the full schedule, click here.
28 May, Sunday
Rocket Readings
1.00pm – 3.30pm, Wollongong Art Gallery
Cost $5
The SCWC’s annual live poetry event returns! Hosted by Linda Godfrey, and featuring the poetical prowess of Garry McDougall and Evelyn Araluen, the event also includes an extensive open mic session after the featured performers. Come join in!
Written by SCWC
Posted on May 09, 2017