19th October 2015 For immediate release
SPORTS WRITERS FESTIVAL TO LAUNCH IN MELBOURNE
New event launches with Australian cricketing great GLENN McGRATH & FRANCIS LEACH.
Lovers of sport and literature have a brand new event to circle in their calendar this coming November.
The Sports Writers Festival celebrates sport through the written word. It’s a tribal gathering of writers and readers who share a passion for sport and great writing.
And where better to launch this new event but Melbourne? A city famous for its obsession with sport and its love of the arts is the only logical choice.
The Sports Writers Festival begins with a mini-fest on Saturday 21st November at Federation Square. Legendary Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath will be our first author, as he sits down to discuss his new book Test of Will with ABC radio renaissance man and festival founder, Francis Leach.
Says McGrath:
“I’m excited to be able to share my story and be part of the very first Sports Writers Festival in Melbourne. I’ve always loved reading about how sport has enriched people’s lives, the challenges it presents and what it teaches us about life. That’s what my book and this festival is all about.”
The program also features what promises to be a fascinating panel discussion on the Future of Sports Writing featuring legendary cricket writer Gideon Haigh, acclaimed soccer scribe Kate Cohen and The Guardian’s Deputy Editor of Sport Russell Jackson.
Sports Writers Festival – Overview.
This years’ inaugural event will offer a first look at what will become a much larger program in years to come. In 2016 the Sports Writers Festival will return with forums, workshops and interviews to take the angles and capture the fleeting but eternal experience of sport.
The Sports Writers Festival is the brainchild of broadcaster Francis Leach. With the traditional writers festival circuit being well served, Leach wanted to create an event that focused specifically on the art of sports writing: the stories, the analysis, the triumph, tragedy and poetry of bringing a contest to life on the page.
Describing the motivation for the Festival Leach says
“Sport expresses the human condition. It’s about ethics, money, power and politics. Identity and culture. Success, failure, exultation and devil’s bargains. It’s about the simple joy of playing – and storytelling. It’s the stuff that fuels great writing”.
In traditional writers festivals sport has been sidelined. Not anymore. The Sports Writers Festival makes it the main game promises to become one of the most highly anticipated features of the Melbourne literary and sporting calendar.
SPORTS WRITERS FESTIVAL – 21ST NOVEMBER 2015
Deakin Edge Theatre, Fed Square
Tickets and event details www.ticketmaster.com.au
Session 1:
Glenn McGrath in conversation with Francis Leach
Session 2:
“The Future of Sports Writing” with Gideon Haigh, Kate Cohen & Russell Jackson moderated by David Lowden.
For media enquiries and Francis Leach interview requests please contact Andy Kelly on 0416 094 492 or email [email protected]
http://sportswritersfestival.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/SportsWritersFestival
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