Showing all posts tagged: Sydney
The Sydney Writers’ Festival 2025 program has been published
19 March 2025
This year’s festival has events running from Sunday 18 May through to Wednesday 11 June 2025, though I understand the main event goes from Monday 19 May to Sunday 25 May. There’s too many highlights to list separately, but a few events caught my eye.
The evening of Monday 19 May sees the naming of the winners of the NSW Literary Awards, previously the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards — I can’t find an official announcement of the name change — so NSW Literary Awards it is.
Charlotte Wood, author of Stone Yard Devotional speaks on Tuesday 20 May. Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist of UNSW AI will discuss the six ideas you need to understand AI, on Thursday 22 May.
Friday 23 May is busy. Marcel Dirsus’ talks about the rise and fall of tyrants. Topical, or what. Helen Garner discusses her popular sports-themed memoir The Season. And Shankari Chandran, winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin Award, speaks about the power of literature in sorting fact from fiction in the face of authoritarianism.
Saturday 24 May is a big day. Robbie Arnott (Instagram link) talks about his latest novel Dusk. Michelle Brasier, Virginia Gay, and Chloe Elisabeth Wilson, discuss building writing communities. And the winners of Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist award, will speak to Melanie Kembrey.
Sunday 25 May is another big one. Charlotte Wood, and Irish author Colm Tóibín, also immediate past Laureate for Irish Fiction, discuss Irish literature versus Australian writing. In case you don’t know, Irish literature is smashing the ball out of the park. Annabel Crabb is joined by Jessie Tu (Instagram link), to talk about her latest novel, The Honeyeater.
On Sunday evening, Anna Funder will deliver the festival’s closing address. As I say, this is but a small sample of what’s happening, so check out the program for the full story.
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Australian literature, events, Sydney
Demolishing the AC/DC house, and what little rock history Australia has
18 January 2025
I’m not really a fan of the band that was formed in Sydney in 1973, and is still going strong, but it seems odd that the house where founders, brothers Angus and Malcolm Young used to live, and founded AC/DC, was not worthy of preserving. For those not in the know, AC/DC are probably Australia’s version of the Rolling Stones. But last month, the residence, in the inner-west Sydney suburb of Burwood, was bulldozed to make way for a high rise apartment block.
This might sound like over-development on steroids, but many parts of Australia, including Sydney, are experiencing accommodation shortages, and high density housing is one of the solutions. While numerous people, including the local municipal council, were aware of the house’s history, this was not enough to spare the property. Mind you, I’m not sure how the house could have been kept, and somehow integrated in the much needed residential development.
For more about the story of the “AC/DC house”, and its demolition, check out this short YouTube clip by Sydney Morning Herald writer, Tom Compagnoni.
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Australia, Australian music, history, music, Sydney
The top twenty cafes in Sydney 2024
24 October 2024
Good Food have published their list of the twenty best cafes in Sydney, Australia.
We eat at restaurants, but we live in cafes.
Yes, but we don’t work in cafes. Or we shouldn’t. If we do though, then only for short periods of time, right? And for a minute I thought one place I occasionally go to, had made the cut. But there’s a slight variation in the spelling of their names. Besides, I’m doubt I’m in Sydney enough to be ending up at any of the Good Food top twenty cafes.
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An art deco delight by night in the Sydney suburb of Randwick
29 May 2024
Randwick is a large suburb located about five kilometres south east of downtown Sydney, Australia.
It is home to the Prince of Wales hospital, Royal Randwick Racecourse, a thriving commercial and retail hub, large bus and light rail depots, the historic Ritz Cinemas, and arguably, the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Even though UNSW has its own post code, two sides of its sprawling complex border Randwick.
Randwick sounds like a bustling centre, and it is, but slip down a side street, and suddenly you’re in a whole other world: the quiet realm of suburbia. I walked passed this apartment building the other evening, and almost didn’t stop. But something made me do a double take. I’m not sure what it was.
Was it the neatly clipped grass verge sloping away down the street? The branches of a tree, partly lit by a nearby street light, splaying across the front of the building. The Moon trying to peek through clouds above the roof of the building. Or the welcoming glow of the lamp over the door.
Whatever it was, the scene before me had photo written all over it.
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Six dead in knife attack at Westfield Bondi Junction
13 April 2024
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC):
A shopping centre in Sydney’s east has been evacuated amid reports of multiple stabbings and potentially a number of deaths. An eyewitnesses told the ABC shots were fired. NSW Police said emergency services were called to Westfield Bondi Junction just before 4pm after reports of multiple people being stabbed.
This is shocking. The centre would have been packed with weekend shoppers and young families.
I hotdesk there during the week when in Sydney. I’m trying to find out if the people I know who work there are OK, but ping me if you see this.
Update: sadly several people have died, and others were injured, as a result of the attack. The alleged perpetrator meanwhile was shot by a police officer, who was at the scene.
Update II: police are certain the attack was not terror related, nor motivated by any political or religious ideology.
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Australia, Bondi Junction, current affairs, Sydney
Third best coffee on Earth? Sydney. Tenth best? Melbourne…
11 April 2024
Espresso, brewed by Crepe & Coffee Co, photo by John Lampard.
Sydney has been adjudged the third best city in the world for coffee, this according to American magazine, Food & Wine. Copenhagen, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes in at number one, followed by Tokyo in second place. But here’s where things may get contentious: Melbourne — perhaps surprisingly — ranks at number ten on the list.
Number ten? How can that be? Did not Melbourne birth McCafe, the McDonald’s hamburger restaurant coffee-shop off-shoot? Isn’t Melbourne where the rest of Australia supposedly draws all ideas and inspiration coffee related from? Not that I’m trying to stoke up any Melbourne versus Sydney antagonism, or rivalry, here.
Not me. After all, I’m officially based almost two-hours drive north of Sydney. But when it comes to coffee consumption elsewhere, I’ve had more Sydney coffee than I have Melbourne. And besides, I like both cities. But they’re different places, they’re not cookie-cutter replicas of each other.
Objectively, how then could one possibly be better than the other? Let me illustrate, while keeping the theme victual. Years ago, a chef (whose name escapes me), described the differences between the two cities, thusly. When you go out for dinner in Sydney, it’s for a quick bite, because you’re on the way somewhere else.
That’s true. Sydney never stands still.
On the other hand, when you go out for dinner in Melbourne, it’s an occasion. People dress up, and stay seated at the table for hours. And sometimes we like doing both. But let’s avoid any further Melbourne versus Sydney discord, and take solace in the fact Australia is a country that embraces independent coffee brewers, and has little time for multinational coffeehouse chains.
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Australia, coffee, Melbourne, Sydney, trends
Sydney Writers Festival 2023 program
16 March 2023
The Sydney Writers Festival 2023 program was published this evening, and features a star studded line-up of Australian and international speakers. Among them are former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Sydney author Tracey Lien, Tasmasian writer Robbie Arnott, and Fiona McFarlane.
Overseas speakers include Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, and British author Bernardine Evaristo, who will be one of the opening night address speakers. Australian author Richard Flanagan meanwhile will deliver the closing night address.
The festival — which runs from Monday 22 May, to Sunday 28 May 2023 — will take place at a number of locations around Sydney, including Carriageworks, the State Library of NSW, Penrith City Library, Sydney Town Hall, and PHIVE, Parramatta, to name a handful.
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Australian literature, events, Sydney
Re shortlisted for the Worlds 50 Best Bars tackles food waste
3 October 2022
While I usually feature long and shortlists from some of the literary awards, why not change things up a bit? Recently the World’s 50 Best Bars 2022 longlist was announced. Not that you’ll catch me in a bar too often, but it’s worth noting two Australian bars made the cut.
One is Caretaker’s Cottage in Melbourne, as is Re Bar, located in the Sydney suburb of Eveleigh, which I find myself in, or near, on occasion. I’ll have to look out for Re Bar next time I’m nearby.
It also turns out Re owner Matt Whiley is passionate about tackling the scourge of food waste. If you think food waste is a trivial matter, watch the trailer for Never Wasted, an in production documentary on the efforts being made by Whiley, and others, to reduce food waste.
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Australia, entertainment, Sydney
Sydney to host the 2025 International Astronautical Congress
26 September 2022
With a number of planets, particularly Jupiter, dominating the eastern night sky of Australia at the moment, what better time to make mention that the 2025 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) will be held in the NSW capital, Sydney.
Founded in 1951, the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is the world’s leading space advocacy body with around 460 members in 72 countries, including all leading space agencies, companies, research institutions, universities, societies, associations, institutes and museums worldwide. The Federation advances knowledge about space, supporting the development and application of space assets by promoting global cooperation.
The last time Australia hosted an IAC event was in 2017, when the International Astronautical Federation conference took place in Adelaide, South Australia.
On the subject of astronomical matters, check out If the Moon were only one pixel, by American interactive art director and designer Josh Worth. Now we can see why they call it space…
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astronomy, events, science, Sydney
Ann Mossop new Sydney Writers Festival artistic director
1 August 2022
Ann Mossop has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Mossop, who has been behind a string of events in Sydney, has a long association with the writers’ festival:
Festival Chair Mark Scott said, “Ann Mossop comes to Sydney Writers’ Festival with a career programing cutting-edge public conversations at the Sydney Opera House for the Ideas at the House series, Festival of Dangerous Ideas, All About Women and recently as the Director of the Centre for Ideas at UNSW Sydney. Ann also has a long association with the Festival, sitting on the board from 1995–2000 and was part of the committee that established Sydney Writers’ Festival as an independent entity in 1998.”
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