CELEBRATE 60 Years of the Adelaide Festival with Wakefield Press!
Image
Reply
Tag Archives: Adelaide Festival
Looking back on Adelaide Writers’ Week
Saturday is an exciting day for us at Wakefield, as it’s the first day of Adelaide Writers’ Week, every local bibliophile’s week of bliss.
It’s even more special because we have two authors in the tents this year, with Mike Ladd kicking off proceedings Saturday morning, and Ken Bolton joining in on the fun on Tuesday. Aside from those on the programs, we also have plenty of authors chairing events: Nicholas Jose, Peter Monteath, Cath Kenneally and Peter Burdon, with Louise Nicholas reading poetry, too. What a good Wakefield crew!
Writers’ Week has been around for a long time, and for many of us it’s hard now to remember our first sessions. From its beginnings as a festival specifically for writers in 1960, it gradually broadened to become a place for readers and writers alike.
A quick poke around the interwebs dredges up a few of the old programs, for anyone feeling nostalgic! —
Clockwise from top left: the programs from this year, 1962, 1996, 1970, 1976, 1980, 2015, 2016 and 2014.
Most of these images come straight from the Adelaide Festival website, but I tracked the 1980 program down on the State Library of SA’s amazing Adelaide Festival Pinterest collection (where would we be without SLSA??), and the 1962 program comes courtesy the Wheeler Centre.
And, look, this is completely off topic, but it feels like a Velvet Underground kind of day, so I’ma share. Maybe there’s a comparison with bibliophiles looking for a hit. Maybe that’s a complete stretch …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hugY9CwhfzE
It’s a tough life …
Oh dear LORD what a crazy few days it’s been!
Adelaide Writers’ Week kicked off on Saturday, with sessions including big names such as Booker Prize-winner Eleanor Catton, superstar newbie Hannah Kent and Wakefield Press’s very own Philip Jones (yes, you can get the book here!).
Meanwhile, Charlotte did an amazing job putting together a day of food, wine and beautiful locations for the Visiting International Publishers program. We visited SA’s gorgeous McLaren Vale wine region, and everyone had an excellent day. A highlight? Definitely getting to hang out with our sponsors at Fox Creek — these guys are amazing, and so is their wine. Thank you for having us!
A big thanks too to Coriole Vineyards and the Star of Greece, and of course Australia Council for organising the program. All up, a perfect McLaren Vale day.
Now we just have the tough choices of the final two weeks of the Festival ahead of us. Which sessions to visit during the last two days of Writers’ Week? To purchase a one-day WOMAD pass, or go all out for the whole weekend? Which world class theatre event to attend?
Decisions, decisions …