BWF: Brisbane Writer’s Festival Wrap-Up

I’ve spent almost a week thinking about writing this wrap-up of the Brisbane Writer’s Festival. I attended two days full of seminars and events, and had a blast. While it would be great to be able to just say, “It was awesome! Make sure you come next year!”, I really want to review some of the sessions I attended, and talk about the pearls of wisdom I collected.

As my husband can attest, this process takes a while. (He very patiently listened to me re-enact each and every session I attended, with added commentary on my own thoughts.) So I was caught in a conundrum. Do I just relate a few of my favourite events? Do I try to blow-by-blow everything? Do I simply transcribe the 60 pages of notes that I took? How can I do this amazing event justice, without boring everyone silly?

In the end, I’ve decided to relate my adventure in bite-size pieces. Below, you’ll find a list of the posts I intend to write. As I do so, I’ll link them back to (and from) this post. I might post one of these a week, or several in a day. All in all, I’ll try to walk the middle road between spamming everyone with writing news and taking six months to review the event.

I’m also happy to answer questions, and will take requests on which order to write these posts. If there’s something you’re interested in hearing about, let me know!

General:

• An overview of the BWF. The atmosphere, the people, the organisation, the works.
• Writer vs Author – Part II: The Definitive Answer.

Session Reviews:*

• AWM Part 1 – The Journey of the Book.
• AWM Part 2 – Global Publishing Trends.
• AWM Part 3 – The Future of the Book.
• AWM Part 4 – Negotiating Contracts.
• AWM Part 5 – Connecting with Readers.
• The Nordic Council – A Look at why Nordic Heritage Helps.
• Criminal Intent – Characters Operating According to their own Moral Code.
• Finding Your Voice, Finding Your Audience.
• Please Don’t Make Me Be Funny.
• The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in a Modern World.
• Devil in the Details: Tips for Writing Fiction.

Book Reviews:**

• Machine Man by Max Barry
• Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
• The Wayfinders by Wade Davis

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* AWM stands for Australian Writer’s Marketplace.

** These are the books purchased (and autographed***) at the BWF by either myself or the friend who accompanied me.

*** They were autographed by the authors. Not by us. That would be silly.