Visits from a best-selling author, a Nobel prize-winning science writer and more have been made possible by The University of Queensland at this year’s Brisbane Writers Festival.
The University is playing host to an esteemed group of writers as a Premier Partner of the 2012 festival, ensuring students, staff and the wider Brisbane community hear from some of the world’s most progressive writers.
The Brisbane Writers Festival runs from Thursday 5 to Sunday 9 September, 2012.
Founding Director and UQ writing lecturer Dr Stuart Glover said the University was privileged to be supporting such a strong line-up.
“This year, the University will play host to a dozen or so writers, perhaps the most noteworthy of these is John de Graaf, who is the Vice-Chancellor’s guest,” Dr Glover said.
John de Graaf is the co-author of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (2001). His newest book, What's the Economy For, Anyway? Why It's Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness, was published in 2011, and will be a feature of this appearance on September 6 at The State Library of Queensland.
“His Affluenza book has been a deserved world wide best-seller. He’s asked us to think again about the way we live,” Dr Glover said.
Also on the UQ-sponsored schedule is Nobel prize-winner Laureate Professor Peter Doherty AC, who wrote an insider’s guide to ‘what scientists do all day’ called The Beginner’s Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize: A Life in Science.
Other authors whose visits have been made possible by UQ include Paul Gilding, author of The Great Disruption, Drusilla Modjeska and Jon Doust, Robert Dessaix, Chris Cleave, Professor Chris Turney, Anna Rose and Stefan Hajkowicz. On top of this, US-based Jordan Bass, the Managing Editor of McSweeny’s Publishing will host an Editor-in-Residence program at UQ for the week after the festival.
“The festival is a great moment each year where the University’s leadership in the literary world is on show to the wider community,” Dr Glover said.
“It makes great sense for the University to participate and support to bring leading writers as guests at the festival.”
UQ has had a relationship with the Brisbane Writers Festival and the Warana Writers Week that came before it for most of the events’ 50-year history. As well as financial support, UQ staff have been on the festival committee, participated as panelists, chaired sessions and launched books.
“UQ Press has long been one of Australia’s most significant independent presses and has published many of the country’s most important writers, including the likes of Peter Carey, David Malouf and Nick Earls,” Dr Glover said.
“The University also has a fabulous specialist research library, and the literature area in the Fryer Library is also a leading specialist literature library. We also have fabulous teaching programs in creative writing.”
Dr Glover teaches the University’s Creative Writing Program and is the Chairman of the Queensland Literary Awards.
He encouraged staff, students and the wider community to not only attend the main festival events, but also enjoy the free events on campus.
UQ-sponsored event schedule:
Wednesday, 5 September
Jordan Bass: The Rise and Rose of McSweeney’s Quarterly: the Literary Journal Now
UQ Art Museum, 2-3pm.
Hosted by: School of English, Media Studies, and Art History
Enquiries: Dr Stuart Glover
Entry: Free
Thursday, 6 September 2012
What’s the Economy for Anyway?
Writer: John de Graaf
Auditorium 2, State Library of Queensland, 11am – 12pm
Chairperson: Professor Deborah Terry
Sponsored by: Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Event at UQ: Why counting chickens could save your life
Writer: Laureate Professor Peter Doherty AC
Auditorium, Institute for Molecular Biosciences Building, 6.15pm – 8pm
Host: Professor Steven Walker, Executive Dean, Faculty of Science
Hosted by: Faculty of Science
RSVP: Register your attendance here
Entry: Free
Friday, 7 September 2012
The World is Full
Auditorium 1, State Library of Queensland, 12.30pm – 1pm
Writer: Paul Gilding (The Great Disruption)
Chairperson: Jayne Keane
Sponsored by: The University of Queensland
Event at UQ: Panel Discussion
Library Conference Room, Level 1, Duhig Building, 2pm – 3.30pm, followed by afternoon tea.
Panelist/s: Drusilla Modjeska and Jon Doust
Chairperson: Professor Joanne Tompkins
RSVP: events@library.uq.edu.au by Wednesday 5 September 2012
Entry: Free
Saturday, 8 September
The Mountain
The Studio, State Library of Queensland, 10am – 11am
Writers: Robert Dessaiz and Drusilla Modjeska
Sponsored by: UQ Library
Listen to the Science
The Studio, State Library of Queensland, 11.30am – 12.30pm
Writers: Peter Doherty, Professor Chris Turney and Anna Rose
Chairperson: Greg Wah
Sponsored by: UQ Faculty of Science
Meet Chris Cleave
The Edge, State Library of Queensland, 1pm – 2pm
Writer: Chris Cleave
Chairperson: Judith Seaboyer
Sponsored by: UQ Faculty of Arts
Sunday, 9 September
Our Future World
The Edge, State Library of Queensland, 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Writer: John de Graaf, Paul Gilding & Stefan Hajkowicz
Chairperson: Greg Wah
Sponsored by: UQ Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Monday, 10 September
Event at UQ: Gross National Happiness – From Bhutan to Brisbane
Terrace Room, Sir Liew Edwards Building 14, 4pm – 6pm, followed by light refreshments
Guest author: John de Graaf
Panelist/s: Professor Paul Frijters, Professor Janet McColl-Kennedy and Professor Howard Karger
Chairperson: Professor David de Vaus
Co-hosted by: Office of the Vice-Chancellor and School of Social Work and Human Services
RSVP: events@social.uq.edu.au
Entry: Free
Chris Cleave on his new Novel, Gold
Lecture Theatre 360, Physiology Lecture Theatres (63), 10am-11.30am.
Hosted by: School of English, Media Studies, and Art History
Session time: 10am – 11.30am
Enquiries: Dr Stuart Glover
Entry: Free
Jeffrey Meyers on Writing Orwell’s Biography
UQ Art Museum (11), 11.30am to 12.30pm
Hosted by: School of English, Media Studies, and Art History
Enquiries: Dr Stuart Glover
Entry: Free
Monday 10 to Friday 14 of September
UQ Editor-in-Residence Program
Editor: Jordan Bass, Managing Editor of McSweeny’s Publishing.
Sponsor: UQ Faculty of Arts
