Tim Flannery | Peter Frankopan | Claire O'Rourke | Toby Walsh | Clare Wright
Tell me, oh muse...
Pregnant with the thrill of storytelling, full of surprises, calm, jarring, momentous or direct, the first lines of a writer’s work take us to exactly where they want us to be. Come and meet our festival guests as they unfold their beginnings in five-minute readings. In just 30 minutes, hear from Tim Flannery, Peter Frankopan, Claire O'Rourke, Toby Walsh and Clare Wright as they share excerpts from their new books.
This event is presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Sydney.
UNSW SYDNEY X SYDNEY WRITERS' FESTIVAL
UNSW Sydney is the exclusive university sponsor and proud Premier Partner of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Featuring UNSW academics and researchers on Sydney Writers’ Festival stages, and events at the UNSW Kensington Campus, this partnership brings together a shared vision of creativity, curiosity and thought leadership.
TICKETS & VENUE INFORMATION
This event is free and will take place live at Carriageworks. For all venue and visitor safety information, please visit Sydney Writers' Festival.
ACCESS
Wheelchair Access
All Festival venues are accessible and have wheelchair and level access. To book accessible seats for events at Carriageworks, please contact the Sydney Writers' Festival Box Office on (02) 9256 4200 or email ticketing@swf.org.au.
Accessible Parking
Accessible parking is available at Carriageworks. Please call (02) 8571 9099 for Carriageworks parking information.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT & PARKING
Carriageworks is located at 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh. This is a 10-minute walk from Redfern Station, City Road bus stops and Macdonaldtown Station. Catching public transport is strongly recommended as residential parking in the area is strictly limited, and the Sydney Writers' Festival offers a shuttle bus services from Redfern Station at selected times. For more information on transport, visit swf.org.au or visit transportnsw.info,
CONTACT
Sydney Writers' Festival
For all event enquiries, please call the Sydney Writers' Festival on 02 9256 4200 or email ticketing@swf.org.au.
UNSW Centre for Ideas
For all other enquiries, please call the Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au.
National Relay Service
The Centre for Ideas and Sydney Writers' Festival are happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for the applicable organisations phone number (listed above). Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for applicable organisations phone number (listed above). Internet relay users, visit relayservice.gov.au, then ask for applicable organisations phone number (listed above).
Tim Flannery was Australian of the Year 2007, and Australia's Climate Commissioner 2011-2013. He is Chief Councillor and co-founder of the Climate Council. He has published over 30 books, including ecological histories of Europe, Australia and North America, and has discovered and named 30 species of living mammals mostly from Melanesia.
Peter Frankopan is Professor of Global History at the University of Oxford, where he has been Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College since 2000. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Geographic Society, he is also President of the Royal Society of Asian Affairs. His books include The New Silk Roads: the Present and Future of the World, which won the Carical Prize for Social Sciences; and The Silk Roads: A New History of the World, that was a Sunday Times Book of the Decade, The New York Times Bestseller, number one in China, India, UK and beyond, and named one of the 25 most important books translated into Chinese alongside Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby. It was described by the Berliner Zeitung as “not only the most important history book in years, but the most important in decades”. One of World's 50 Top Thinkers (Prospect), he has been described as “the rockstar historian du jour” (Sunday Times) and the “first great historian of the 21st century” by Brazil's DCM magazine.
Claire O'Rourke is an author and environmental advocate, and works as Co-Director of The Sunrise Project's Australia Energy Transformation Program. Claire also directs Climate Compass, an ongoing project to develop a deep understanding of Australians' attitudes, prospective behaviours and barriers to action on global warming. With 20 years' experience in journalism, communications and advocacy in Australia and around the world, Claire has held a number of leadership positions, including most recently at Amnesty International Australia and as National Director of community-led renewable energy advocacy organisation Solar Citizens.
Toby Walsh is Chief Scientist of UNSW's new AI Institute. He is a strong advocate for limits to ensure AI improves our lives, having spoken at the UN, and to heads of state, parliamentary bodies, company boards and many others on this topic. This advocacy has led to him being ‘banned indefinitely’ from Russia. He was named on the international ‘Who's Who in AI’ list of influencers. His most recent book is Machines Behaving Badly: the morality of AI.
Clare Wright is an historian, author, broadcaster, podcaster and public commentator. She is the author of four works of history, including the Stella Award-winning The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. Her latest book is You Daughters of Freedom, the second instalment of her Democracy Trilogy. Clare co-hosts the Archive Fever podcast and has written and presented history documentaries for ABC Television and Radio National. She is currently a Professor of History at La Trobe University.
