Posted by kluster on September 29, 2010
Here at Kluster, we're always on the look out for fresh budding writers. Needless to say, when we discovered the National Young Writers’ Festival was engaged in a similar search we were très excited: the NYWF believes in fostering emerging Australian homegrown creative talents. The annual NYWF is returning to Newcastle, NSW from 30th September to 4th October as part of the highly anticipated This is Not Art festival. This year's event showcases a range of writing formats including zines, blogging, journalism and songwriting through a series of discussions and performances. We ask NYWF co-director, Talina McKenzie, to fill us in on the rest.
Covered: A reconnection with Australian writing culture, kindred spirit level, Margaret Atwood and fish nerd.
Kluster: Can you describe your role in TiNA? What sort of tasks does that entail?
Talina McKenzie: I am a co-director of the National Young Writers’ Festival. That involves a million different tasks (so it seems!) but essentially it boils down to driving the programming: coaxing along the events until they have a tangible shape, finding homes for our artists on those events and then making sure it all goes to plan (or not, that can be fun too).
K: What attracted you to this role?
TM: I applied for this role after returning from 18 months in Europe, at a time that I really felt the need to reconnect with Australia’s writing culture. I wanted to get involved again, and really involved. I once started an arts magazine in Brisbane and I missed that level of intensity.More...
national young writers' festival, this is not art, talina mckenzie, margaret atwood