The program for the 2024 Greek-Australian Writers’ Festival has officially been revealed, with this year’s edition set to recognise the legacy of the late writer, Antigone Kefala.
The event is being presented by the Greek Festival of Sydney and UTS Journalism and Writing, and is being directed by Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos (Professional Fellow UTS).
It will be held on Sunday 19 May from 10am-7pm at the UTS Business School Dr Chau Chak Wing Building as it showcases the literary works of authors that tell Greek stories in areas like genealogy, mythology, visual storytelling, Greek-Australian identity etc.
The event will feature eight 45-minute sessions covering a myriad of works and discussions with numerous writers while books will be on sale all day throughout the Festival (with authors also available for signings).
The program for this year includes the following:
- NAME THAT SONG – EXPLORING BALKAN CULTURES AND NATIONALISM (10-10.45am)
A discussion on the compilation book ‘Whose Is This Song’ organised by Eleni Elefterias-Ksotakidis with some of its literary contributors, which will be co-ordinated by writer Phil Kafcaloudes. The book is inspired by Adela Peeva’s documentary of the same name and covers issues in Balkan history, nationalism and the region’s rich and complex cultures.
- WAR STORIES: GREEKS AND DIGGERS (11-11.45am)
A discussion on two books covering stories of the Australians and Greeks fighting in World War II: ‘Where the Flaming Hell Are We?’ by Craig Collie and ‘Bound By Two Homelands-A Kytherian Odyssey’ by Con Aroney. Tony Maniaty will facilitate the session with the two writers.
- VISUAL STORYTELLING: THE GREEKS OF TASHKENT (12-12.45pm)
A showcase from the president of the Greek Cultural Centre in Tashkent, Costas Politis, of rare photographs from the archives and a recount of stories of the political refuges of Central Asia following the Greek Civil War. The session will be facilitated by Dr Vatsikopoulos.
- HELLENIC DREAMING – Book Launch (2-2.45pm)
The official book launch of ‘Hellenic Dreaming’, an anthology book edited by Dr Vatsikopoulos that was created for the Greek Festival of Sydney and published by the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW. The book includes the contributions of 37 first to third generation Greek-Australians who all articulate their relationship with their Greek-Australian identity.
- WHO ARE YOU? GREEK ACTUALLY (3-3:45pm)
Penny Zagarelou-Mackieson, adopted as a baby, discusses her journey in discovering her biological Greek identity as chronicled in her book ‘Greek Actually: Disentangling Adoption Deceptions’ and on the SBS Artemis Media TV program ‘Every Family has a Secret’. The session will explore this tale with Penny and producer Claire Forster as facilitated by Helen Tzarimas.
- MYTHOLOGY AND THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS (4-4:45pm)
A discussion on the recent works of Julia Kindt (‘The Trojan Horse and Other Stories: Ten Ancient Creatures That Make Us Human’) and Kate Forsyth (‘Psykhe’) that each deal with the phenomenon of retelling Greek mythology, as facilitated by Phil Kafcaloudes.
- ANTIGONE KEFALA (5-5:45pm)
This session will explore the legacy of Antigone Kefala, a leading writer of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, who was awarded the Patrick White Prize Literary Award in 2022 for her outstanding contribution to Australian literature.
Effie Carr will lead a discussion and readings of Kefala’s work alongside author and visual artist Anna Couani, Efi Hatzimanolis (poet, writer and independent scholar), George Alexander (who was also personal friend of Antigone’s) and Ivor Indyk, Antigone’s publisher from Giramondo Press.
- VISUAL STORYTELLING: EPISTROFI (6-6.45pm)
This session delves into the publication ‘Epistrofi’, produced by The Australian Museum of Contemporary Photography, which features text and photographs by 16 contributors who had returned to their ancestral homelands in Greece for the first time since the COVID lockdowns.
