Literary Festival success - Sydney Grammar School

The Festival was centred on writing that interrogates and reflects history, with the aim of celebrating literature and reinvigorating a love of reading and writing.

Writer-In-Residence Mr Lachlan Philpott mentored the inaugural Creative Writing Collective. This intensive programme across the term involved a group of boys in Forms I– IV and culminated in “A Night at the Library” at the State Library of NSW, where boys read their completed works surrounded by the exhibits that had inspired their writing.

Boys assembling at the State Library for the “A Night at the Library” creative writing event.JPG

Pictured: The Creative Writing Collective

The School hosted visiting speakers Mr Will Kostakis, Mr Paul Macdonald, and Mr Matthew Lin, who spoke to Forms II, III and IV about their process and love of fiction, and also presented at “Literary Lunchtimes” in the Library.

L-R: Paul Macdonald, Matthew Lin and Will Kostakis

The English Extension 2 cohort showcased their major works in an evening event in the Library, and members of the Women’s and Fathers’ Associations put themselves in the boys’ shoes in an evening writing workshop hosted by Lachlan Philpott.

Parents taking part in the creative writing workshop hosted by Author in Residence, Lachlan Philpott Option 1.JPG

Pictured: Parents taking part in the creative writing workshop

The Festival was capped by a successful literary evening in which internationally acclaimed authors Thomas Keneally (Schindler’s Ark, The Dickens Boy) and Anna Funder (Stasiland, All That I Am) were joined by ABC Radio’s Cassie McCullagh for a detailed discussion of their writing processes, sources of inspiration, and philosophies.

The School Library steps were adorned with famous book titles

Below is a visual tour of all the Festival events

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