Literary Festival success
In Term III 2022 the inaugural Sydney Grammar School Literary Festival “Writing Through Time” provided a stimulating interactive experience for the entire School community.
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.
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.
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
Sydney Grammar School
College Street, Darlinghurst
NSW 2010 Australia
Phone: (02) 9332 5800
Edgecliff Preparatory School
Alma Street, Paddington
NSW 2021 Australia
Phone: (02) 9366 0100
St Ives Preparatory School
Ayres Rd, St Ives
NSW 2075 Australia
Phone: (02) 8302 5200
