24 May 2009 Main Posts Sydney Writers’ Festival Jeff Sparrow Back from the SWF now. Didn’t actually get to go to anything much, other than events in which I was directly involved — the problem is that you are either preparing for sessions or recovering from them. Rjurik’s already posted something about the Greer event but there’s varying assessments of it floating around the web. Here‘s an assessment by Tara Moss (‘Greer’s speech was pointed, funny and full of zeal’); Guy Rundle was more critical in Crikey. To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to the event on literary journals (with Meanjin and Griffith Review) cos it’s a panel that seems to have been done so many times. But it seemed to go pretty well, with a particularly interesting back and forth towards, in which people put forward different positions about the impact of the digital revolution. As for the event on climate change, well, they had to turn people away, which is always a good sign. David, Sharon and Tim spoke passionately and about half the session was given over to questions and answers. Someone was asking as to whether the thing was recorded. The answer is that I don’t know. There did seem to be lots of high-tech equipment about but I’m not sure as to what the SWF policy on podcasting actually is. Jeff Sparrow Jeff Sparrow is a Walkley Award-winning writer, broadcaster and former editor of Overland. More by Jeff Sparrow Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 24 February 202317 March 2023 Main Posts Final Results of the 2022 Judith Wright Poetry Prize Editorial Team Overland, the judges and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are thrilled to announce the final results of the 2022 Judith Wright Poetry Prize. First published in Overland Issue 228 24 February 202317 March 2023 Main Posts Final Results of the 2022 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize Editorial Team Overland, the judges and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are thrilled to announce the final results of the 2022 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize.