vanessa potts

50+ year anniversary; 50 speakers; 50 events; 1 amazing festival. Rosalie Ham (The Dressmaker) joins an impressive line-up of women writers including Miriam Margolyes, craft doyenne Tonia Todman, beloved children’s writer Hazel Edwards (There’s a Hippopotamus on My Roof Eating Cake), author Pip Williams (The Dictionary of Lost Words) and more in this year’s For the Love of Writing Festival from February 14 to 20, 2021.

“For the past 50 years, the Society of Women Writers Victoria has been providing a safe and encouraging space for women writers. By supporting women’s voices it has contributed to cultural change that now sees women’s writing enjoying almost as much airtime as men’s. It is an honour and a pleasure to be part of the Society’s 50th anniversary festival - For The Love of Writing,” said author Pip Williams.

For the Love of Writing Festival will be officially launched by Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp on 14 February at the Library at the Dock and will feature a headline talk by novelist Rosalie Ham, who is well-known for her book The Dressmaker which became the international hit film starring Kate Winslet. Those attending the in-person launch will be able to browse the festival book shop as well as read and promote their own work from the festival’s Speakers’ Corner, based on the original and best-known Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park in London.