Masterchef champion-turned-bestselling-author Julie Goodwin is set to headline this year’s Write Here festival in Lake Mac.
Goodwin, who won the original series of the hit Network 10 show in 2009, already has a bestselling cookbook to her name and has now penned a memoir charting her extraordinary life story, Your Time Starts Now.
She will chat in conversation at Warners Bay Theatre on Sunday 19 May with local radio presenter Jessica Rouse about her writing and life experiences.
Goodwin described writing her memoir as “an exhausting, emotional but ultimately rewarding process”.
“I found I could write big chunks of text but then needed to step away for a few days, or sometimes weeks, to process what I had written, make changes, and prepare for the next part of the book,” she said.
Lake Macquarie City Council Manager Arts, Culture and Tourism Jacqui Hemsley said the 16-19 May festival invited writers and readers to hear from visiting and local writers across a range of genres and media.
“This year’s festival has a focus on personal stories encouraging everyone to share through writing workshops and panels,” she said.
“It will look at how these stories can be told through traditional print publishing, audio and performance.”
Among the firsts for this year’s festival is a stand-up comedy workshop with comedian Mandy Nolan and performance coach George Casti.
Participants in the Friday 17 May session at Warners Bay Theatre will develop a five-minute comedy sketch routine, which will then be performed to a live audience.
Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser said the Write Here program catered for all ages and literary genres.
“Reading and writing are wonderful ways to escape the everyday, learn more about the world and perhaps learn more about ourselves,” she said.
A mental health theme will run through other sessions, including What Shapes Our Lives, at Toronto Library on Saturday 18 May, where local authors Damien Linnane and Craig Semple will discuss their memoirs documenting their struggles.
Other featured authors include Julie Janson, Cadance Bell, Karen Viggers and Dinuka McKenzie.
Go to library.lakemac.com.au
