Byron Writers Festival 2021
Writing Family
Family stories, in both fiction and non-fiction, have enormous narrative potential. From parent-child relationships to sibling rivalries. From strong ties to missing parts. We all have a story to tell when it comes to the family we know. But how can a writer pen a story of their own family in a way that is both ethical and compelling? What story should, or can, we tell? And what can we learn from writers who have attempted to capture their families on the page? This workshop will guide participants through planning, researching and writing family stories.
Participants will develop foundational skills in: (1) understanding the ethics of writing the stories of others; (2) deciding what stories need to be told, and why; and (3) crafting family members as characters.
Date: Thursday 5 August
Time: 1pm – 4pm
Where: Byron Community College, Room 1. East Point Arcade (opposite Mercato), Level 1, 107 Jonson Street, Byron Bay
Cost: $60 General / $50 Members
About the Presenter
Sara El Sayed was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She teaches at Queensland University of Technology, where she is completing a Master of Fine Arts. Her work features in the anthologies Growing Up African in Australia and Arab, Australian, Other, among other places. She is a recipient of a Queensland Writers Fellowship and was shortlisted for the 2020 Queensland Premier’s Young Writers and Publishers Award.