Posts tagged 'wheeler centre'

It was a big year for the journalists and pundits among us. Julie Posetti spoke on how social media is changing journalism, Guy Rundle eviscerated the new tabloid racialism and Bruce Guthrie was optimistic about newspapers' future despite his own grimly comic experiences. Jane Sullivan and Mary Delahunty spoke about the life of the creative journo, Caroline Brothers spoke about displaced children while Thomas Friedman discussed US decline. Media coverage of Lindsay Tanner’s book on the dumbing down of democracy only served to prove his point. Here’s the video of his Wheeler Centre appearance with George Megalogenis. We took a look at how the media’s obsession with opinion polls is affecting the political culture. Our ‘Taking Liberties With the Press’ and ‘Gagging for Freedom’ events saw distinguished panels of guests debating the ethics of the trade.

Perhaps the two single biggest stories of the year were, in a way, as Australian as Vegemite. The scandal that came to be known as Hackgate saw the Murdoch family-controlled News empire begin to fray at the edges – live on TV, described as a “triumph for investigative reporting”. Venerable tabloid News of the World was closed down, and staff made their feelings known in the newspaper’s last-ever crossword. The scandal spilled into some of News Corp’s other domains, including Australia. Robert Manne spoke about his Quarterly Essay critique of Rupert Murdoch’s national broadsheet, The Australian, at the Wheeler Centre. Ironically, it has since transpired that the crime that cracked the story open – the hacking of the phone messages of murdered British schoolgirl Milly Dowler – may not have been committed by News of the World journalists after all.

The other big story was, of course, the continuing fallout of the WikiLeaks affair. We asked the question, ‘Does WikiLeaks matter?’, while UK journalist Barbara Gunnell described Julian Assange as a rebel, public nuisance and dreamer. We looked at how WikiLeaks has changed the world while WikiLeaks itself, of course, was being brought to the brink of closing down by a financial blockade.

The Wheeler Centre’s third annual grand gala event at the Melbourne Town Hall will feature some our finest writers telling stories on the theme of belief. The Gala, which kicks off the Wheeler Centre year and marks the start of the centre’s first programme, will be held on Saturday 11 February.

In 2012, the Gala will be themed ‘Stories to Believe In’ and, as always, will feature some of Australia’s best storytellers, including Kaz Cooke, Tony Birch, Elliot Perlman, Lally Katz and Alice Pung.

The night involves 12 writers, each taking the stage at Melbourne Town Hall in turn to tell a story. For our theme this year, we’ve asked writers to choose a story that in some way illustrates something about a deeply held belief. The theme can encompass the political and the spiritual, the personal and the philosophical. It can be about anything from an ethical code to the importance of a good banana cake recipe. It can be personal or a story about someone else, real or imagined. It can be heartfelt or frivolous.

As in previous years, ticket prices will be $20 ($12 concession) and all profits from the night will be donated to the Indigenous Literacy Fund.

If the Wheeler Centre was a bar and café, what would it look like? We like to think it would look just like The Moat, a bar and café located in the basement level underneath the Wheeler Centre premises at 176 Little Lonsdale Street. Currently open from noon ‘til late Monday to Saturday, The Moat is the perfect place to chill out before and after Wheeler Centre events, or to escape the city bustle during the day and into the evening – whether you’re up for a good conversation with friends or just after a quiet nook to read a book.

(Click images to enlarge them.)

The menu is delicious, the wine list is mesmerising, the décor is warmly intimate, there’s free wifi (using the State Library network) – and there’s an astroturfed courtyard for those warm summer days and nights. The Moat will open for breakfast from Monday, 5 December and will be an occasional Wheeler Centre venue next year.

Two awards that in previous years were announced at the same time as the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards were not awarded at last night’s dinner, but they will continue to be awarded in slightly different contexts. The next biennial prize for Indigenous Writing will return next year and be announced to coincide with the Wheeler Centre’s opening Gala event on 11 February 2012. The annual prize for an Unpublished Manuscript is resting this year but will return to coincide with the Emerging Writers' Festival in 2012.

Last year, as part of the prize in the Unpublished Manuscript category, the Wheeler Centre announced fellowships for each of the three shortlisted authors, with a space to work on those manuscripts in the Wheeler Centre and an allowance for the two shortlisted authors who didn’t take home the prize. The Wheeler Centre Fellows were Peggy Frew, Michelle Aung Thin and Andrew Nette.

Those fellowships were made possible through the generous assistance of the Readings Foundation, which has expanded its support into 2012. Last night, Wheeler Centre director Chrissy Sharp announced the introduction of 20 Wheeler Centre Writers' Fellowships over the next twelve months.

Each fellowship, available to both published and unpublished writers, will offer two months' use of a desk at the Wheeler Centre, along with a stipend of $1000 to support them during that period. Details about the application process for these fellowships will be published on this website soon.

Our third and final programme of events for 2011 has something for everyone.

There are the big names, including Jonathan Safran Foer, Jon Ronson (author of The Psychopath Test), journalist Kate Adie, Chinese dissident writer Liao Yiwu and former PM Paul Keating.

There are the stars of literary and genre fiction, like Elliot Perlman, Alex Miller, Di Morrissey and Matthew Reilly.

There are exciting one-off events like No One Understands Me, where guests including Marieke Hardy and the Bedroom Philosopher read from their angsty tomes.

There are new series like You Say You Want a Revolution, Sad/Angry/Happy and Law & Order Week.

And as always there are your favourite series, including Lunchbox/Soapbox, Intelligence Squared debates and a bunch of On the Road events in regional centres.

And that’s just for starters. Take a look at our programme and start filling your calendar with big names and bigger ideas now!

Eric Beecher, the chairman of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, today announced the appointment of Michael Williams as its new Director. Michael replaces Chrissy Sharp, the Centre’s inaugural Director since 2009, who is leaving the role to join her husband in Hong Kong, where he has taken up a new appointment.

Michael, who is currently the Wheeler Centre’s Head of Programming, has been with the Centre since its inception. The announcement emphasised the extraordinary role Chrissy Sharp has played in the creation of the Wheeler Centre.

As non-ratings season plagues TV, it’s a good time to catch up on the Wheeler Centre’s biggest videos of 2010.

5) Just before the Federal election we featured a little known Greens candidate talking about the failure of the two-party system. Adam Bandt proved to be right with the hung parliament results, but also as he became the first Australian Green in the House of Representatives in Julia’s “new paradigm”.

Click to watch Bandt.

4) Prior to the election, Kevin Rudd went from being a popularly elected leader to a party pariah ousted by his deputy. As the electorate tried to make sense of the sudden switch, David Marr’s Quarterly Essay Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd became our fourth most watched video. It seemed that even Marr was shocked by how “the strongest Labor leader for about half a century” could fall from grace.

Click to discover the “real Kevin”.

3) In June, we hosted the Alfred Deakin Lectures, a series of public discussions which in 2010 focussed on the subject that cost Kevin Rudd so much political capital: climate change. The series opened with an inspired address as Professor Tim Flannery called for innovation in a changing climate, which became our third most watched video.

Click to feel inspired.

2) At number 2 is the surprise address at the Deakins from Tim Jackson, author of the groundbreaking report Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet. In essence, Jackson questioned economic growth as the most important driver for our civilisation.

Click to change your mind.

1) If you thought it was all serious this year then at number 1 we have Bret Easton Ellis in conversation with Alan Brough. Easton Ellis inspired rock star mania during his Melbourne visit, and started the night confused by his own popularity and what people wanted from him. But once he got rolling he told us why American Psycho is a great Father’s Day gift, and how he pranked Vanity Fair with Judd Nelson. It even created its own cult figure: the Educator, who made question time more fun for everyone.

Click to get American psychoanalysis.

We’ll be back in January next year with a brand new programme, but until then – happy viewing.

Head of Programming Michael Williams

In 2010 the Wheeler Centre was employed by law firm, Minter Ellison, to present a series of literary lunchtime lectures as part of its staff engagement program. Michael Williams, Head of Programming, reflects on the experience.

It’s a busy life being a lawyer. If you have to break your day down to billable hours, time for yourself is hard to find. A walk in the park, a leisurely cup of coffee, attending literary events at the city’s newest cultural institution; these things take time that your average lawyer just can’t spare. So it made sense to us to take a little bit of the Wheeler Centre to the hard-working team at Minter Ellison over 6 weeks in October and November.

To enhance the idiosyncratic Wheeler Centre flavour, our crack development manager Fiona Menzies offered my services, as head of programming for the Centre, to bring literature to the 23rd floor of the Rialto. Each week we discussed a different literary field or genre and, after an addled overview by yours truly, the lucky Minter Ellison staff got to hear from some of Melbourne publishing’s finest minds.

Week 1 featured Kate Holden reflecting on the pleasures and pitfalls of memoir writing; week 2 it was Nam Le’s turn, sharing his experiences as a short-story writer and discussing the culture surrounding literary awards and prizes. Lisa Gorton eased the boardroom into the world of poetry and Readings managing director Mark Rubbo cast light on the lot of the Australian writer and reminisced about 30 years in the book trade.

By week 5, just as the assembled Minter staff were beginning to question my gravitas, we were joined by my old English professor Peter Steele, who failed to reassure me that I wasn’t the worst student he’d ever had but illuminated us all on the classics. Finally, to ease the assembled back into the world of the law and away from literary flights of fancy, Shane Maloney revealed some home-truths about the life of the crime writer.

The generous and hospitable crowd who turned up each lunchtime left happy at the end of the 6 week run. Sure, their time might have been better spent outside in the sun, but I suspect that this Christmas many of them will be curling up with a book. What better way to spend the 15 minutes their employers give them to mark the season?

Now you know the centre's name, it might be a good time to find out who we are too...

Director Chrissy Sharp

Tony and Maureen Wheeler, who sold the controlling stake in their Lonely Planet Publications to BBC Worldwide last year, made a substantial donation to the new Centre, which will specifically fund expanded programming.

The Wheelers started Lonely Planet Publications, a brand intrinsically linked to books, writing and ideas, on their kitchen table over 30 years ago.

It went on to become one of Australia's most successful publishing companies and one of the most recognisable in the world.

Today Victorian Arts Minister Lynne Kosky officially announced our new name, the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas.

We also announced our first public events, which will happen in February, and launched our Twitter account.

Our Director Chrissy Sharp was joined by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, for whom the centre is named.

Maureen and Tony Wheeler, for whom the Centre is named, with Director Chrissy Sharp at the launch

The Wheelers founded and ran Lonely Planet, one of Australia's most successful publishing houses, for over 30 years until last year, when they sold a majority interest to BBC-Worldwide.

They remain closely involved with the company and are now supporting Melbourne's new Centre for Books Writing and Ideas through their Planet Wheeler Foundation.