On Sunday, 16 February 2020, the ANZ Stadium in Sydney’s Olympic Park hosted FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA, a 10-hour concert presented by local and international music icons uniting to raise money for key organisations providing vital assistance to people in fire affected areas. Fittingly, the concert was hosted by writer, actor and comedian CELESTE BARBER (see above), whose enthusiastic supporters raised over $50 million towards bushfire relief through Celeste’s record breaking online appeal. Channel 7 and Foxtel banded together to broadcast the whole glorious sold-out event live on Channel 7 and 7plus, and FOX8 and Foxtel GO on Sunday, 16 February 2020. See the NEWS for more. (Montage by L.J. May/Channel 7)
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Greetings and welcome to Watchwords. This site is about writers, readers, artists, filmmakers and our beautiful City of Brisbane.
WHAT'S ON IN BRISBANE RIGHT NOW?
QUICKLISTS FOR 'WHAT'S ON AUTHORS?', WHICH COVERS AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR AND FILMMAKER EVENTS, AS WELL AS WRITING AND FILMMAKER COMPETITIONS FOR THE CURRENT UPDATE, ARE UNDER THE TAB ON THE MENU AT LEFT - OR CLICK HERE EVENT QUICKLISTS!
DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF GENERAL EVENTS, THERE IS A SECOND PAGE FOR 'WHAT'S ON NOW?' AT EVENT QUICKLISTS! P2.
THIS WEBSITE IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED - PLEASE COME BACK SOON!
WHAT'S THE NEWS? TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENING!
INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL PERFORMING ICONS UNITE FOR FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA!
The ANZ Stadium in Sydney’s Olympic Park played host to international and local music icons in FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA, a 10-hour concert to raise money for key organisations providing vital short, medium and long term ‘Rescue’,
‘Relief’ and ‘Recovery’ and ‘Rehabilitation’ assistance to those in fire affected areas.
Those who couldn’t get to Sydney Olympic
Park in Sydney to join the 75,000 people who packed the stadium, tuned into Channel 7 and Foxtel for a live broadcast of the whole glorious sold-out event. It aired live on Channel 7 and 7plus, and FOX8 and Foxtel GO on Sunday, 16 February 2020 with an audience
at home of over 1 million people. Overseas broadcasts are to follow.
The telecast of the concert was presented by Sunrise host Samantha Armytage and David Koch, along with
Sonia Kruger and others, and the concert itself was hosted by writer, actor and comedian CELESTE BARBER, whose enthusiastic supporters raised over $50 million towards bushfire relief through Celeste’s record breaking online appeal.
By the time the concert ended, nearly $10 million had been raised for people, firies, wildlife in need, and the organisations that care for them. There were many memorable moments –
check out the ABC for five of the best at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-17/fire-fight-australia-queen-tops-five-memorable-moments/11971338.
WHO CAME? - LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
For more about what’s happening with the fundraisers, go to the website
at https://firefightaustralia.com.
THE
AUSTRALIAN DROUGHT, BUSHFIRE, AND FLOODING CRISES – WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Just when we thought we were safe! The good news is
that the rain currently deluging most states has put out many of the bushfires raging across the country, and areas that have been in severe drought for years are now receiving life-giving rain. The bad news is that instead of being burnt out of their homes,
many people are being flooded out. It’s not been a good year for many Australians so far.
Go to the Australian national broadcaster, the
ABC, for comprehensive, well researched, and accurate coverage of the current emergencies. Go to their website for the latest stories at https://www.abc.net.au/news and https://mobile.abc.net.au/news. Not only is the coverage up-to-date, it’s FREE. See NEWS PAGE 2 for how you can help people traumatised by the recent disasters and how the bushfire and wildlife recovery effort is going.
BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL 2020
Want to be in on the joke? Don’t forget to check out what’s happening at the Brisbane
Comedy Festival 2020, which will feature some stellar performances from some of the funniest international and national comedians. The festival is running at the Brisbane Powerhouse
and other venues NOW and will carry on regardless to Sunday, 22 March 2020. You can sign up for lols, updates and special offers at https://brisbanecomedyfestival.com.
IN OUR PHOTO ESSAY THIS MONTH!
Find information and pictures of EVENTS happening around Brisbane and Queensland on EVENT QUICKLISTS!, EVENT QUICKLISTS! P2, and WHERE
IS BRISBANE? See NEWS PAGE 2 for
how you can help people traumatised by the recent disasters and how the bushfire and wildlife recovery effort is going. At the top and bottom of WHAT'S ON AUTHORS? (4 pages) it's VIVA MARDI GRAS! Go to the top and bottom of COMPETITIONS ETC. (4 pages) for a visit to STANTHORPE – a nice drive into the country
with a chance to see some stunning sights. And it's time to contemplate NEW YEAR'S thoughts and pics at the top and bottom of the WHAT'S ON NOW? (5 pages).
NEWS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN WRITERS
GUILD (AWG) – A LOOK BACK AT 2019
‘It's been a big year for the Australian Writers' Guild. Click YEAR IN REVIEW to journey back through our highlights from 2019, including our key campaigns, the 52nd Annual AWGIE Awards, the US launch of Pathways Showcase, and our major competitions, as well as a hint at
what 2020 has in store! ‘The Guild is involved in a number of ongoing campaigns to protect your rights and promote new opportunities.
‘It has been a tough year for the arts, with funding cuts and a lack of clear arts policy affecting our stage and screen communities. The Federal Government's recent departmental restructure, which has
removed the arts from the new department's title, is the latest in a long line of moves that have put pressure on the industry. We look forward to standing side-by-side with you on these issues as we campaign for greater respect for the arts in 2020.
‘We encourage all members to engage with the new Art Matters campaign, led by MEAA, to bolster public support for the indispensable role the arts plays in shaping, reflecting and celebrating Australian society.
‘As we head into 2020, the Guild will keep on advocating for our screen and stage industries via the Make it Australian campaign and in dialogue with the Australia Council, to ensure new and diverse Australian stories, including plays, dramas, documentaries and children's television, are funded, supported and developed.’
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
(Thanks to the AWG for this information)
THE SPICIER SIDE OF CRIME – THE NEW RED HOT CHILLI WRITERS PODCAST WITH VASEEM KHAN
‘What movie would Ann Cleeves turn into a Bollywood musical? What is Ruth Ware's favourite Indian dish? What's the weirdest thing renowned critic Barry Forshaw has ever discovered about a crime fiction
author? These are just some of the burning questions we try to answer on the new Red Hot Chilli Writers podcast.
‘Hosted by me and fellow crime-writer Abir Mukherjee, we use the podcast to build cultural bridges between different communities. The following description for the show captures our style, content and aim:
‘“Six British Asian writers talk books, writing, the creative arts, pop culture, risqué humour and Big Fat Asian weddings. Insightful, funny, packed with big-name interviews, advice, on-air
therapy and lashings of cultural anarchy, we dare to explore the parts other podcasts cannot reach. Also featuring cameos by Abir's Mum. Tune in fortnightly. For non-white and white people. Just to be clear.”
‘So why should you listen? Well, for a start, we have been lucky enough to have some of the biggest names in crime fiction on the show. Ann Cleeves, Clare Mackintosh, Ruth Ware, Dorothy Koomson. As well as grilling
them about books and writing, we also chat about a wide range of intriguing topics such as who killed Edgar Allen Poe? Why are bees vanishing? Who invented the number zero? What does ‘brown Christmas’ look like?
‘With our barrister-turned-crime-author friend Imran Mahmood, we put literary institutions on trial – the likes of James Bond, Rudyard Kipling and William Shakespeare.
‘Based on feedback, listeners seem to love what we're doing. We would be hugely grateful if you would take the time to listen to an episode or two on iTunes, Spotify, Spreaker
or our website https://www.redhotchilliwriters.com... Happy listening!’
AND THAT REALLY IS THE END OF THE NEWS!
See NEWS PAGE 2 for how you can help
people traumatised by the recent disasters and how the bushfire and wildlife recovery effort is going.