What's Happening in Tottenham, VIC…

Footscray will play host to a number of events as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival this month.

The ‘Words in the West’ gathering will feature a number of Australian authors discussing both fiction and non-fiction work.

Among the events will be a talk by two authors who have set their works in Footscray itself. ‘The Mothers’ which is written by Rod Jones, is about a single mother living in Footscray in 1917, while ‘Foreign Soil’ by Sydney-based author Maxine Beneba Clarke, uses modern day Footscray as a setting for her novel which tells the story of several migrants.

Maxine’s book was published last year after previously winning a ‘Victorian Premier’s Award for Unpublished Manuscripts’. Other budding writers attending the festival could ask a printing company to prepare a manuscript to submit to a similar competition or to a publisher.

There will also be a celebration of Vietnamese culture, marking 40 years since the first large-scale Vietnamese migration to Australia. The event will include a retelling of ‘The Boat’ by Nam Le, an immigrant who came to Australia with his family when he was a young child.

Children can also get involved with the festival with a special writing workshop about pen pals in Afghanistan.

The festival takes place at various venues across Footscray on Saturday August 22 and Sunday August 23. Events are free but places need to be booked in advance and full details can be found on the Maribyrnong City Council website.