It is a bit rich to review something when you only went to two sessions on one day; but I do have a few observations to make about the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

For one thing, for all the talk about the death of books… This has been an incredibly successful event. People were queuing in their hundreds for specific talks. There were 73 events on the day I chose, across multiple sites and venues, and even in regional settings: Wollongong and the Blue Mountains.

They ranged from workshops for 10 people to large lectures for 350+.

Although middle class middle-aged women seemed to be the predominant audience members, there was a range of ages, including busloads of school children. The attraction to Gen X and Y is signalled by the robust Twitter feed featured on the website.

Why are all these people attracted to an arts festival? Yes, a proportion of the events are free… However, I believe there is more to it than that. People love stories, and especially stories about people; and they are entranced with the power of words: to engage and illustrate and promote ideas.

The audience does not just consist of frustrated would-be authors, it is composed of people who want to learn and grow, to be entertained by people who can weave word magic.

The genres outlined at the event include: art, politics, children’s writing, crime, current affairs, food writing, history, new media, poetry, travel writing and biography.

There was also a genre category for spirituality/religion, which included Hugh Mackay talking about what makes us tick, and several sessions on the Muslim perspective. Very curiously, AC Grayling’s session was in this genre. Ironic, really, considering he is so anti-religion. His session was about his new book called The Good Book. He is a British philosopher who has created a secular Bible distilling the wisdom of the great non-religious traditions as a guide for life. As the promotional blurb says “Who needs the Bible of religion when you can have ‘The Good Book’?”

It appears that the Sydney Writer’s festival features every group except: Christian writers and commentators.

Yet, there is hope. As long as there is interest in the written word, and stories, then Christians will have the opportunity to promote that we are the people of the Book, who look to the Word (Jesus) who not only spoke creation into being, but also reconciliation with God, with their people and within ourselves.

However, there is an ongoing challenge to find creative ways of expressing the Christian story, and discovering opportunities for it to engage with the stories of every woman and every man.

Some clues came from the session I spent with Sierra Leone novelist Aminatta Forna:

• “As a writer I have to find a way to make people care.”
• “People most enjoy reading about other people.”
• “Write about what you want to understand.”