The Latest Breaking News from Kathy Shand

‘A moral crisis’: how the Sydney writers’ festival grappled with the Israel-Gaza war

The tragedy in Gaza has loomed over the festival, with chair Robert Watkins promising ‘a plurality of voices’

The Guardian - AU · May 27, 2025

Sydney writers’ festival 2025: tallying authors’ views on Israel-Gaza ‘tokenistic and unfortunate’, organisers say

After the shock resignation of the festival’s chair, the Sydney writers’ festival unveils its starry 2025 program in ‘an incredibly polarised environment’

The Guardian - AU · Mar 12, 2025

Writers and artists are often politically outspoken – but when should we view an opinion or artwork as genuinely harmful?

Within public debate around free speech and its limits there has long been a view that artistic expression deserves especially rigorous protection. This is because it is a medium of indirect communication, open to multiple interpretations. There is a long tradition of art being used to critique society and politics.

The Conversation · Feb 27, 2025