Back in March NSW Writers’ Centre was delighted to have 14-year-old high school student Grace Othman attend the Creative Non-Fiction Festival. We asked Grace to write about her experience of the day.

The Creative Non-Fiction festival was the place to be on the 25th of March. It was a wonderful day for all readers, writers and anybody who finds an interest in literature.

This was a very interesting day to attend to meet authors and other people who love literature. It was captivating to hear about all different authors and their lives, learning about the dramatic changes that being a nonfiction writers had on them. It was fun to learn about other writing styles and genres as I do only read young adult and fantasy. Learning about non-fiction was interesting and intriguing and this festival left me definitely wanting to know more about non-fiction.

To meet such successful and experienced authors is one of the most amazing experiences that I will probably ever have. These authors are successful people who were very inspiring to listen to. They authors spoke to us about their lives and some of the hardships they have had to face being nonfiction authors.

At the NSW Writers’ Centre Creative Non-Fiction Festival we had the chance to buy books the authors had published and get the advantage of getting them signed. The festival was not only fun but very educational. All the people that attended got to learn about different writing styles and genres and the difference between them. There was also a discussion about the difference between writing fiction and non-fiction. We also had the chance to listen to some of the authors’ stories about the possibilities of being sued or sent to court because of simple errors or overuse of personal information in non-fiction books.

Overall this was a very educational and intriguing day to attend and be a part of. It would be amazing for more teenagers and students to attend theses events. It is a very good and interesting event for any person who is interested in any sort of literature. I would truly recommend this event to anybody.

Grace Othman is a 14-year-old high school student who is currently in year 8. From a young age she has taken a special liking in reading and literature.