"Story Matters" to every one of us, whether the story be visual, oral or written.

This year the Library staffs and their committees in both Junior and Senior School, have brought together a sensational program of authors and illustrators, script-writers and journalists, commentators and comedians, performers and story-tellers, who will take us to the edge of the precipice and will share their experiences, knowledge, wisdom and ... their stories.

To get things started in senior school, the wildly glamorous author, Tara Moss, will launch the Festival at a College assembly on Friday 15 th July. Tara 's unusual journey from super-model stardom to best-selling crime novelist will no doubt captivate her audience.

Each day of the Senior School festival will kick off with a stimulating keynote speaker. We have authors, Dr Karen Brooks and Scot Gardner (both back by popular demand) Li Cunxin ( Mao's Last Dancer ) and of course Tara Moss , "the most glamorous woman in crime writing".

Students will then move onto a range of interactive sessions with topics as diverse as "Writing with pictures" (with the ever-popular Terry Denton ), "Tell us how to write a joke" (comedian, Damien Callinan ), "Improvise your socks off" (actor, James Pratt ) and "Script writing" ( Randal Flynn ). Valanga Khoza is a spellbinding talent from the black townships of South Africa whose story telling performances will take everyone to the edge of the precipice as he recalls his experience of Freedom and Apartheid. Performances, such as Zeal Theatre's confronting piece Stones , will follow each afternoon.

This year, for the first time, the Festival will provide a strong curriculum focus for VCE students. "The real power of the Media" will be explored in forums with Ken Nguyen ('97) (The Age) Jonathan Harley (ABC Foreign Correspondent), Matthew Ricketson (academic) and Stephen Mayne (crikey.com). Master class electives on texts, design and technology, science and ethics with experts like Professor Kate Burridge will engage, provoke and stimulate.

Alongside the formal program, each lunchtime will come alive with entertainment and activities. There will be author signings, a Dymocks bookshop, a staff vs. student debate, " Battle of the Bands", and poetry readings.

Junior School students, from prep to year 6 will also have a veritable feast of activities throughout the week -they will meet authors like Paul Collins and Sophie Laguna, illustrator Leigh Hobbs, and the Flying Bookworm Theatre Company. There will be displays, competitions, dress-up days, prizes to be won and stories to be told!

"Books, Blokes and Brekky " will once again provide an opportunity for dads, granddads, uncles and big brothers to spend time together telling stories and talking books over a delicious breakfast.

The Festival Dinner is a fitting finale to the week's events. This year the guest speaker is Li Cunxin whose story is told in the best seller "Mao's Last Dancer. This event along with "Books, Blokes and Brekky" provides an opportunity for the parents and the wider community to celebrate the significance of story in all our lives.

The organizing committees and library staffs have had a ball putting together this thought-provoking and rewarding program of non-stop events. As usual, they have pooled their formidable talents to ensure that everyone has a wonderful week of writing, listening, speaking and performing because... Story (Really) Matters!

Ms Suzette Boyd

Head of Library and Information Services
and Co-coordinator of the Scotch College Literature Festival