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Reading the Game: Inspiring Young Readers through Football

2025 PROGRAM

Reading the Game: Inspiring Young Readers through Football

DATE: 

Sunday 30th March

LOCATION:

Manly Golf Club

COST:

$18; Free for young people aged 13-18

Football can capture hearts and minds, making it a natural hook to get young people excited about reading. In this engaging session, meet six talented authors who use the beautiful game to tell stories of ambition, identity, resilience, and self-discovery.

David Weiner (The Goals That Changed Australia) takes readers through iconic moments in Australian football, from John Aloisi’s unforgettable World Cup penalty to Cortnee Vine’s heroics in 2023. Amy Schembri (Making It…Or Not) explores the real-life journeys of young footballers navigating their path from junior leagues to professional careers.

On the fiction side, Liz Deep-Jones (Lucy Zeezou), P.J. Laverty (RIPPA!), Texi Smith (Abebi), and Karen Viggers (Sidelines) delve into the emotional highs and lows of young characters whose lives are shaped by football. Together, they explore how sport-themed stories provide a powerful lens for addressing issues like family, cultural identity, perseverance, and personal growth.

Whether you’re a young dreamer, an educator, or a parent, this session will inspire you to see how football stories can kickstart a lifelong love of reading.

This session is suitable and free for young people aged 13-18.

Host: Niav Owens

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

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