Our World Discover the secrets of travel writing... and more

It’s a sentence that a travel writer hears often: “You must have the best job in the world.” 

And now you can ask everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the ins and outs of the role — from writing techniques to favourite destinations — at a special panel discussion at Perth Festival’s Writers Week in February.

Travel journalists Niall McIlroy and Grace Millimaci will join Travel Editor Stephen Scourfield and myself for the The Best Job in the World session, moderated by Patrick Cornish, to share our stories and answer your questions.

So if you’ve ever wanted to know how we go about writing the stories that appear in The West Australian newspaper’s Travel pages, which essentials we don’t leave home without or how we avoid getting sick on the road, this is your chance to ask.

The panel is one of the events the Travel team will be involved with at Writers Week, which runs from February 18-24. 

Stephen will pair up with his frequent collaborator, percussionist Steve Richter, to launch his very personal new book, Elsewhere, with a world premiere performance of a music-and-spoken-word piece of the same name. 

And he’ll come together with musician and luthier Scott Wise for a words-and-music performance called There Are Strings Attached, which traces the origins of the various parts of the stringed instruments that Scott makes and plays, travelling from Alaska to India and home to Australia. 

Meanwhile, Grace and I will join Lead Travel Photographer Mogens Johansen to share our skills with budding photographers at Picture This Place, a photo workshop for kids as part of Family Day Sunday — all they’ll need to take part is a smartphone. 

And there will be plenty more for literary-minded travellers to enjoy at Writers Week, which will host a line-up of local, Australian and international writers. For example, you can join bestselling authors Balli Kaur Jaswal, Monica McInerney and Liz Byrski for a high tea titled The World is Their Book, where they’ll discuss the inspirations for their novels and how travel can broaden the writing mind. 

Alternatively, hear about the life of a writer in China from visiting poet and essayist Zheng Xiaoqiong, or journey back in time to 19th century San Francisco with WA crime fiction writer David Whish- Wilson as he discusses notorious criminal gang the Sydney Coves.

Or take a quick trip east for the Sydneysiders session, when Australian authors Markus Zusak, Kristina Olsson, Gail Jones and Anthony Uhlmann tell Mikey Robins what they love and hate about Australia’s biggest city.

To book these and other early release sessions at Writers Week, go to perthfestival.com.au/experience/writers-week 

(Top image: Percussionist Steve Richter. Picture: Maree Laffan)