Festival of Dangerous Ideas announces Roxane Gay in first program reveal
In an early preview of its forthcoming program, Sydney’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) has announced renowned writer and social commentator Roxane Gay as the first guest in its 2024 line-up. Running 24-25 August at Carriageworks, the original disruptive ideas festival will host the New York Times-bestselling author live and in person for her only Sydney appearance. Drawing from her experience as an author and cultural critic who consistently challenges predictable opinions, Roxane will deliver a keynote address at FODI exploring what it takes to be a serial dissenter in the age of tribal warfare. Across her work, Gay has continued to urge audiences to embrace the danger and discomfort of dissent. But in an age of polarized opinion and dwindling nuance, this has come at a personal and professional price. In How to Have Dangerous Ideas, the acclaimed author and opinion writer will impart how she combats the tide of viral criticism to fight for complex and difficult ideas.
Roxane will also join some of her fellow FODI guests – with the full program to be launched next week – in panel appearances over the course of the festival weekend. FODI Director Danielle Harvey is looking forward to hosting Roxane in August: “Roxane Gay is one of the world’s most brilliant social commentators. Ten years on since her book Bad Feminist caught the world’s attention, she is still unafraid to call out privilege, hypocrisy, and entrenched social injustice. But today, speaking up can come at a huge cost. I can’t think of anyone else more credentialed than Roxane to talk to FODI audiences about the importance of rocking the boat and facing criticism head on.” Gay’s most recent book, Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business, brings together some of her best nonfiction writing from the past decade in a thought-provoking anthology covering culture, politics, and everything in between. Roxane’s visit to Australia this August also coincides with the 10th anniversary of the publication of her globally bestselling essay collection, Bad Feminist. While Roxane is appearing at the festival in person for the first time, she is no stranger to FODI having appeared on the FODI: The In-Between podcast in 2022. This year’s FODI – the event’s twelfth edition – explores a theme of Sanctuary with a program that seeks to provide a haven for exploration and a harbour for the curious. The weekend-long program is an opportunity to hear from some of the world’s brightest experts, commentators, artists and thought leaders with guests taking part live and in person. The full FODI 2024 program will be announced on Tuesday 25 June with pre-sale tickets av
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