By Beattie Tow
How many times have you re-watched the BBC’s iconic version of Pride and Prejudice? If the answer is at least half a dozen you’re sure to be in good company at The Austen Formula event for this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival.
In this crowd we’re all about witty heroines and tortured stares, and the joy of a good love story.
The panel of authors, brought together to discuss Jane Austen’s influence on the genre, is all about classic rom-coms with a fresh twist, taking what we love about those butterflies-in-stomach fluttering romances and creating modern stories of love.
This talented all-Australian line-up includes Sophie Gonzales (The Law of Inertia, Only Mostly Devastated), Angourie and Kate Rice (Stuck Up and Stupid), and Gabrielle Tozer (The Intern, The Unexpected Mess of it All, Can’t Say it Went to Plan) and is hosted by Nathan Luff (The Nerd Herd series, the Family Disasters trilogy).
Due to popular demand, a second session has been added to the line-up on Saturday, May 25, at Carriageworks, Sydney. Both sessions have all but sold out, save for a handful of wheelchair seats still available from $15.
One name in particular may be ringing a bell. Hot off the Mean Girls press tour earlier this year as the lead character, Cady Heron, Angourie Rice joins the panel of authors. Angourie was recently in Good Weekend, the cover story portraying her as both the accomplished actor that she is and a local Fitzroy café-hopper. This young (over)achiever professed that “I want to be good at things straight away”.
It could be said that this has held up with her first foray into writing, with Stuck Up and Stupid receiving generally warm reviews – even being shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards’ Book of the Year for Older Children (ages 13+).
Rice co-authored the novel with her mother, Kate, also an accomplished theatre actor and writer. Stuck Up and Stupid has been described as a light and easy summer read, perfect for that week in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve and for newcomers to the rom-com genre.
With a resume of Mean Girls (2024), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and The Nice Guys (2016) it’s not a surprise these two sessions are all but sold out.
Hollywood aside, this panel offers a fresh perspective on rom-coms, each author bringing their own brand to the genre. Between visual storytelling, queer love, and co-authoring as mother-daughter, there will be a lot to cover at The Austen Formula. Check out this event and more, and book tickets, at the Sydney Writers’ Festival website.
Featured image: The sacred text of rom-coms. Photo: Suzy Hazelwood/CC/Pexels
