THE Sydney Writers' Festival has a hip new look for this year, focusing on storytelling as well as writing.
Said to be the third biggest writers' festival in the world, it will have American actor, writer and chanteuse Molly Ringwald, comedian, writer and activist Ruby Wax and the city's garbage trucks sporting contemporary poetry.
Its new artistic director Jemma Birrell announced the program at a launch in Sydney on Thursday night, saying the May festival will celebrate the simple pleasure of being told a great tale.
"Stories lie at the heart of our lives," Birrell said.
"We need them to understand ourselves, to understand others, to make sense of the world around us. In 2013 we look at the depth and breadth of storytelling from Australia and around the world."
With more than 100 events - half of which are free - and 50 guests from around the world and around 400 Australians, the festival is in its 16th year.
The opening address will be given on May 21 by Daniel Morden, said to be one of Europe's great oral storytellers.
He combines the skills of the troubadour, the actor, the bard, the preacher and the stand-up comedian to tell stories that include gypsy tales from Wales to The Iliad.
Novelist Claire Messud will give the closing address on May 26.
She spent her formative years in Sydney, and will reflect on the importance of imaginary homelands.
Her talk will be followed by Ringwald and her jazz band, in a public ticketed finale. Ringwald will also discuss her debut novel, When It Happens to You, at an event on May 25.
Also on May 25, Ruby Wax will be one of a number of women speaking at the Sydney Town Hall on the subject, I'm a Feminist - Can I Vajazzle? - about what it means for a woman to own her own body.
Birrell said the festival celebrated the strength and creativity of women, with a range of writers and thinkers, collaborating with London Southbank Centre's WOW - Women of the World Festival.
The festival also includes a live storytelling segment, with actors such as Claudia Karvan and Brendan Cowell reading their favourite short stories.
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore told the launch that the city's "cleansing" trucks will be covered with poetry during the festival.
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