In Australian Gospel: A Family Saga, acclaimed author Lech Blaine explores the fraught intersections of faith, family, and identity in a gripping memoir. On one side, Michael and Mary Shelley are devout fundamentalist Christians who reject what they see as the indulgences of Australian culture—sports, swearing, and alcohol. On the other, Lenore and Tom Blaine are publicans with a raucous, rugby leagueobsessed household, raising both their biological and foster kids, including Lech himself. This sensational tale, woven with Blaine’s signature wit and keen insight, chronicles these two families’ profound tensions and unexpected connections. It is a story of love, loyalty, and the clash of worldviews, offering an unflinching look at the ties that bind and the beliefs that divide.
Host: Steve Cannane

Join us at Rowville Library for an opportunity to meet Daizy Maan, one of the voices and contributors of Growing Up Indian in Australia. This powerful anthology offers a deep exploration of identity and community, featuring vibrant stories of cultural adaptation and resilience. Don’t miss this chance to discover the rich and diverse experiences of the Australian-Indian community.

Daizy Maan is a founder, advocate and speaker. Her work focuses on empowering diverse women. She is the founder of Australian South Asian Centre - an organisation dedicated to empowering South Asian women founders, creatives and professionals. She recently produced and performed in Brown Women Comedy at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. Her work has featured in SBS World News, ABC & The Age. She is proudly Punjabi-Australian and lives in Melbourne.

Almost 18 months after The Voice referendum, it is regarded as one of the key political failures of the Prime Minister and his government. We reflect on the emotional and cultural impact of this pivotal event and explore the heartbreak, resilience, and ongoing journey of Australians deeply affected by its rejection through Broken Heart by lawyer and adviser on Indigenous Constitutional recognition, Shireen Morris, and through two novels that explore the same themes: The Desert Knows Her Name by Lia Hills and The Leaves by Jacqueline Rule.
Host: Isabella Higgins 

The Indian diaspora in Australia is one of the country’s fastest-growing and most vibrant and diverse cultural groups. According to recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data, more than 700,000 Australians identify as having Indian ancestry, many of whom are first-generation migrants. Growing Up Indian in Australia, compiled by Aarti Betigeri, is a heartfelt, reflective account of navigating two worlds: the rich traditions of Indian heritage and contemporary Australian life. Betigeri and her contributors, including Manly local Sharon Verghis, capture the joys, struggles, and humour of straddling two worlds, also captured by the tales of Deep Gujral (Manjits and the Tandoor of Secrets) through his experience as a Sikh child at one of Sydney’s most conservative private boys’ schools to an event and restaurant enterprise catering largely, but not exclusively, to the Australian Indian community.
Host: Summer Land

Two deeply personal journeys that explore episodic mental health breakdowns, the path to recovery, and achieving a new equilibrium. Psychologist Ariane Beeston (Because I’m Not Myself, You See) provides an intimate look at her struggles with post-partum depression and hallucinations. Craig Semple (Getting Back Up Again) shares his experience after dealing with post-traumatic stress and severe depression following 25 years as a detective. Together, their memoirs illuminate what is needed to confront unexpected and unforeseen challenges and the courage to rebuild a fulfilling life.
Host: Tracey Kirkland

A thought-provoking discussion that unpacks how pivotal political events—like the rise of autocrats and the shifting power in Eurasia—are transforming geopolitical relationships and the world order as we know it. Our expert panel will delve into the profound implications of these shifts and their drivers. Drawing on their recent books and extensive political and international experience, our panellists will offer unique insights to help make sense of a rapidly changing world.
Panel: Damian Collins, Dennis Glover, Geoff Raby,
Don Watson
Host: Geraldine Doogue

Join us for a discussion with Hamish McDonald about his book Melanesia: Travels in Black Oceania.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An immersive journey through the tumultuous past and fascinating present of Australia's nearest neighbours
Stretching from Fiji in the east to New Guinea in the west, Melanesia is astonishingly diverse. Its islands are home to some 1200 language groups, many of them still isolated from the outside world. In Australia, this complex region tends to make the news only in times of crisis: military coups in Fiji, Kanak unrest in New Caledonia, rioting in Solomon Islands. Melanesia offers readers a deeper insight into the people and places behind these headlines, combining travelogue, history and astute political analysis.

By land and sea, Hamish McDonald travels from one end of Melanesia to the other. Speaking with locals from all walks of life, he uncovers the histories, values, aspirations and tensions that have shaped their communities. He examines the impact of outsiders: the Indians recruited to work in Fiji; the white "blackbirders" who kidnapped Islanders for the Australian cane fields; the Americans during World War II; the Indonesians in New Guinea. And he considers the big changes unfolding today, as shifting demographics and the growing influence of China produce a new balance of power across the region.

Vividly written, Melanesia is essential reading for anyone looking to understand this fascinating part of the world and its growing international significance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hamish McDonald is an award-winning Australian journalist. He has been correspondent and foreign editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and the Far Eastern Economic Review, reporting from the Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, New Delhi and Beijing as well as around Australia. His latest book is Melanesia: Travels in Black Oceania.

Join us to hear Kate Grenville in conversation as she discusses her new book Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place.

‘What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?’

Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River. More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”.

What does it really mean to ‘come of age’? Is the journey to adulthood more perilous depending on culture and circumstance? Join Dylin Hardcastle and Molly Schmidt in conversation with Benjamin Law as they tackle the big topics of identity, change, and growing up.

For decades, Newcastle was the centre of an extensive paedophile network run by members of the Anglican church – and protected by parishioners and community members who looked the other way. Anne Manne’s Crimes of the Cross is a searing exposé of institutional child abuse and a tribute to the survivors who refused to be silenced. Hosted by Jackie Dent.

Read the Room: Live Readings
Pull up a beanbag or a comfy chair and engage in the meditative enjoyment of listening to a writer read from their work.

2.00pm Jo Peck
2.20pm Naima Brown
2.40pm David Owen Kelly
3.00pm Liam Pieper
3.20pm Debra Oswald
3.40pm Khin Myint

Sponsored by Pacific Sleep.

Now, more than ever before, we seem more willing to acknowledge difficult histories in our family trees. At the same time, historians are increasingly writing about colonial violence and challenging long-held myths. What impact is this having on how we see Australia’s past, as well as our own? At the Newcastle Writers Festival, John Maynard, Mark Dunn, Stephen Gapps, and Kate Grenville speak with Julie McIntyre about their experiences of encountering dark moments in their research and how they’ve dealt with them in their work.

Supported by the History Council of NSW.

Words & Music
‘Music is the shorthand of emotion.’ – Leo Tolstoy

This special event returns for its third year and celebrates music, literature and the nature of inspiration. Drawing on the work of influential writers, an eclectic lineup of songwriters and musicians will transform words from the page to the stage.

Featuring ChaiChester, William Crighton, Chain Daisy, Tim McPhee, Khin Myint, Melody Pool, Ziggy Ramo, Chelsea Reed and Dave Wells and Symphony Rain Riley. Curated and hosted by Nick Milligan.

This event will be live streamed. Details for the Zoom event will be emailed to you after 8.00am AEST on the day of the event. If you have not received this information prior to the event please check your spam folder.

Supported by Practical Environmental Solutions

In his Quarterly Essay Bad Cop, which explored Peter Dutton’s rise to power, Lech Blaine pinpointed the opposition leader’s raison d’être: ‘Make Australia afraid again’. As a BBC foreign correspondent, Nick Bryant was posted in Washington, South Asia, Australia, and New York to cover the Trump years. Ahead of the federal election, they share their observations of the interplay of power and politics in Canberra as well as their predictions about where we’re headed. Hosted by Virginia Trioli.

Better Off Said: Eulogies for the Living and Dead is a spoken-word salon celebrating words, stories and human experiences. Is there someone still out there in the world waiting to hear an important message, or a time in history you wish you’d used your voice? Now is the opportunity to leave no verbal stone unturned. To find closure. To sing truth from the rooftops before it’s too late.

Festival guests Robbie Arnott, Nikki Gemmell, Sulari Gentill, and Anita Heiss will speak to the phrase “The words I wish I’d said” and deliver a living eulogy to someone or something still of this earth, to celebrate the best in our lives while we’re here to hear it. David Marr is our special guest eulogist to round out the evening.

Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker.

Produced by Marieke Hardy.

Kate Grenville starts each book with a question. The latest one she asked is, ‘What does it mean to be on land taken from other people?’ The result is Unsettled – a book that grapples with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, ‘on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation’. Kate speaks with David Marr at the Newcastle Writers Festival about the pilgrimage of the past, uncovering family stories, and confronting difficult truths.

This event will be live streamed. Details for the Zoom event will be emailed to you after 8.00am AEST on the day of the event. If you have not received this information prior to the event please check your spam folder.

Family Sagas
Lech Blaine and Khin Myint grew up on opposite sides of Australia in very different families, but they have written compelling memoirs brimming with understated humour, honesty, and sharp-eyed observations. Join them for a conversation about fractured families, identity, and healing childhood trauma. Hosted by Drew Ambrose.

In this returning series of conversations, we invite authors to share how they interrogate tough topics in their writing lives. Ariane Beeston and Oceane Campbell discuss the secrets and stigma around maternal mental health, perfectionism, and society’s expectations. Hosted by Katharine Gillett.

What does it mean to be on land taken from others?

‘What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?’

Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River.

More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”.

So she decides to go on a kind of pilgrimage, back through the places her family stories happened, and put the stories and the First People back into the same frame, on the same country, to try to think about those questions. This gripping book is the result of that journey.

Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River.

More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”.

So she decides to go on a kind of pilgrimage, back through the places her family stories happened, and put the stories and the First People back into the same frame, on the same country, to try to think about those questions. This gripping book is the result of that journey.

Kate Grenville will be in conversation with Professor Larissa Behrendt AO.

Hear from one of Australia’s leading political analysts as he unpacks how Australians are thinking, feeling and voting, now and into the future. Using demographic and social research data and drawing from his latest Quarterly Essay, Minority Report, George Megalogenis explores shifting electoral dynamics and the possibilities offered by minority government to re-engage and reinvigorate Australia’s democracy. This session will be moderated by The Age columnist and former political advisor, Sean Kelly.

Kate Grenville will be in conversation with Ann McGrath on her new book Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place for ANU's Meet The Author event.

What does it mean to be on land taken from others? ‘What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?’

Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River.

More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”.

So she decides to go on a kind of pilgrimage, back through the places her family stories happened, and put the stories and the First People back into the same frame, on the same country, to try to think about those questions. This gripping book is the result of that journey.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia's most celebrated writers. Kate will be in conversation with multiple award-winning writer, Jock Serong.

‘What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?’

Kate Grenville is no stranger to the past. Her success and fame as a writer exploded when she published The Secret River in 2005, a bestseller based on the story of her convict ancestor, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River.

More than two decades on, and following the defeat of the Voice referendum, Grenville is still grappling with what it means to descend from people who were, as she puts it, “on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation”.

So she decides to go on a kind of pilgrimage, back through the places her family stories happened, and put the stories and the First People back into the same frame, on the same country, to try to think about those questions.

This gripping book is the result of that journey.

Tickets $20 or $10 for Geelong Regional Library Corporation Members.

If you need any assistance in order to participate in this event, please contact [email protected] at least two weeks prior to the event date.

Book sales and author signings will be offered at this event.

Does history repeat? And if so, should we be nervous? Panel discussion with Judith Brett, Dennis Glover and Don Watson moderated by Tom Wright.

Does history repeat? And if so, should we be nervous? A panel discussion with Judith Brett, Dennis Glover and Don Watson moderated by Tom Wright

Meet my family — memoir writers discuss how their own tribe’s story became a good book. A panel discussion with Christabel Blackman, Lech Blaine and Samah Sabawi moderated by Jane Hone.

Migration Stories In The Round
How human journeys impact storytelling with Jumaana Abdu, Aarti Betigeri (Moderator), Melanie Cheng and Samah Sabawi.

It’s about the optics, stupid. Unpacking the 2025 election with George Megalogenis, Rick Morton and Julianne Schultz, moderated by Sally Warhaft.

I wrote a bestseller — and then what? A panel discussion with Lech Blaine, Nikki Gemmell and JP Pomare moderated by Hannie Rayson.

Words & Music Act 1 — The voice in music and how choirs enhance composition and musicianship with Andrew Ford, Richard Piper, Nardi Simpson and Kim Williams.

The healing power of nature with Joelle Gergis, Inga Simpson, Caroline Parker and Paulette Whitney.

Writing about me — how hard was that, anyway? A panel discussion with Lech Blaine, Kim Carr and Ailsa Piper moderated by Hannie Rayson.

Kate Grenville in conversation with Rosemarie Milsom.

Kate Grenville in conversation with Rosemarie Milsom.

If Rupert dies, what next? The future of News Ltd and the great dynasty crisis with Eric Beecher, Erik Jensen and Paddy Manning moderated by Madeleine Grummet.

If Rupert dies, what next? The future of News Ltd and the great dynasty crisis with Eric Beecher, Erik Jensen, Paddy Manning and Madeleine Grummet.

The history of music in 256 pages with Andrew Ford, in conversation with Michael Shmith. 

Outside the box — why our writers like to experiment and play with form with Michelle de Kretser, Dennis Glover and Jock Serong, moderated by Fiona Gruber.

David Marr in conversation with Ramona Koval. 

From podcast to platform — exploring new ways to tell stories today with Julia Baird, Shaun Grant, Paddy Manning and Christian White moderated by Libbi Gorr.

Yeah, nah, just joking, mate. Are Australians as eloquent and hilarious as we think? A panel discussion with Andrew Knight, Don Watson and Libbi Gorr discuss.

Is Australia a racist country? A panel discussion with Aarti Betigeri, Julianne Schultz, Erik Jensen, and Thomas Mayo moderated by Rana Hussain.

Sorrento Writers Festival 2025

Is Australia a Racist Country? Panel Discussion with Aarti Betigeri, Julianne Schultz, Erik Jensen and Thomas Mayo with Rana Hussain.

Our political parties — where to from here? A panel discussion with Frank Bongiorno, Kim Carr and Paul Kelly moderated by Jo Dyer.

Reimagining Australia — how to make this next quarter of the 21st Century really matter with Inala Cooper, Joëlle Gergis, Sean Kelly and Emma Shortis moderated by Tom Wright.

Who’s better Bach or Mozart — and other ridiculous musical provocations with Andrew Ford, Barry Jones and Michael Cathcart.

Sorrento Writers Festival

The DEI Dilemma — How corporate Australia might handle the backlash with Mim Bartlett, Catherine Fox, and Alan Kohler.

The Great Australian Nightmare — Housing in crisis with Kevin Bell, Alan Kohler, Russel Howcroft and Libbi Gorr.

Telling the truth about Australia’s history with Santilla Chingaipe, Thomas Mayo and Don Watson moderated by Inala Cooper.

Elon, AI, no boundaries, no truth. Where to for the media? A panel discussion with Eric Beecher, Paddy Manning and Josh Taylor moderated by Amanda Smith.

Mother nature – and why she needs our help with Joëlle Gergis, Simon Holmes à Court and Harry Youngman moderated by Madeleine Grummet.

Mother nature – and why she needs our help with Joëlle Gergis, Simon Holmes à Court and Harry Youngman moderated by Madeleine Grummet.

Writers on nonfiction writing with Santilla Chingaipe, Erik Jensen and Rick Morton moderated by Katrina Strickland.

Sorrento Writers Festival

My Life and India — a conversation about the nation, its people and its great diaspora with Aarti Betigeri, Gideon Haigh and Sally Warhaft.

Australian Writing, From Where I Sit with Robert Dessaix and Kate Grenville moderated by Jason Steger.

Join us for the launch of Josephine Rowe's beautiful and highly-anticipated new novel, Little World. Josephine will be speaking with The Paperback's Anna MacDonald.

Josephine Rowe is the author of three story collections and two novels, including A Loving, Faithful Animal, longlisted for the 2017 Miles Franklin Award and selected as a New York Times Editors' Choice. She has twice been named a Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist, and Here Until August was shortlisted for the 2020 Stella Prize. She currently lives in coastal Victoria.

A mesmerising tale from one of Australia’s literary stars

‘He has no notion of how to care for a saint. Even a small one. Does not even believe … Still. Catholic or not. You don’t turn away a saint.’

In the north-western corner of 1950s Australia, a saint arrives at the home of a retired engineer, who unwittingly becomes her custodian. A girl of indeterminate age, her body remains as it was when she died, incorruptible. And though no one knows it, she is conscious, reflecting on past and present.

Little World stretches across continents and eras – from the Canal Zone in Panama and the island of Nauru all the way to the onset of Covid in contemporary Victoria. Beautiful, rich and strange, it weaves a tale of interconnected fates as characters grapple with the unknowable, and in this way come face to face with their deepest needs.

Join award-winning author Kate Grenville as she discusses Unsettled, a deeply personal memoir of family legacies, truth-telling and reckoning with what it means to be on land that was taken from other people.

Intertwining her family’s history with the broader story of First Nations peoples’ dispossession and displacement, Grenville considers what it means to be descended from people who were ‘on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was colonisation’.

She speaks about historical facts and historical fictions, writing challenging histories and confronting the ghosts of the past, in conversation with Daniel James. 

Top 100 Books with ABC Radio National

Join some of the Festival’s most esteemed guests as they discuss the greatest contemporary books of the 21st century so far, inspired by ABC Radio National’s forthcoming Top 100 Books Countdown.

Kaliane Bradley (The Ministry of Time), Kate Grenville (Unsettled) and Colum McCann (Twist) settle in to make a case for their favourite books – fiction, nonfiction, Australian and international. Plus, submit your own favourites live on the day and vote for which reads you think should make the cut! Come together with fellow book nerds to discuss, debate and dissect which books are worthy of making the Top 100.

Hosted by ABC Radio National’s Sarah L'Estrange. 

In partnership with ABC Radio National

Unsettling Australian Stories

Award-winning authors Kate Grenville and Anita Heiss take a personal, political and cultural look at writing frontier histories and unsettling colonial narratives.

Grenville’s new work of non-fiction, Unsettled, is a deeply personal reckoning with what it means to be on land that was taken from other people, intertwining her family’s history with larger forces of colonialism and dispossession. Heiss’s recent novels, including Dirrayawadha and Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray, offer powerful and engrossing stories of Australia's colonial past told through Wiradyuri eyes.

Together, these two extraordinary authors consider the intersections of history and fiction, how fiction can illuminate silences in the archives, and the challenges and necessity of truth-telling. With ABC Radio National’s Kate Evans.

Celebrated authors Emily Maguire and Josephine Rowe come together to discuss their new novels of faith, fate and the nature of belief.

Inspired by the legend of Pope Joan, Maguire’s Rapture is the story of a young woman who defies gendered expectations and enters the monastic life by disguising herself as a man. Rowe’s Little World opens with the body of a child saint stranded in the Australian bush, and goes on to weave a mesmerising story of the lives she touches across time and continents.

Together, they discuss the mundane, the miraculous and writing the ineffable, with Jaclyn Crupi.

Join us for a spoken-word salon celebrating words, stories and human experiences. Kaliane Bradley, Gideon Haigh, Marcia Langton, Samah Sabawi and Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts will reflect on ‘The Words I Wish I’d Said,’ and philosopher A. C. Grayling will deliver a Living Eulogy, celebrating life while we’re still here to hear it.

The afternoon will close with a very special musical performance by Eliza Hull.

Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker and produced by Marieke Hardy.

A memoir about saying the unsayable with food, how our eating lives can bring us together and – sometimes – keep us apart.

Acclaimed journalist, editor and memoirist Candice Chung reflects on her ideas of love and solitude and the way food can both unite and divide us through personal stories in her new book Chinese Parents Don’t Say I Love You.

Join Candice in an intimate conversation with the award-winning author Alice Pung as they delve into identity, longing and food as a language of love.

Artificial intelligence’s collision with human creativity is one of the most important stories of our time.

With the accelerating impact of AI, so much of what we understand about being human is being re-written.

Acclaimed writer Jeanette Winterson (12 Bytes: How artificial intelligence will change the way we live and love) sees AI changing our lives in unprecedented ways. Academic and researcher Toby Walsh (The Shortest History of AI) predicts the place AI will have in our futures.

Hear Jeanette and Toby bring the perspectives of an artist and a scientist together in this important contemporary conversation. With an introduction from Verity Firth.

An expert in Chinese politics looks back at China under Mao Zedong and birth of the Cultural Revolution.

With more than 40 years experience studying Chinese language, politics and culture, author and translator Linda Jaivin brings it all to work into her new book Bombard the Headquarters!. It’s a holistic profile of the Cultural Revolution that is both deftly precise and brilliantly concise.  

Join Linda in this fascinating talk about one of the world’s most significant and lethal sociopolitical movements.

“What does it mean to be on land that was taken from other people? Now that we know how the taking was done, what do we do with that knowledge?”  

After the success of her two best known works, The Secret River, adapted for stage and television, and Restless Dolly Maunder, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Festival favourite Kate Grenville is still grappling with what it means to be a descendant of colonisation in Australia.

Journey through time and place with Kate as she reframes her family’s history in Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place, placing First People in the same picture. With Beejay Silcox.

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance.

As one of the world’s leading researchers in artificial intelligence, Toby Walsh has been awarded the Humbolt Research Award and elected as a fellow of the Association for the Advancement of AI. In The Shortest History of AI, Toby outlines the six key ideas for understanding artificial intelligence today.

Hear Toby trace the origins of artificial intelligence in science and culture and predict where the technology is heading in the future.

Anne Summers’s Damned Whores and God’s Police was first published 50 years ago – a time when sexual harassment, domestic violence and date rape were unnamed and often ignored experiences for women in Australia.

It would be another nine years before the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

Join Anne as the bestselling and multi-award-winning writer and journalist – also an Officer of the Order of Australia and inductee to the Australian Media Hall of Fame – reflects on her groundbreaking book, what she has done since and what she is doing now with host Alecia Simmonds.

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance.

In the fascinating account of 1966 China in Bombard the Headquarters!: The Cultural Revolution in China, Linda Jaivin focuses on the start of the Cultural Revolution and the ideological quarrels and personalities that underpinned it. Because the Cultural Revolution is still heavily censored in the People’s Republic, many remain in the dark, leaving these pivotal events unexplained.

Hear about the lead-up to this key historic moment from an expert in Chinese politics.

Whether you seek escape, challenge, inspiration or delight, you’ll find your next favourite book at this special panel event as some of the Festival’s most exciting novelists introduce their acclaimed new releases.

Join Robbie Arnott, Lech Blaine, Sarah Firth and Yumna Kassab in conversation with Michael Williams, as they share insight into their rich and rewarding stories.

The steady growth of the billionaire class in the 21st century and members’ absurd wealth represent the pinnacle of economic inequity.  

Dean of the UTS Business School Carl Rhodes unpacks four myths about billionaires as forces for good to argue for international economic justice in his new book, Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire.

He is joined in conversation with journalist and political biographer Paddy Manning, who has written on the likes of Malcolm Turnbull and Lachlan Murdoch. Listen as they critique popular narratives around the ultra-wealthy that keep them powerful and dangerous. 

The scintillating chronicler of human weakness, Oscar Wilde, once said, “True friends stab you in the front”.

In this popular event, writer and presenter Annabel Crabb and writer David Marr lead opposing teams in a rollicking debate on the legitimacy of this aphorism about friends who betray each other.

Featuring debaters Matilda Boseley, Rhys Nicholson, Justine Rogers and Jennifer Wong, and adjudicated by Yumi Stynes, this debate is sure to get provocative, pithy and personal.    

Editor in Chief of Schwartz Media Erik Jensen discuss today's headlines with Jess Hill and Malcolm Knox.

For Lech Blaine’s family, their biggest worries were the footy scores and the chance that Lech’s foster siblings’ Christian extremist parents would find and kidnap them.

The Blaines and the Shelleys couldn’t have been more different parents and their fierce battles for custody – in the courts, the foster system and the front yard – created enough fear and tension to last many lifetimes. In Australian Gospel: A Family Saga, a stranger-than-fiction tale of love and loss in country Queensland, Lech spins an epic that questions what makes a family.

Hear Lech unpack the makings of memory and inheritance, in conversation with Ashley Hay.

Making big stories bite-sized.

Join history writers Andrew Ford and Andrew Leigh as they discuss how to trim complex histories of music and economics while still keeping the essence of truth.

As politicians and analysts attempt to manoeuvre with the global superpower, these writers reflect on how the 20th century got the nation where it is today.

Bombard the Headquarters!: The Cultural Revolution in China is Linda Jaivin’s account of the ideological quarrels and personalities that underpinned the violent beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. Louisa Lim’s Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong and Edward Wong’s At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China mix national history with personal archives to paint detailed portraits of Hong Kong and China, respectively.

Join Linda, Louisa and Edward in conversation with Peter Hartcher as they discuss the crucial history that made China what it is today.

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance.

Economics professor at UNSW Sydney Richard Holden (Money in the Twenty First Century) and Parliamentarian Andrew Leigh (Battlers & Billionaires and The Shortest History of Economics) unpack economics as a global force that impacts wars, technological innovation and social change.

In our contemporary world, what are the causes and consequences of economic inequality? And can economics be used as a tool for justice for the oppressed?

The promises of global peace and prosperity that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union have failed to come to fruition in the way that many in the West had imagined.

Now, President Donald Trump is swinging a wrecking ball at the alliances, values and institutions that underpin Western power, while countries like Russia, China, Iran, India and Brazil forge powerful new partnerships.

If the sun is really setting on the West, what does that mean for countries like Australia? Is it a moment of opportunity or something else? Join hosts Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald for this Global Roaming live event, as they discuss who the winners and losers will be in this fast-changing world with guests Philippe Sands, Bec Strating and Edward Wong.

Join Founding Editor of The Saturday Paper and Editor in Chief of Schwartz Media Erik Jensen to discuss the latest news with Louisa Lim and Kate McClymont.

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance.

Journalist and political commentator George Megalogenis examines the changing reality of Australian politics in his most recent Quarterly Essay: Minority Report: The New Shape of Australian Politics. With politics as usual not enough for many Australians, minority governments are a real possibility in our future. How did we get here and will this change damage our democracy or revitalise it?

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance.

What will it take to stop gendered violence?

Expanding on her Quarterly Essay 97, Losing It: Can We Stop Violence Against Women and Children?, investigative journalist and Stella Prize winner Jess Hill challenges Australian governments’ promise to end gendered violence in a single generation. As recently as last year, Australians took to the streets again to protest the lack of funding, innovation and resources needed to achieve the goal of ending gendered and family violence.

Hear Jess analyse what’s working in our current system and what’s not and map out what we can do to finally change things.

“To be Indian growing up in Australia is to tread the narrow line between here and there, to constantly code-switch and navigate between filling the needs and aspirations of your family, your community – and yourself.”   

Growing Up Indian in Australia brings together a diverse diaspora of storytellers whose experiences straddle the boundaries of Indian and Australian identities and who write of building something new in the middle.

In this panel discussion, contributors to the anthology, including established and emerging writers, share their stories of shapeshifting between cultures and expectations.

Featuring contributors Kavita Bedford, Aarti Betigeri, Nicholas Brown, Hardeep Dhanoa and host Jeremy Fernandez.

Festival favourite State of the Nation returns bigger and better than ever for an Australian post-election wrap-up. 

What is the future of Australian politics? What are the failures of a two-party system? How are voters resisting ‘politics as usual’ during housing, cost of living and climate crises? What difference can we expect from this government?

Assess the state of Australian politics in this panel discussion featuring broadcaster and Walkley Award–winning journalist Waleed Aly, Prime Minister’s Literary Award– and Walkley Award–winning journalist George Megalogenis, The Australia Institute’s chief political analyst Amy Remeikis and Melbourne Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award winner Niki Savva. They join veteran political journalist and former host of Insiders and Offsiders Barrie Cassidy.

We know writers work well on their own, tapping away at a keyboard, but in this event, we push them out on stage to entertain with song, dance and big emotions.

Multi-award-winning actor, singer, writer and comedian Michelle Brasier has curated the funniest, most fabulous Festival writers to share their more hidden talents of the comedy, cabaret and confessional variety.

Come together for this celebration of life in all its joy, mess and brevity. Be moved to laughter and tears with special guests Virginia Gay, Tanya Hennessy, Tim Lancaster, Benjamin Law and Maeve Marsden.

Feminism has a checkered past, but what can we expect from feminist ideas these days?

CEO of independent news commentary platform Cheek Media Co. Hannah Ferguson (Taboo: Conversations we never had about sex, body image, work and relationships), Stella Prize winner and investigative journalist Jess Hill (See What You Made Me Do, Quarterly Essay 97 Losing It) and human rights lawyer and Fulbright Scholar Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (Long Yarn Short) discuss whether feminism can find solutions to some of our current crises.

Join them as they reckon with what feminism has to offer and predict future solutions to complex social problems in this panel discussion with host Sisonke Msimang. 

Every family has their secrets – but what happens when a writer dives into the family archive to uncover and share those stories with the world?

In this live episode of Archive Fever podcast, co-hosts Yves Rees and Clare Wright are joined by Lech Blaine and Anne-Marie Te Whiu to probe the promise and pitfalls of working with stories close to home. Why dig up the family skeletons? How do you navigate the minefield of the truth about loved ones and forebears? And what does journeying into family history do to the writer themself?