Explore upcoming events
Kurnai/Gunai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta writer Nayuka Gorrie celebrates those writers who see, understand and bring to life Country, and invites us to bear witness and trust in hard conversations.
Bearing Witness Friday 30 April, 4–5pm
Guest Curator Nayuka Gorrie speaks with Chelsea Watego, Amy McQuire and Veronica Heritage-Gorrie about how black women in this country speak truth to power and write from the front lines.
Whose Country Is It Anyway? Saturday 1 May, 12.30–1.30pm
Literature has played a significant role in the colonial imagination and the domination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Melissa Lucashenko and Yuwaalaraay musician and author Nardi Simpson discuss their writing Country with Guest Curator Nayuka Gorrie.
Radical Black Futures Sunday 2 May, 2–3pm
In the words of Guest Curator Nayuka Gorrie, “The future is black, abolitionist and whatever we want it to be.” A panel joins Nayuka to consider those futures – hopeful, defiant and clear-eyed – and asks how we might radically reimagine black stories.
Michael Robotham (When She Was Good) examines the art of grasping at edges – of crimes, of fears, of our lives – and asks how we can reach the truth.
Uncomfortably Close Thursday 29 April 10–11am
In this personally selected panel from Guest Curator Michael Robotham, host Tim Ayliffe asks Candice Fox, Sulari Gentill and Chris Hammer why we love crime writers who take us to gruesome places.
The Art of the Interview Thursday 29 April 6–7pm
Australian television royalty Andrew Denton speaks with Guest Curator Michael Robotham on the art of the interview and how the right interviewer can bring a subject to life.
But Not Forgotten Friday 30 April 2–3pm
Four Festival guests reflect on the powerful work of four writers taken from us in the past year. Featuring Michelle de Kretser on Sydney literary great Elizabeth Harrower; Kerry O’Brien on legendary political reporter Mungo MacCallum; Michael Robotham on spy master John le Carré; and Sally Warhaft on Jan Morris.