MWF
6–12 May
2024

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10 May

Masterclass: Aiming Higher – Risk and Creative Ambition

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Join Charlotte Wood (Stone Yard Devotional, The Natural Way of Things) for a masterclass on the importance of risk and creative ambition in a writing life. 

MWF Workshops are presented in partnership with Writers Victoria

Ziggy Ramo: Human?

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Wik and South Sea Islander rapper and Festival Curator Ziggy Ramo speaks with Jan Fran about his electrifying debut memoir and historical reckoning, Human?, and delivers a live musical performance.   
12 May

Lauren Groff: The Vaster Wilds

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An electrifying voice in modern fiction, American novelist Lauren Groff (The Vaster Wilds, Fates and Furies) appears in conversation with Kate Evans about her craft and career. 

Mykaela Saunders: Always Will Be

Festival Curator Mykaela Saunders talks about her collection of speculative fiction Always Will Be, which imagines a future of sovereignty and self-determination for Goori people, speaking with Jeanine Leane.   

Spooky Stories with Joel McKerrow

Join celebrated children’s author Joel McKerrow (Urban Legend Hunters) as he takes you on a spooky adventure. This laughter-filled event will inspire kids to create their own spooky and silly stories!   

Rec. 5+  

Familiar Haunts: Paul Murray and Bryan Washington

Irish writer Paul Murray (The Bee Sting) and American author Bryan Washington (Family Meal) discuss their newest novels’ shared interest in real and figurative ghosts, in conversation with Toni Jordan.   

Peter Steele Conversation: Grace Yee

Cancelled
CANCELLED! Grace Yee discusses Chinese Fish, her 2024 Victorian Prize for Literature–winning verse novel about migration, patriarchy and racism, with Maxine Beneba Clarke.  

Supported by the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne

David Marr: Killing for Country

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David Marr shares insight into Killing for Country, his gripping reckoning with the brutal history of Australia’s unresolved frontier wars, in conversation with Sally Warhaft.  

Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

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Japanese writer and global literary star Toshikazu Kawaguchi chats about his bestselling Before the Coffee Gets Cold series and forthcoming TV adaption, with Daniel Hahn.  

This event will be interpreted live.  

Sofie Laguna and Marc McBride: A Friend for Ruby

Writer Sofie Laguna and illustrator Marc McBride walk you through the creative process of developing their gorgeous new story about kindness, family and friendship, A Friend for Ruby. 

A.C. Grayling: Who Owns the Moon?

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Eminent British philosopher A. C. Grayling discusses his book Who Owns the Moon?, calling for a global consensus to protect the resources of our solar system.  

Conversations with Richard Fidler: Andrew O'Hagan

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A three-time Booker nominee and Editor-At-Large of London Review of Books, Andrew O’Hagan discusses his storied – and controversial – life and times with Richard Fidler.  

In partnership with ABC RN

Who's Afraid of Reading, Anyway?

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Beloved novelists Tony Birch, Lauren Groff and Ann Patchett discuss the importance of reading freely and the formative subversive texts of their early reading lives, with Christine Gordon.  

Leslie Jamison: Splinters

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Bestselling American author Leslie Jamison (The Empathy Exams, The Recovering) discusses Splinters, her blazing memoir of divorce, motherhood, art and new love, in conversation with Rebecca Harkins-Cross.  

Alexis Wright: Sovereignty of the Imagination

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Globally acclaimed, Miles Franklin–winning novelist Alexis Wright (Carpentaria, The Swan Book) discusses her influential body of work and newest masterwork, Praiseworthy, with Festival Curator Mykaela Saunders.  

Supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund

Rosie Batty: Hope

The 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty shares insight into Hope, her memoir of finding healing and peace in the presence of grief. With Laura Tingle. 

An Afternoon with Andrew O'Hagan

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Julian Assange, The Satoshi Affair, Grenfell Tower…Dive deep into the secrets, scandals and insecurities that haunt three-time Booker nominee Andrew O’Hagan’s work. With Michael Williams. 

Supported by ARA

Rachelle Unreich: A Brilliant Life

Rachelle Unreich talks about her book A Brilliant Life, the story of her mother’s survival of the Holocaust and what it reveals about the resilience of the soul, with Jane Rocca.  

The Sands of Time

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Prize-winning Gudanji and Wakaja writer Debra Dank (We Come With This Place) discusses her new memoir about memory, land and family, with Kate Evans. 

Ann Patchett: Spectres at the Feast

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Internationally bestselling author Ann Patchett (Tom Lake) appears with her friend and fellow acclaimed author Meg Mason (Sorrow and Bliss) to lift the veil on the untold stories of their writing lives.  

Supported by ARA
13 May

Laura Jean McKay: Talking Shorts

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Acclaimed short story writer Laura Jean McKay (Gunflower, Holiday in Cambodia) shows you to how to craft characters and dialogue to make your short stories sing.  

MWF Workshops are presented in partnership with Writers Victoria.

Leslie Jamison: Writing from Personal Archives

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New York Times–bestselling author Leslie Jamison (Splinters, The Empathy Exams) leads a craft session on using personal archives to grant nuance, texture and emotional dimension to your writing.

MWF Workshops are presented in partnership with Writers Victoria.
20 May

Paul Lynch: Prophet Song

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Fresh from being awarded the Booker Prize, Irish novelist Paul Lynch talks about Prophet Song, his cautionary fable of society on the brink, with Michael Williams.  

Supported by the Embassy of Ireland