Shows / Newcastle Writers Festival
Episodes
Newcastle Writers FestivalAlli Parker and Emma Pein Yin - The Question of Identity
Alli Parker and Emma Pei Yin write compelling high-stakes historical novels that reach across generations and borders to examine inheritance, silence and…
Newcastle Writers FestivalNatasha Lester and Tara Moss - Bold Women
Bestselling authors Natasha Lester and Tara Moss draw on meticulous research and propulsive storytelling to reanimate overlooked lives. In this conversation…
Newcastle Writers FestivalPeter FitzSimons in Conversation - The Courageous Life of Weary Dunlop
'Australia's favourite storyteller' Peter FitzSimons brings to life the gripping true story of Australian surgeon and POW Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop. Fitzy…
Newcastle Writers FestivalMadeleine Gray, Alli Parker and Zoe Terakes - Writing Queer Literature
Join Madeleine Gray, Alli Parker and Zoe Terakes for a powerful, candid conversation about what it means to write – and live – queer stories today…
Newcastle Writers FestivalJosh Bornstein, AC Grayling, and Antoinette Lattouf - Censorship and its Consequences
Against a backdrop of shifting laws, social media restrictions and legal and political pressure, Josh Bornstein, AC Grayling, and Antoinette Lattouf examine…
Newcastle Writers FestivalTyree Barnette, Brandon Jack and Andrew Pippos - Masculinity and Mental Health
Recent books by Tyree Barnette, Brandon Jack and Andrew Pippos offer insight into the complexities of men’s lives. They talk to Michael Williams about…
Newcastle Writers FestivalCharlotte McConaghy in Conversation - A Vanishing World
Charlotte McConaghy’s third novel Wild Dark Shore opens with a woman washing up on a remote island halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Who she is…
Newcastle Writers FestivalWords & Music 2025, featuring William Crighton, Melody Pool and more
From the page to the stage, Words & Music is a festival project in which songwriters are invited by Newcastle curator Nick Milligan to write and perform an…
Newcastle Writers FestivalLead up festival events 22 to 27 March 2026
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Newcastle Writers FestivalSaturday 28 March 2026
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Newcastle Writers FestivalEric Beecher and Rick Morton in Conversation - Breaking the News
The ability of journalists to publish news in the public interest without interference and threats to their own safety is under increasing pressure…
Newcastle Writers FestivalHelen Garner in Conversation - About a Boy
Helen Garner returns with her signature candour and wit in an exuberant new book The Season, an account from the sidelines of the highs and lows of her…
Newcastle Writers FestivalThomas Mayo in Conversation - Always Was, Always Will Be
In his book Always Was, Always Will Be, Thomas Mayo investigates 'what's next?' for reconciliation and justice in Australia after the failed Voice to…
Newcastle Writers FestivalMichelle de Kretser in Conversation - Theory & Practice
For 25 years, award-winning author Michelle de Kretser has been dazzling readers with her novels. Her new book, Theory & Practice, is set in 1980s Melbourne…
Newcastle Writers FestivalJimmy Barnes in Conversation - Highways and Byways
From larger-than-life adventures to vivid and poignant tales of the imagination, no one tells a yarn quite like Jimmy Barnes. In his fourth memoir Highways and…
Newcastle Writers FestivalDavid Owen Kelly in Conversation - Host City
It’s the 1980s in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and strange rumours abound: that you can catch the ‘gay plague’ from kissing, or a mosquito bite…
Newcastle Writers FestivalCourtney Collins, Hayley Scrivenor, and Jessie Tu - Second Book Syndrome
It’s a well-known phenomenon: the anxious, agonising process of releasing a second book after a successful debut. Is the new book too similar to the…
Newcastle Writers FestivalMelanie Cheng, Raeden Richardson, and Molly Schmidt - On Love and Loneliness
In their most recent novels, Melanie Cheng, Raeden Richardson, and Molly Schmidt grapple with the turbulent relationship between love and loneliness, and the…
Newcastle Writers FestivalKate Grenville in Conversation
In her new book Unsettled, Kate Grenville grapples with what it means to descend from people who were ‘on the sharp edge of the moving blade that was…
Newcastle Writers FestivalMarkus Zusak in Conversation
From his international bestseller, The Book Thief, to the recent memoir Three Wild Dogs and the Truth, Markus Zusak’s stellar writing career has taken…
Newcastle Writers FestivalProgram for Saturday 5 April 2025
ABC Newcastle's Dan Cox reads the 2025 program for 5 April. This initiative is part of Newcastle Writers Festival's Disability Inclusion Action Plan and is…
Newcastle Writers FestivalProgram for Sunday 6 April 2025
ABC Newcastle's Dan Cox reads the 2025 program for 6 April. This initiative is part of Newcastle Writers Festival's Disability Inclusion Action Plan and is…
Newcastle Writers FestivalProgram for Wed 2 to Fri 4 April 2025
ABC Newcastle's Dan Cox reads the 2025 program for 2 to 4 April. This initiative is part of Newcastle Writers Festival's Disability Inclusion Action Plan and…
Newcastle Writers FestivalJodi Picoult - By Any Other Name
In October, Newcastle Writers Festival hosted a special event with best-selling US writer Jodi Picoult. Mamamia executive editor Jessie Stephens hosted the…
Newcastle Writers FestivalKasey Chambers - Lessons I've Learnt
In November, Newcastle Writers Festival hosted a special event with ARIA-winning musician and songwriter Kasey Chambers at the University of Newcastle's…
Newcastle Writers FestivalTim Winton in Conversation
In October 2024, Newcastle Writers Festival hosted a special event with acclaimed Australian writer Tim Winton. Festival director Rosemarie Milsom hosted the…
Newcastle Writers FestivalSusie Anderson, Sara M Saleh and Rob Waters – Writing Country and Connection
Poets Susie Anderson, Sara M Saleh and Rob Waters discuss the interconnection between identity and creativity with Magdalena Ball. This conversation was…
Newcastle Writers FestivalHannah Ferguson - Biting Back
Hannah Ferguson co-founded an independent news commentary platform at a time when the world needed it most. In 2020, Cheek Media Co. quickly established itself…
Newcastle Writers FestivalRussell Blackford – The Rise and Fall of Toleration
In his new book, How We Became Post-Liberal, Newcastle philosopher and legal scholar Russell Blackford examines how Western liberal democracies became nations…
Newcastle Writers FestivalBrenda Matthews – The Last Daughter
The book and film The Last Daughter centre on Brenda Matthew’s life journey, and how she reconciled both halves of her history; being raised by a white foster…
Newcastle Writers FestivalBharat Nalluri – Boy Conquers Universe
The Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton’s much-loved novel Boy Swallows Universe has been applauded by the book’s loyal fans, but no one could have predicted…
Newcastle Writers FestivalGraham Akhurst, Kirli Saunders and Melanie Saward – Bright Young Things
It is the desire of many readers to see themselves reflected on the page, especially when their faces and voices have been excluded from the dominant…
Newcastle Writers FestivalEmily Perkins, Megan Rogers, and Christos Tsiolkas - Middle Age as Coming of Age
In their recent fiction, Emily Perkins, Megan Rogers and Christos Tsiolkas created characters at a crossroads, disrupting the traditional narrative of ‘coming…
Newcastle Writers FestivalShankari Chandran - Miles Franklin Award winner
From being told her books ‘weren’t Australian enough’, to winning the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award for her third novel Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens…
Newcastle Writers FestivalBri Lee - Author, Academic, Activist
‘If you're doing work that you feel is important, it will be impossible to have everybody like you.’ Bri Lee first captured the literary world’s attention with…
Newcastle Writers FestivalAntony Lowenstein - The Palestine Laboratory
Israel’s spying technology and defence hardware is being used by despots and democracies around the world – from the Pegasus software that hacked Jamal…
Newcastle Writers FestivalProgram for Friday 5 April 2024
This is a reading of the 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival program for Friday, 5 April 2024. Thank you to ABC Newcastle's Dan Cox for assisting. This is a…
Newcastle Writers FestivalProgram for Saturday 6 April 2024
This is a reading of the 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival program for Saturday, 6 April 2024. Thank you to ABC Newcastle's Dan Cox for assisting. This is a…
Newcastle Writers FestivalProgram for Sunday 7 April 2024
This is a reading of the 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival program for Sunday, 7 April 2024. Thank you to ABC Newcastle's Dan Cox for assisting. This is a…
Newcastle Writers FestivalPhillip McIntyre - The Beatles and Beyond
In this session, which was recorded at the 2023 festival, University of Newcastle researcher Phillip McIntyre discusses with Scott Bevan his most recent book…
Newcastle Writers FestivalRichard Fidler - World Traveller
In this session recorded at the 2023 festival, writer and much-loved broadcaster Richard Fidler discusses The Book of Roads & Kingdoms, which is inspired by…
Newcastle Writers FestivalPip Williams - Women and Words
At the 2023 festival, Pip Williams’s participation coincided with the launch of her highly anticipated second book, The Bookbinder of Jericho. It tells the…
Newcastle Writers FestivalAndy Jackson, Kerri Shying and Gaele Sobott - Raging Grace
In this session, which was recorded at the 2023 festival, acclaimed poets Andy Jackson, Kerri Shying and Gaele Sobott discuss Raging Grace, an anthology of…
Newcastle Writers FestivalNorman Swan - The Lowdown on Longevity
In this session, which was recorded at the 2023 festival, Norman Swan explores the science, myths and mistruths that surround ageing. Hosted by Cassie…
Newcastle Writers FestivalTim Baker and Chloe Hooper - The Case for Hope
In this session recorded at the 2023 festival, Tim Baker and Chloe Hooper share their perspectives on the role that hope can play in helping us cope with…
Newcastle Writers FestivalChris Flynn in Conversation
Literary critic Declan Fry has described Chris Flynn as ‘a restless experimenter, a fabulist’. In his compelling new collection of short stories, Here Be…
Newcastle Writers FestivalCrime Writers to Watch - Shelley Burr, James McKenzie Watson and Matthew Spencer
At the 2023 festival, Anna Downes spoke to three writers about their critically acclaimed debut crime books. Shelley Burr was awarded the prestigious Crime…
Newcastle Writers FestivalPaddy Manning - The Son Also Rises: Lachlan Murdoch
In this session recorded at the 2023 festival, investigative journalist Paddy Manning turns his attention to Lachlan Murdoch, one of the world’s most…
Newcastle Writers FestivalRobbie Arnott, Bronwyn Birdsall, and Holly Ringland - Haunted places and spaces
In their recent books, Robbie Arnott, Bronwyn Birdsall, and Holly Ringland create vivid settings that transport readers to locations in Australia and across…
Newcastle Writers FestivalI'd Like You to Meet Cadance Bell
At the 2023 festival, we introduced a new series called I'd Like You to Meet and invited established writers to shine the spotlight on an emerging writer whose…
Newcastle Writers FestivalOnward - Celebrating poet Robert Adamson
With the support of Robert Adamson's wife Juno Gemes, Newcastle Writers Festival was honoured to host a commemoration of the late poet’s life and work at the…
Newcastle Writers FestivalAndrew Quilty - Tyrrany Up Close
When the Taliban arrived at the gates of Kabul in August 2021, Andrew Quilty had been living and working there for eight years. He was one of only a handful of…
Newcastle Writers FestivalGrace Tame - In Her Own Words
Newcastle Writers Festival hosted a very special 10th anniversary opening night event on 31 March 2023 featuring activist, sexual abuse survivor, and author…
Newcastle Writers FestivalJennifer Robinson and Keina Yoshida - How Many More Women?
In October 2022, Newcastle Writers Festival hosted a special event with internationally respected human rights and media lawyer Jennifer Robinson and colleague…
Newcastle Writers FestivalEvelyn Araluen, Jasmine Seymour, Nardi Simpson, and Chelsea Watego - I'm With Her
First Nations women are the backbone of their communities. Join this deep dive into storytelling, song, poetry, and activism with Evelyn Araluen, Jasmine…
Newcastle Writers FestivalLech Blaine, Brendan Cowell, and Brandon Jack - Man Up
Lech Blaine, Brendan Cowell, and Brandon Jack discuss what it means to explore more expansive expressions of Australian masculinity in writing and in life…
Newcastle Writers Festival8. Emily Bitto and Diana Reid - Toxic Truths
Emily Bitto (Wild Abandon) and Diana Reid (Love & Virtue) have received critical acclaim for their evocative new coming-of-age novels, which dissect…
Newcastle Writers FestivalHannah Kent - Devotion
Award-winning writer Hannah Kent made her Newcastle Writers Festival debut in 2022. In this conversation with Ashley Hay, she discusses her most recent novel…
Newcastle Writers FestivalKate McClymont and Michael Robotham - Corruption, Skulduggery and Murder
A former newspaper editor has described Kate McClymont as ‘a walking almanac of Sydney crime and corruption’. Delve into a day in the unusual life of one of…