Two of Australia’s most compelling storytellers confront the climate crisis through deeply human narratives. From a remote sub-Antartic island safeguarding a United Nations seed vault in Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore, to a near-future Sydney battered by rising seas, deadly storms, and social unrest in James Bradley’s Landfall, these character-driven cli-fi thrillers are founded on deep scientific inquiry and a fascination for exploring what comes next.
Speaking urgently to readers about climate change without falling into didactic traps requires a deft hand. Walk the line between fact and fiction with these two brilliant writers, in conversation with science journalist and chair of Varuna the National Writers’ House and the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival Bianca Nogrady.
Charlotte McConaghy is the author of the New York Times, USA Today and Indie Bestseller Wild Dark Shore; the New York Times Bestseller Once There Were Wolves, winner of the Indie Book Award for Fiction 2022 and the Davitt Award for Best Adult Crime Novel 2022; and the international bestseller Migrations, a TIME Magazine Best Book of the Year and the Amazon Best Fiction Book of the Year for 2020.
James Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade and Ghost Species, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, and Deep Water: The World in the Ocean. James’ essays and articles also appear regularly in a wide range of publications, and he has been shortlisted for the Bragg Prize for Science Writing twice, nominated for a Walkley, and in 2012 won the Pascall Prize for Australia's Critic of the Year. His latest novel, Landfall, is published by Hamish Hamilton.
Bianca Nogrady is a freelance science journalist, author and broadcaster. She is a two-time editor of The Best Australian Science Writing anthology, author of Climate Change: How We Can Get to Carbon Zero, The End: The Human Experience of Death, and co-author of The Sixth Wave: How to Succeed in a Resource-Limited World. Bianca is the Chair of Varuna and founding president of the Science Journalists Association of Australia.
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This event is part of the Main Program and included as part of Platinum, Gold, Silver and Saturday Bronze Passes.
Subject to availability, a limited number of single tickets may become available 9 September.
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This venue is wheelchair accessible. Please visit our Accessibility page or email hello@bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au if you have any other accessibility requirements.