Nature
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Ageing
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Power
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Protest
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Kinship
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Memory
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Community
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Oceans
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Ghosts
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Dreams
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Nature • Ageing • Power • Protest • Kinship • Memory • Community • Oceans • Ghosts • Dreams •
Program at a glance
THE BOOKSHELF LIVE WITH ABC RADIO NATIONAL
Join Kate Evans from ABC Radio National's The Bookshelf, with award-winning authors Debra Oswald, Garry Disher and Steve MinOn, as they discuss the books that fire them up, the latest releases they’ve loved, and their own craft and creative careers.
CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS IN CONVERSATION WITH KATE EVANS
Warm, witty and endlessly curious, don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to listen to Christos Tsiolkas discuss his extensive career, with ABC Radio National’s Kate Evans.
OPENING GALA
Join four of Australia’s greatest minds, capable of vast imagination and deep enquiry, as they consider their personal paths to wonder at our inaugural Opening Gala. With bestselling authors Hannah Kent, Daniel Browning, James Bradley and Maxine Beneba Clarke, and performances by genre-defying soprano Ali McGregor.
MTNS MADE: Willo Drummond, Michael Duffy, Roanna Gonsalves, Alejandra Martinez and Olivia O'Flynn | FREE EVENT
Offering writers the time and space to breathe, think and explore, the Blue Mountains has always been a place where creativity flourishes. Begin your Festival grounded in this spirit, with readings from five outstanding local authors working across poetry, crime fiction, literary fiction, fantasy and romance.
WRITERS IN THE SKY: THE EMPRESS MURDERs
When award-winning playwright and actor Toby Schmitz set his mind to writing his first crime novel, he couldn’t bear to follow the predictable tropes of the genre. What better place to dig into this mind-bendingly clever whodunnit than an unconventional venue like the Scenic World Skyway?
WRITERS IN THE SKY: ANCESTORS CALLING
To stand on the shoulders of one’s ancestors is to carry both responsibility and legacy. Join poet Anne-Marie Te Whiu, playwright S. Shakthidharan, and author-mathematician JM Field as they discuss their incredible new books, and the living relationship they feel with their past.
WRITERS IN THE SKY: HEISTS AND HIGH WIRES
How do you ignite adrenaline on the page? From gripping thrillers to madcap adventures, authors have long sought ways to get their readers’ eyes wide and heart pumping. Candice Fox and Walter Marsh all write about risky business, albeit in very different ways.
BETTER OFF SAID: EULOGIES FOR THE LIVING AND DEAD
Celebrating words, stories, and human experiences, Better Off Said is an evening of words it’s time to air, thoughts and reflections for the living and dead. Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker and Marieke Hardy with Osher Günsberg, Vijay Khurana, Cadance Bell, Bebe Oliver, Sara M Saleh and Tasma Walton.
READ THE RAINFOREST
Join writers Inga Simpson, Jessica White and Jane Rawson in conversation with Brain on Nature’s Sarah Allely, as they discuss the many ways they connect with the environment. Set deep in the rainforest of the Jamieson Valley, accessed via the Scenic World Cableway.
BEERS AND BOOKS News and Politics with Rick Morton and Matilda Boseley
Pairing bestselling books with an award-winning brew? It’s a no-brainer. Kick back for Sunday arvo beers, and chat knotty topics and big ideas with your favourite authors, at Mountain Culture Brewery.
BEERS AND BOOKS Sex and Consent with Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang
Pairing bestselling books with an award-winning brew? It’s a no-brainer. Kick back for Sunday arvo beers, and chat knotty topics and big ideas with your favourite authors, at Mountain Culture Brewery.
AMONG THE TREES at Scenic World
Take a heart-starting morning ride on the steepest railway in the world, before meandering through the ferns and eucalypts to the Scenic World Rainforest Room, where writers Viki Cramer, Dave Witty and David Lindemayer will share their knowledge of the trees that tower above.
BEDTIME STORIES with Yumi Stynes, Nardi Simpson, Ceridwen Dovey and Dobby
Get ready for bed (pyjamas optional) as a collection of festival talent entertain and delight in the cosy surrounds of The Carrington, cup of hot chocolate (or whisky) in hand.
WRITTEN IN THE STARS
Explore the dark skies of Dharug and Gundungurra land, in this award-winning stargazing tour, led by local astrophysicist Dr Dimitri Douchin.
BEDTIME STORIES with Noni Hazlehurst, Kate Fagan, Dominic Hoey and Miles Merrill
Get ready for bed (pyjamas optional) as a collection of festival talent entertain and delight in the cosy surrounds of The Carrington, cup of hot chocolate (or whisky) in hand.
WRITERS IN THE SKY Abundant Sunsets
Delve deeper into poetry, community and all the ways we rise to a moment, with Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money, in conversation with award-winning Bundjalung illustrator, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis.
WRITERS IN THE SKY Take a Chance on Me
Witty, warm and reflective, listen to Emily Maguire, Tony Birch and Siang Lu explore opportunity and trust, sharing personal stories of risk and connection in the Scenic World Skyway, hosted by festival director Maeve Marsden.
WRITERS IN THE SKY Everyone in the Skyway Has Killed Someone
Join Benjamin Stevenson for a choose-your-own-adventure crime fiction comedy, suspended perilously across the Jamison Valley with sixty fellow suspects.
THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY with Richard Glover
In a special festival broadcast live from The Carrington, join ABC Radio Sydney’s Richard Glover for all the fun and unpredictability of the infamous TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday!).
The Mick Dark Talk for the Future with Nardi Simpson
Welcome Nardi Simpson as this year’s keynote speaker for The Mick Dark Talk for the Future, an annual address on the environment that honours the legacy of Mick Dark, who in 1989 bequeathed Varuna the National Writers’ House to the writers of Australia.
A Line in the Sand: Red Room Poetry Showcase
A Line in the Sand brings together over 80 pieces from our leading poets and public figures in a retrospective that covers twenty years of contemporary Australian poetry.
Writers in the Sky
The Writers in the Sky event is held at Scenic World, Katoomba. Included as part of a gold pass, attendees choose from one of three separate 25-minute performance events in the cableway during this time: Outspoken with Madison Godfrey, Reconnecting with Stories or The Biggest Risk You Ever Took.
Queerstories – One True Story at a Time
In this national storytelling event led by Maeve Marsden, LGBTQI+ storytellers share a tale from their lives, shining small lights into the magnificence of the queer community.
Thank God It’s Friday with Richard Glover
In a special Festival broadcast live from The Carrington in Katoomba, join ABC Radio Sydney’s Richard Glover for all the fun and unpredictability of the infamous TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday!).
The Mick Dark Talk for the Future with Costa Georgiadis
You can’t miss this one! Join the energy of green-fingered Costa as he shines light on our planet’s future and what we can do to feed the Earth that has sustained us for so long.
Queerstories - One True Story at a Time
Join this national storytelling event led by Maeve Marsden, in which LGBTQI+ storytellers share a tale from their lives, shining small windows into the magnificence of the queer community.
Writers in the Sky with James Valentine and Chris Hammer
Ready to concoct a murder mystery while perched in a cable car? Enjoy the ride with ABC Radio Sydney host James Valentine and crime writer genius Chris Hammer.
Writers in the Sky with James Valentine and Nardi Simpson
Listen to storyteller and musician Nardi Simpson, along with ABC Radio Sydney host James Valentine, while suspended in a cable car over the Jamieson Valley.
The Full Catastrophe: Stories From When Life was so Bad it was Funny
In a live therapy session, guests tell host Rebecca Huntley and Sarah Macdonald about when life got so bad it got funny.
Thank God It’s Friday
In a special Festival broadcast live from The Carrington in Katoomba, join ABC Radio Sydney’s Richard Glover for all the fun and unpredictability of the infamous TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday!). Laugh alongside a star-studded line-up featuring Colin Buchanan, Tommy Dean, Angela Lavoipierre, singer songwriter Phil Davidson and all the hilarity of the infamous Wheel of Death. At 6pm, Richard interviews three of the festival’s beloved writers.