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.

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, Ruby Jackson, Sara M Saleh and Tasma Walton.

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.

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.

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? 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Explore the dark skies of Dharug and Gundungurra land, in this award-winning stargazing tour, led by local astrophysicist Dr Dimitri Douchin.

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.

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.

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.

Join Benjamin Stevenson for a choose-your-own-adventure crime fiction comedy, suspended perilously across the Jamison Valley with sixty fellow suspects.

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!).

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 brings together over 80 pieces from our leading poets and public figures in a retrospective that covers twenty years of contemporary Australian poetry.

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.

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.

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!).

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.

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.

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.

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.

In a live therapy session, guests tell host Rebecca Huntley and Sarah Macdonald about when life got so bad it got funny.

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.