International authors announced for MWF 2018
Thursday, 21 June 2018
The first international authors have been announced for the 2018 Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF), which runs from 24 August to 2 September. International guests include musician Andrew WK, who will...
Inaugural storytelling festival StoryFest to launch in regional NSW
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
A new festival celebrating storytelling will be held in the Milton, Mollymook and Ulladulla area of New South Wales south coast from 21-22 June in 2019. Next year’s inaugural StoryFest...
Mudgee Readers’ Festival announces 2018 program
Thursday, 14 June 2018
The Mudgee Readers’ Festival has released its 2018 program. The annual event will run from 10-12 August in regional NSW and, for the first time, the festival will also hold...
Byron Writers Festival 2018 program announced
Wednesday, 13 June 2018
The full program for the 2018 Byron Writers Festival, which runs from 3-5 August, has been announced, featuring 140 writers, thinkers and commentators. International guests include UK-based novelists Matt Haig...
Sharp appointed CEO of SWF
Friday, 8 June 2018
Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has appointed Chrissy Sharp as its new CEO. Sharp, who was previously the inaugural director of the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne from 2009 to 2011, will...
NT Writers’ Festival Wordstorm 2018 wraps up
Wednesday, 6 June 2018
The 2018 Northern Territory Writers’ Festival was held over four days from 24-27 May in Darwin. With the theme ‘exploring outside the margins’, this year’s program featured more than 40...
First authors announced for 2018 Byron Writers Festival
Thursday, 31 May 2018
The first authors have been announced for the 2018 Byron Writers Festival, which runs from 3-5 August. International guests include British author and broadcaster Lemn Sissay, Saudi Arabian women's rights activist...
BWF releases 2018 schools program
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
The Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) has released its 2018 Word Play program, designed for students from prep to year 12. The Word Play program will run from 4-7 September at...
MWF 2018 schools’ program released
Wednesday, 23 May 2018
The Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) has released its 2018 schools' program, which will run from 27-30 August. Held at Melbourne's Federation Square, the 2018 MWF schools' program will focus on...
EWF 2018 program launched
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) has announced its 2018 program, which runs from 19-29 June in venues across Melbourne’s CBD and surrounding suburbs. Timmah Ball, Tony Birch and Neil Morris...
SWF 2018: ticket sales down but box office third-highest in festival history; Lee tops bestsellers
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
This year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) recorded 51,362 ticketed sales worth over $1.28 million—down on last year's earnings but still the third-highest box office earnings in the organisation’s history. The...
Repeal book event at Dublin International Literature Festival cancelled by local council
Thursday, 3 May 2018
An event at Dublin’s International Literature Festival that planned to discuss an anthology of writing about the movement for reproductive rights in Ireland was cancelled by Dublin City Council (DCC) after the...
Dark Mofo announces full program for ‘literature, film and ideas’ event
Thursday, 3 May 2018
Tasmania’s midwinter festival Dark Mofo has announced the program for the Dark and Dangerous Thoughts (DDT) two-day symposium, a showcase of ‘literature, film and ideas’ that runs from 9 to...
Clarke to headline inaugural Melbourne Spoken Word & Poetry Festival
Thursday, 12 April 2018
Melbourne Spoken Word & Poetry Festival has launched its inaugural 2018 program, which will be held from 17 May to 3 June. The 18-day festival is hosted by local arts...
Melbourne Jewish Book Week launches inaugural program
Monday, 26 March 2018
Melbourne Jewish Book Week has launched its inaugural 2018 program, which will be held from 3 to 9 May. The week-long program of Jewish writing, literary culture and ideas is...
FWF announces 2018 Victorian festival program
Friday, 23 March 2018
The Feminist Writers Festival (FWF) has launched the program for its Victorian festival, which will be held in Melbourne and Geelong from 25-27 May. The Victorian program is the first...
134,000 attend AWW 2018; Krasnostein tops bestsellers
Wednesday, 21 March 2018
Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) has reported 134,000 people attended the 2018 festival, which ran from 3 to 8 March. Attendance was up slightly compared to last year’s event, which recorded...
SWF 2018 program announced
Friday, 16 March 2018
The program has been announced for this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF), which runs from 30 April to 6 May. Sixty international guests and 400 Australian writers, academics and public...
Auckland Writers Festival 2018 program released
Thursday, 15 March 2018
The program for the 2018 Auckland Writers Festival has been announced. This year’s festival, which runs from 15 to 20 May, will be headlined by Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård...
Dyer to step down from SWF, joins AWW as director
Friday, 9 March 2018
The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has announced that CEO Jo Dyer will step down from the role in June 2018, following the upcoming festival which runs from 30 April to...
Hay Festival announces #VOTE100BOOKS campaign
Friday, 9 March 2018
In the UK, the Hay Festival has announced a campaign to select 100 books by women from the last 100 years to be celebrated at its festivals in the UK...
20,000 attend PFWW; Beer tops bestsellers
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Twenty thousand people attended the 2018 Perth Festival Writer’s Week (PFWW), which ran from 19 to 25 February. Attendance was down on last year’s event, but a festival spokesperson said...
New spec fic festival announces headliners Kaufman, Kristoff and Canavan
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
The creators of the Morning Bell literary podcast have announced a new festival focusing on speculative fiction and ‘the craft of writing’. The Speculate Literary Festival will run on Saturday...
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature 2018 winners announced; Winton donates prize money to Ningaloo Reef protection
Monday, 5 March 2018
The winners of the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature were announced at a ceremony on 3 March as part of Adelaide Writers’ Week. The winners in each category are:...
New storytelling festival to launch at multilingual kids’ bookshop in Sydney
Friday, 16 February 2018
Lost in Books, a specialist multilingual children’s bookshop in Sydney’s western suburbs, is launching a new annual festival to highlight music, storytelling and ideas in multilingual communities. The inaugural In...
Scott appointed chair of SWF
Thursday, 15 February 2018
Mark Scott AO has been appointed chair of the Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) board, beginning on 15 February. Scott, who joined the SWF board in July 2016, is replacing chair...
Blythe to direct Homecooked Comics Festival
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Publicity and marketing manager at Black Inc. Marian Blythe has been announced as festival director for the 2018 Homecooked Comics Festival. Blythe, who was formerly marketing manager at Scribe, will...
ASA launches virtual ‘literary speed dating’ for regional members
Friday, 9 February 2018
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) will launch its first virtual ‘literary speed dating’ session for regional members as part of Red Dirt Writers’ Week. ASA members in remote and...
Inaugural children’s literature festival to be held in WA
Thursday, 8 February 2018
A new festival celebrating children’s literature and arts will be held in Claremont, Western Australia from 9-13 May. The inaugural Scribblers Festival is conceived by WA arts advocacy organisation FORM...
FWF expands to two festivals in 2018
Monday, 5 February 2018
The Feminist Writers Festival (FWF) has announced it will expand to two festivals in 2018, with the theme ‘rewriting the story’. FWF will run its first New South Wales festival in...




