Manly Writers’ Festival announces 2026 program 

The Manly Writers’ Festival has released its program, which will run from 19 to 22 March 2026, bringing together almost 90 writers, journalists, historians, thinkers and musicians, while examining “how stories shape power, identity, belonging and public life in an unsettled world”.

The festival will open with the inaugural Thomas Keneally Oration, delivered by Keneally himself, with a reflection on writers’ “responsibility to bear witness, the role of memory in national storytelling, and the enduring power of literature to question and challenge”. 

Among the other writers appearing are Martin Thomas, Bob Carr, Michael Pembroke, Mike Amor, Candida Baker, Antoun Issa, Michelle Bridges, Deborah Conway, Melissa Browne, Saul Eslake, Amy Hutton, Matthew Spencer, Jack Heath and Tim Ayliffe.

The 2026 program also includes a free  schools program for year 9 to 10 students focused on truth, voice and storytelling ‘in a noisy information environment’. Special events include the Night Shift, an exploration of human creativity in the age of AI, which combines writers and musicians in an experimental, performance-driven format; and a Sunday morning brunch conversation with Michelle Bridges examining midlife, health, and reinvention. 

The full program is available on the festival website.

Category: Festivals Local news