Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival announces 2025 program
The full program for the 2025 Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival, which runs 31 October–2 November, has been announced.
With the theme ‘a path to wonder’, the 2025 program includes more than 50 events, featuring over 80 writers. Local headliners include Christos Tsiolkas, Stan Grant, Kate Grenville, Craig Silvey, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Bryan Brown, Drusilla Modjeska, Charlotte McConaghy, Craig Reucassel, Sofie Laguna, Osher Günsberg and Jennifer Wong.
The festival will open with a gala on Friday evening, with festival director Maeve Marsden and authors Hannah Kent, Daniel Browning, Maxine Beneba Clarke and James Bradley considering this year’s theme, followed by a musical performance by Ali McGregor, and a Welcome to Country on Carrington Hotel Lawn on Saturday morning.
Among other events are ABC Radio National’s Bookshelf Live, where Kate Evans will speak with authors Debra Oswald, Garry Disher and Steven MinOn; Tsiolkas appearing in conversation with Evans to discuss his literary career; Better Off Said, which features writers Marieke Hardy and Emilie Zoey Baker, with Osher Günsberg, Vijay Khurana, Cadance Bell, Bebe Oliver, Sara M Saleh and Tasma Walton, speaking to the phrase ‘the words I wish I’d said’; as well as a series of special events hosted above the Jamison Valley in the Scenic World Skyway.
Panel topics include conversations about what it is to be human, why we need art we hate, motherhood, the climate crisis, writing in translation, ghosts, writing from the Palestinian diaspora, and life writing.
A kids’ and family program will also be held at Katoomba Library, with poetry and illustration workshops, as well as events with Australian authors.
Festival organisers said, ‘Creating these events has been an absolute pleasure – reading brilliant books by brilliant people, diving deep into big ideas, and imagining how these brilliant voices might spark off other brilliant voices on stage — what a wonderful way to spend one’s working life!’
More information, including the full program, is available on the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival website.
Category: Festivals Local news
