Newcastle Writers Festival kicks off tomorrow

Newcastle Writers Festival (NWF) runs from 27 to 29 March, with an opening night event featuring London-based Australian author Kathy Lette, who will reflect on “her writing career, resilience, and the highs and lows of being a feminist of a certain age”, in conversation with broadcaster Yumi Stynes.

The NWF program features 150 writers in 120 sessions, with authors including Gail Jones, Helen Garner, Sarah Krasnostein, Siang Lu, Heather Rose,  Maxine Beneba Clarke, Stephanie Alexander, Bryan Brown, Peter FitzSimons, Charlotte McConaghy, Tara Moss, Natasha Lester, Mandy Sayer, Thomas Mayo and Amie Kaufman. Events that are already sold out include sessions with authors Randa Abdul-Fattah, Robbie Arnott and Evelyn Araluen.

Festival director Rosemarie Milsom said that a return to City Hall had enabled the event to cater for larger audiences. “Five-hundred people are booked to see Matt Bevan’s ‘If You’re Listening: Declassified’, which is a live presentation of his top-rating ABC news analysis program. Matt trialled the format at the 2022 festival and it has gone from strength to strength. More than 400 people have tickets to Randa Abdel-Fattah’s second ‘in conversation’ event on Sunday night. It’s an amazing response and I’m thrilled so many people have connected with this year’s program.”

The full program is available on the NWF website.

Category: Festivals Local news