Over 110,000 attend SWF 2017; poetry tops festival bestsellers list
Thursday, 1 June 2017
This year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has recorded over 110,000 attendances and 59,322 ticketed sales worth over $1.5m—the second-highest box office in the organisation’s history. Attendances include the festival’s series of...
BWF releases 2017 schools program
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
The Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) has released its 2017 Word Play program, designed for students from prep to year 12. The Word Play program, which runs from 6-8 September, features...
First authors announced for 2017 Byron Writers Festival
Wednesday, 24 May 2017
The first authors have been announced for the 2017 Byron Writers Festival, which runs from 4-6 August. International guests include US science writer Dava Sobel; US biologist David George Haskell;...
Authors announced for Canberra Writers Festival
Friday, 19 May 2017
A number of authors have been announced for the second Canberra Writers Festival, which runs from 25-27 August. Festival guests include Maggie Alderson, Richard Fidler, Julia Baird, Nikki Gemmell, Robyn Williams,...
Dempster to step down after MWF 2017
Wednesday, 17 May 2017
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) artistic director and CEO Lisa Dempster will step down following this year’s festival, which runs from 25 August to 3 September. Dempster was appointed in 2012...
18,000 attend Clunes Booktown Festival 2017; sellout sessions with Kent, Ford
Friday, 12 May 2017
Around 18,000 visitors attended this year’s Clunes Booktown Festival in Victoria, which ran from 6-7 May. The number of visitors is about the same as the previous two festivals. A...
EWF 2017 program launched
Wednesday, 10 May 2017
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) has announced its full 2017 program, which runs from 14-23 June in venues across Melbourne’s CBD, Footscray and Dandenong. The festival will open with ‘an...
New Melbourne Jewish Book Week to host inaugural event in May
Thursday, 27 April 2017
The newly established Melbourne Jewish Book Week will host its first event on the 28 May, ahead of its first full program in May 2018. Curated by Gary Abrahams, the event...
2017 NT Writers Festival program launched
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
The program for the 2017 Northern Territory Writers’ Festival program has been announced. Held in Alice Springs from 18-21 May, this year’s festival will explore the theme of ‘Crossings|Iwerre-atherre’. Indonesian travel writer...
Clunes Booktown Festival 2017 program announced
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
The program for the 2017 Clunes Booktown Festival, to be held from 6-7 May in Clunes, Victoria, has been announced. Just under 30 writers will appear at the festival, including...
EWF announces 2017 festival ambassadors
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) has announced the five writers appointed ambassadors for EWF’s National Writers’ Conference, which runs from 17-18 June. The ambassadors are Melina Marchetta, Michelle Law, Inga...
Auckland Writers Festival 2017 program released
Thursday, 16 March 2017
The program has been announced for the 2017 Auckland Writers Festival, which runs from 16-21 May. The line-up of 42 international writers includes Man Booker Prize-winning US novelist Paul Beatty; US...
Program announced for second Rock & Roll Writers Festival; new Melbourne event
Friday, 10 February 2017
The program for the second Rock & Roll Writers Festival, to be held at the Old Museum in Brisbane from 1-2 April, has been announced. Organisers have also announced a...
Full program announced for Perth Writers Festival 2017
Friday, 13 January 2017
The full program has been announced for the 2017 Perth Writers Festival, which runs from 23-26 February. Events at the festival include ‘Pondering our most precious liquid’, a panel discussion...
MWF and Jaipur Literature Festival launch program for JLF Melbourne
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) has announced it will partner with Jaipur Literature Festival to present JLF Melbourne, a two-day ‘pop-up’ festival running from 11-12 February that will celebrate ‘the best...
Oxford Literary Festival commits to paying authors after backlash
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
In the UK, the Oxford Literary Festival has ‘rebalanced its budgets’ and will pay authors £150 to speak at its 2017 festival and for all future festivals, reports the Bookseller....
Bloomsbury hosts character performances for ‘Harry Potter’ book events
Monday, 28 November 2016
Bloomsbury Australia will mark the 20th anniversary of ‘Harry Potter’ in 2017 with a series of book events and festival performances by theatre artist Nadia Sunde in the role of...
First authors announced for Perth Writers Festival 2017
Thursday, 3 November 2016
The first guests have been announced for the 2017 Perth Writers Festival, which runs from 23-26 February. UK author Ben Rawlence will give the opening address on the issue of...
Beneba Clarke to deliver Word for Word Festival keynote
Thursday, 3 November 2016
The program has been announced for the third annual Word for Word nonfiction festival, running in Geelong from 18-20 November. Author Maxine Beneba Clarke will deliver the opening keynote address,...
Over 1000 attend first Australian Short Story Festival; 2017 event planned for Adelaide
Monday, 31 October 2016
Around 1100 people attended the first Australian Short Story Festival, which was held in Perth from 21-23 October. The festival, which was announced in February, was founded by Margaret River...
New Women in Comics festival to be held in Melbourne
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
Melbourne comics bookstore All Star Comics will present the first Women in Comics Festival, to be held in the store from 10-11 December. The festival bills itself as a celebration of...
Digital Writers Festival 2016 program announced
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
The program for the Emerging Writers’ Festival’s Digital Writers’ Festival, which runs from 1-11 November, has been announced. More than 20 events will take place online during the festival, including panels,...
Second Rock & Roll Writers Festival to be held in Brisbane next year
Friday, 14 October 2016
The second Rock & Roll Writers Festival will be held in Brisbane from 1-2 April 2017. The first festival, which was held in April this year, received ‘enthusiastic coverage and...
Patrić the top-selling author at MWF
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) CEO and artistic director Lisa Dempster has reported this year’s festival’s box office and attendance ‘exceeded expectations’. Final figures are still being tallied for the festival,...
Close to 5000 attend inaugural Canberra Writers Festival
Monday, 5 September 2016
Just under 5000 visitors attended the inaugural Canberra Writers Festival, which ran from 26-28 August at various locations across the city. Festival director Vickii Cotter told Books+Publishing organisers were ‘blown...
Inaugural Australian Short Story Festival program launched
Monday, 5 September 2016
The program has been launched for the inaugural Australian Short Story Festival, which runs from 21-23 October in Perth. Cate Kennedy will deliver the opening address and Kim Scott will...
Waverley Council partners with St Albans Writers’ Festival for Nib announcement
Friday, 2 September 2016
Waverley Council in Sydney will present the 2016 Nib Waverley Library Award for Literature shortlist at a special session at the St Albans Writers’ Festival, which runs from 16-18 September...
Ubud releases 2016 festival program
Thursday, 25 August 2016
The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) has released the full program for its 2016 festival, which will run from 26-30 October in Ubud, Indonesia. Among the newly announced international...
Inaugural Chinese Writers Festival releases full program
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Writers Victoria has released the full program for the inaugural Chinese Writers Festival, to be held in Melbourne on 28 August. The program features a line-up of international Chinese and...
More than 70,000 attend Byron Writers Festival; Szubanski the bestseller
Wednesday, 10 August 2016
Box-office takings were up 14% and more than 70,000 guests attended the 20th Byron Writers Festival, which was held from 5-7 August. The record crowd was ‘particularly gratifying for the...





