What does good political leadership look like

Lech Blaine, Troy Bramston and Niki Savva with Brendan Donohoe

Peter Christoff, Joelle Gergis and Kylie Soanes with Amanda Smith

David Marr, Thomas Mayo and Margo Neale with Natasha Mitchell

How novelists weave fact into their fiction

Melissa Ashley, Dennis Glover and Kate Grenville with Irma Gold

Sarah Krasnostein, David Marr and Laura Tingle with Ramona Koval

Join our chat about the news of the day

Erik Jensen and Amy Remeikis with Tom Wright

Three authors discuss their work, their writing journey and their creative process

Dennis Glover, Gail Jones and Myfanwy Jones with Laura Macdonald

Toward the 2025 election

Lech Blaine, Erik Jensen, Amy Remeikis and Niki Savva with Brendan Donohoe

Do people still listen? Should they listen?

Eric Beecher, Erik Jensen and Laura Tingle with Jon Faine

For many years, Newcastle was the centre of an extensive paedophile network run by members of the Anglican church – and protected by parishioners and community members who looked the other way. 

In this gripping book, author Anne Manne reveals how this network was able to avoid detection for so long, and how its ringleaders were finally exposed and brought to justice. At the centre of the story is a survivor, Steve Smith, who endured years of childhood abuse but refused to be silenced. 

Join us on Sunday, 28 April for the offical book launch of Crimes of the Cross, led by chair speaker Tanya Wilks OAM in conversation with author, Anne Manne and survivor, Steve Smith. 

A searing expose of institutional child abuse, and the remarkable story of the survivors who would not be silenced

For many years, Newcastle was the centre of an extensive paedophile network run by members of the Anglican church – and protected by parishioners and community members who looked the other way.

In this gripping book, Anne Manne reveals how this network was able to avoid detection for so long, and how its ringleaders were finally exposed and brought to justice. At the centre of the story is a survivor, Steve Smith, who endured years of childhood abuse but refused to be silenced.

Drawing on extensive research and interviews with survivors, clergy, police and others, Manne explores how the network operated and how it became entrenched in the upper echelons of Newcastle society. She offers deep insights into the minds and strategies of abusers, and pays tribute to the victims and their tireless struggle for justice. Child sexual abuse has previously been thought of as an individual crime; Manne pioneers an examination of it as part of a network.

This is an unforgettable study of courage and faith in the face of unthinkable evil.

Part of the Writers @ Stanton collection.

Join Anne Manne, author of Crimes of the Cross, and discover a searing expose of institutional child abuse, and the remarkable story of the survivors who would not be silenced.

Please join us for the launch of Girt by Sea: Re-Imagining Australia’s Security by Professor Joanne Wallis and Professor Rebecca Strating.

Hear from the authors as they discuss their reasons for reimagining how Australia should understand its strategic challenges and find lasting security. To do this, the authors turn their gazes to Australia's near region, focusing on the six maritime domains central to its national interests: the north seas (the Timor, Arafura and Coral Seas and the Torres Strait), the Western Pacific, the South China Sea, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean.

Following the launch, a public Q&A session with the authors on topics covered in the book and on related contemporary Australian security issues will be moderated by Professor Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement).

Books will be available for purchase and both authors will be available to sign and personalise your copy.

Join award-winning author Alecia Simmonds as she uncovers a hidden history of love and heartbreak in the archives of law.

Until well into the twentieth century, heartbroken men and women in Australia had a legal redress for their suffering; jilted lovers could claim compensation for ‘breach of promise to marry’. Hundreds of people, mostly from the working classes, came before the courts, and their stories give us a tantalising insight into the romantic landscape of the past – where couples met, how they courted, and what happened when flirtations turned sour. In packed courtrooms and breathless newspaper reports, love letters were read as contracts and private gifts and gossip scrutinised as evidence.

Join world-leading artificial intelligence expert Toby Walsh (Machines Behaving Badly) as he examines the possibilities and perils of emerging AI technologies, from ChatGPT to facial recognition and self-driving cars, with Elizabeth McCarthy. 
 

What a difference a year makes in politics: the last of Australia’s COVID premiers resigned, voters said No to the Voice, and Anthony Albanese’s early-term honeymoon came to a close. In this special panel event, the country’s foremost political minds come together to review the highs and lows of the year that was and consider what lies ahead. Legendary reporters Sean Kelly, David Marr, Laura Tingle review the year in Australian politics and consider what lies ahead, in conversation with Michael Williams.  

‘This song sucks,’ was Nick Cave’s response to a ChatGPT song written in the style of Nick Cave, calling it “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human.”
But as AI advances and outstrips our notions of its limits and potential, could it capture that essential, undefinable human quality of great art? And if so, how might we preserve the rights of artists? 

Leading AI experts Marek Kowalkiewicz (The Economy of Algorithms), Toby Walsh (Machines Behaving Badly) and Professor Margaret Cameron, Head of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at University of Melbourne, chat with Paul Barclay.   

David Marr shares insight into Killing for Country, his gripping reckoning with the brutal history of Australia’s unresolved frontier wars, in conversation with Sally Warhaft.  

Please note: this event has had a time change.

Join us to celebrate the launch of Rebecca Strating and Joanne Wallis' Girt by Sea.

Australia has drawn closer to many of its Asia-Pacific neighbours in recent years, but 'when push comes to shove, it continues to look well beyond the oceans and regions that surround it to the distant horizons of Europe and North America for its ultimate security guarantee'. In Girt by Sea, international-relations experts Strating and Wallis instead turn their gazes to Australia's near region, focusing on the six maritime domains central to its national interests- the north seas.

Ali Moore, ABC's 774 drive time presenter, will join Strating and Wallis in conversation.

Free, but bookings are essential.

Often the goal of AI is to fake human intelligence, despite it being – as the name suggests – artificial and fundamentally different to human intellect. This sense of deceit has been present from the very beginning and now things like ChatGPT are able to truly deceive us. But can AI systems ever be creative? Can they be moral? What can we do to ensure they don’t become harmful? Join Professor Toby Walsh to explore all the ways AI fakes it rather than makes it, and what this means for humanity both now and in the future.

Hosted by Glynn Greensmith.

Hear from emerging and established writers from both today and the recent past, including Eddie Mabo, Thomas Mayo, Lenora Thaker,  Ellie Gaffney, Jillian Boyd-Bowie, Aaron Fa'Aoso and Jimi Bani. These and many more storytellers, mentors, traditional owners, doctors and teachers from the Torres Strait share their joy, culture, good eating, lessons learned and love of family, language and Country.

Discover stories of going dugong hunting and eating mango marinated in soy sauce. The smell of sugar cane and frangipani-scented sea breeze. Family, grandmothers and canoe time. Dancing, singing, weaving hats and making furniture from bamboo. Training as a doctor and advocating for healthcare for the Torres Strait. The loneliness of being caught between two cultures. Mission life, disconnection and being evacuated to the mainland during World War II. "Is that really your mum? Why is she black?". Not being Islander enough. Working hard to reconnect to your roots, and claiming back land and culture.

A book to treasure and share, this groundbreaking collection provides a unique perspective on the Torres Strait Islander experience.

Meet the editor Samantha Faullkner, in conversation with MARION Chair, Emma Batchelor.

The sexual abuse of children and adolescents has been the subject of two groundbreaking recent investigations: Anne Manne's analysis of the abuse by a network of Anglican clergy in Newcastle, Crimes of the Cross, and Michael Salter's new research into the surprising frequency with which men report sexual feelings towards children and teenagers. The journalist, Russell Jackson, has also recently uncovered the widespread sexual abuse of children in the state school system in Victoria. How the community can protect children in the future, and support victim-survivors, remain urgent questions, as Katie Wright's new research on awareness raising seeks to address.

This online event will be recorded and available on-demand after the event has concluded. An email will be sent to all registrants with the on-demand link.
This Ideas and Society event will discuss sensitive topics related to child sexual abuse and may be distressing for some attendees. Viewer discretion is advised. Please seek support as needed.

Because I'm Not Myself, You See: A Memoir of Motherhood, Madness and Coming Back From the Brink.

It is a frank, hopeful and darkly funny memoir of postpartum psychosis and recovery. Ariane Beeston is a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gives birth to her first child – and very quickly begins to experience scary breaks with reality.

This will be a raw and intimate evening, Ariane will be joined by Daisy Turnbull, friend, fellow author, teacher and director of wellbeing.

Ariane will be available for a signing after the event. Books will be available for purchase on the night. Tickets include a welcome drink and shared grazing boards.

Doors open from 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start, seating is unallocated so arrive early to secure your spot!

In the wake of a shift in the global power balance, how can Australia best protect itself?

Two of Australia’s most interesting foreign policy thinkers take a fresh look at Australia’s place in the world and come to some surprising conclusions. Clinton Fernandes (Sub-Imperial Power) and Sam Roggeveen (The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace) tackle the big questions about the US alliance, the threat of China, and underneath it all, what kind of country Australia really is.

Listen as Sam and Clinton reshape Australia’s understanding of itself in the international arena, in conversation with Verity Firth.

The Curiosity Lecture series returns to the Festival with a line-up of our most thought-provoking speakers delivering one-time talks on topics of intrigue, interest and importance. 

What does Peter Dutton know about the Australian electorate? Has he updated Menzies’ Forgotten People pitch for the age of anxiety? Or will he collapse the Liberals’ ‘broad church’?

Car Crash author Lech Blaine’s recent Quarterly Essay, Peter Dutton and the Forgotten People, situates the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian suburbs his campaign targets. After the Liberal Party’s electoral coalition splintered in 2022, influential conservatives urged Dutton to pursue outer-suburban and regional seats held by Labor – a tactic he’s used in response to the Voice to Parliament referendum, mortgage crunch and housing crisis.

Reflect on Dutton’s political strategy and where he will lead the Coalition next.

Translators are the publishing industry’s unsung heroes, uniting authors with readers beyond the borders of their native language.

Award-winning polyglots Jennifer Croft, Daniel Hahn and Stephanie Smee have introduced Anglophone audiences to some of the most celebrated writers in French, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian, including Nobel Laureates such as Olga Tokarczuk and José Saramago.

Explore the fine art of literary translation and the joys of reading diverse fiction from around the globe.

Humankind stands at a crossroads: will artificial intelligence make us superhumanly productive, liberating us from life’s most mundane tasks? Or have we opened Pandora’s box, unleashing sentient technology that will eventually destroy us?

In a colossal contest of persuasion and wit, two teams of our best and brightest debate whether artificial intelligence is better than the real thing.

Decide once and for all with team captains Annabel Crabb and David Marr, as they duke it out alongside teammates Matilda Boseley, Rhys Nicholson, Tracey Spicer and Toby Walsh. Adjudicated by Yumi Stynes.

Two icons of Australian writing, novelist Melissa Lucashenko and journalist David Marr, confront our nation's horrific past.

Melissa follows up her Miles Franklin–winning Too Much Lip with Edenglassie, a multigenerational epic beginning in Brisbane when First Nations people still outnumber the colonists.

David's soul-searching history Killing for Country grapples with politics and power in the colonial world, after discovering that his forebears served with the brutal Native Police.

Unpack the legacies of Australia's frontier wars with Melissa and David, discussing these groundbreaking books with journalist Matthew Condon.

In Your Favourites’ Favourites, our most loved writers introduces one of their favourite authors.

South Australian-born broadcaster Annabel Crabb says she picked up Robert Skinner’s I’d Rather Not thinking he was a fellow countryman from the Adelaide Plains. By the time she realised he grew up in the suburb of Magill, she was already hooked.

Annabel describes Robert’s rollicking memoir as “an absolute bag of lollies”, bursting with tales about endless jobs, escape and thwarted searches for a richer life.

Laugh along with Annabel and the funniest new voice in Australian letters.

How did sex begin? How did it evolve to become so varied and complex in humans? And what could sex look like for future generations? 

Hosted by evolutionary biologist Rob Brooks, this blush-worthy panel discussion features sex historian Esmé Louise James and historian David Baker. Esmé adapted her wildly popular TikTok series into a book, Kinky History: The Stories of Our Intimate Lives, Past and Present, and David’s Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation charts sex’s evolution from early life to sexbots.

Bone up on carnal knowledge across the centuries and find out what the future of fornication holds, in conversation with evolutionary biologist Robert Brooks.

Each week in Good Weekend, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die.

The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given: money, sex, death, religion, bodies, or politics. Join us for a special live edition of Dicey Topics at SWF with David Marr.

What goes on behind the scenes of Australia’s most public figures?

Under the spotlight of public scrutiny, the names and faces of Australian politics have fallen in and out of favour in recent years. Who are the people behind the politics? How did they get to be where they are, and where will they go next?

Join key political commentators Lech Blaine, Margot Saville and Niki Savva as they examine the rise and fall of the Coalition, and dare to ask the question – what comes next?

Join us with editor Samantha Faulkner to celebrate the release of Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia! Samantha will be joined by Sydney writers and contributors Tetei Bakic-Tapim, Aaliyah-Jade Bradbury and Rhett Loban.

Ticket proceeds will go to Mura Kosker, an Indigenous not-for-profit organisation that advocates for human rights and improves family and kinship wellbeing in the Torres Strait, through tailored services and programs.

What makes Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait unique? And what is it like to be a Torres Strait Islander in contemporary Australia? Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, compiled by poet and author Samantha Faulkner, showcases the distinct identity of Torres Strait Islanders through their diverse voices and journeys.

Australia, a land of sweeping plains, has one of the lowest population densities on the planet. So, how did we end up with a housing shortage?

Veteran finance journalist Alan Kohler’s new Quarterly Essay, The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Crisis and How to Fix It, investigates where things went wrong at the start of the 21st century with escalating property prices leading to a rental crisis, a dearth of public housing and a mortgage crunch.

Unpack the high price of housing with one of Australia’s most trusted voices in finance news, in conversation with economist and author Richard Holden.

Celebrate the tales told by African diasporic writers themselves in this special event, which brings together the Nobel Prize–winning author with comedian and memoirist Oliver Twist and writer and host Sisonke Msimang.

Hear stories from Zanzibar, Rwanda, South Africa and beyond as these remarkable writers consider the places that made them.

Machines lead the charge on today’s battlefields, but what does this mean for the people caught in the crossfire?

Learn from journalist Antony Loewenstein, whose Walkley Award–winning investigation, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World, uncovered the widespread commercialisation and global deployment of Israeli weaponry tested in Palestinian territories. Antony is joined by AI expert Toby Walsh, whose new book, Faking It: Artificial Intelligence in a Human World, explores how AI impersonates human intelligence.

Join them in this vital conversation with host Michael Richardson about the intersection of technology, conflict, occupation and surveillance.

David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal Native Police during the bloodiest years on the frontier.

The esteemed journalist and non-fiction writer turns his unflinching eye on this personal reckoning in Killing for Country: A Family Story. A feat of scholarship, The Age’s Frank Bongiorno lauded this soul-searching history of politics and power in the colonial world as “a timely exercise in truth-telling”.

Join David and host Laura Tingle to reckon with the violence of colonisation – and a war that is still unresolved in Australia today.

Join us at Readings Carlton to hear Ariane Beeston in conversation with Clare Wright.

Ariane Beeston is a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gives birth to her first child – and very quickly begins to experience scary breaks with reality. Her memoir Because I'm Not Myself, You See is a candid, often humorous memoir of motherhood and madness, interwoven with research and expert commentary. It's the story of the impossible pressures placed on new mothers and how quickly things can go wrong during 'the happiest time of your life'. It's also about life on the other side of serious illness, trying to make sense of what doesn't make sense, and finding humour, beauty and joy when things don't go according to plan.

Claire Tonti will also perform songs from her indie folk album, Matrescence. Laugh, cry and stomp your feet with this celebration of the messy, complex, beautiful and sometimes brutal transition to motherhood.

Professor Clare Wright OAM is an award-winning historian, author, broadcaster and public commentator who has worked in politics, academia and the media.

Free, but bookings are essential.

Join us with Ariane Beeston to celebrate the release of Because I'm Not Myself, You See! Ariane will be joined by Kerri Sackville, with opening remarks from Dr Nicole Highet.

A frank, hopeful and darkly funny memoir of postpartum psychosis and recovery.

'How strange to be the observed and not the observer.'

Ariane Beeston is a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gives birth to her first child – and very quickly begins to experience scary breaks with reality. Out of fear and shame, she keeps her delusions and hallucinations secret, but as the months pass Ariane gets worse. Much worse. Finally admitted to a mother and baby psychiatric unit, the psychologist is forced to learn how to be the patient.

With medication, the support of her husband, psychotherapy and, ultimately, time, Ariane rebuilds herself. And she also begins a new chapter working in perinatal mental health, developing resources to support other new mothers.

Because I'm Not Myself, You See is a candid, often humorous memoir of motherhood and madness, interwoven with research and expert commentary. It's the story of the impossible pressures placed on new mothers and how quickly things can go wrong during 'the happiest time of your life'. It's also about life on the other side of serious illness, trying to make sense of what doesn't make sense, and finding humour, beauty and joy when things don't go according to plan.

Weaving together intimate personal accounts, oral histories and moral philosophy, these editors discuss the subtle art of anthologising – how, through multiple voices and perspectives, we can arrive at a fuller picture of the whole.

All anyone is talking about in 2024 is AI – what is it, what is it capable of, and should we be afraid or excited? These authors bring fascinating perspectives to what’s being touted by some as the greatest technological shift since the Industrial Revolution – and one denounced by its own creators as a potentially existential threat.

Meet the visionary editor Samantha Faulkner and a group of writers and contributors to this latest publication in the incredible Growing Up series. Hear what it means to be a Torres Strait Islander in Australia’s past, present and future at this very special launch event introduced by esteemed First Nations leader Dr Jackie Huggins.

Because I'm Not Myself, You See: A memoir of motherhood, madness and coming back from the brink.

Local author Ariane Beeston's book is a frank, hopeful and darkly funny memoir of postpartum psychosis and recover and one of the most affecting books I've read this year.
As a psychologist herself, Ariane was perfectly skilled to try and shield those around her from her symptoms until she couldn't pretend any longer. The beautiful writing belies the awfulness described but in no way lessens it.

Ariane will be in conversation with author and GP Joanna Nell and will be signing books after the event.

In the latest instalment of the Writers-on-Writers series, Tony Birch offers profound insights into Kim Scott's unique approach to storytelling, exploring how fiction serves as a powerful conduit to truth. Join us at the library for an engaging discussion with acclaimed author Tony Birch and Ruby Lowe. Together they will delve into the captivating world of Noongar writer Kim Scott.

Bookings essential.

This is a hybrid event, so please choose either an online or in-person ticket.

Come and celebrate the launch of this extraordinary memoir set in Fremantle and beyond.

Embark on a heartfelt journey with Khin Myint from Perth to the United States as he navigates the challenges of supporting his sister, Theda, who keeps a euthanasia drug under her bed amidst a mysterious illness. With humor, wonder, and honesty, Khin confronts his past and present, exploring themes of family, identity, and life’s toughest choices. Immerse yourself in this unforgettable tale of love and human spirit.

“Calm, patient, and searching…steadfast in the face of unthinkable suffering.” —Helen Garner.

“Compelling and compassionate…an extraordinary story I will keep thinking about for a long time to come.” —Alice Pung.

“A fearless exploration of masculinity, families, and racism…quietly devastating and uplifting.” —Kristina Olsson.

Ariane Beeston examines the impossible pressures placed on new mothers and how quickly things can go wrong during ‘the happiest time of your life’.

It’s also about life on the other side of serious illness, trying to make sense of what doesn’t make sense, and finding humour, beauty, and joy when things don’t go according to plan.

Ariane will be joined in conversation by Sarah Bari.

Because I’m Not Myself, You See is a candid, often humorous memoir of motherhood and madness, interwoven with research and expert commentary. It’s the story of the impossible pressures placed on new mothers and how quickly things can go wrong during ‘the happiest time of your life’.

Join author Ariane Beeston in conversation with 2022 Miles Franklin Award winner, Jennifer Down, with introductory remarks by the CEO of COPE (Centre for Perinatal Excellence), Nicole Highet. 

Suitable for adults. Free event and bookings essential.

Ariane Beeston is a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gives birth to her first child – and very quickly begins to experience scary breaks with reality. Out of fear and shame, she keeps her delusions and hallucinations
secret, but as the months pass Ariane gets worse. Much worse. Finally admitted to a mother and baby psychiatric unit, the psychologist is forced to learn how to be the patient.

Book sales and author signings will be offered at this event.

If you need any assistance to participate in this event, please contact [email protected] at least two weeks prior to the event date.

Join us to hear Khin Myint in conversation with Alice Pung as they discuss Myint's Fragile Creatures.

Fragile Creatures is a family story told with humour, wonderment and complete honesty. This is a book about what happens when realities clash - it's about care, truth and the hardest choices. It will sweep you up and leave you stunned at its power.

Free, but bookings are essential.

Join us for a conversation between Ariane Beeston and Carly-Jay Metcalfe for the book Because I'm Not Myself, You See. 

Ariane Beeston is a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gives birth to her first child – and very quickly begins to experience scary breaks with reality. Out of fear and shame, she keeps her delusions and hallucinations secret, but as the months pass Ariane gets worse. Much worse. Finally admitted to a mother and baby psychiatric unit, the psychologist is forced to learn how to be the patient.

With medication, the support of her husband, psychotherapy and, ultimately, time, Ariane rebuilds herself. And she also begins a new chapter working in perinatal mental health, developing resources to support other new mothers.

Because I'm Not Myself, You See is a candid, often humorous memoir of motherhood and madness, interwoven with research and expert commentary. It's the story of the impossible pressures placed on new mothers and how quickly things can go wrong during 'the happiest time of your life'. It's also about life on the other side of serious illness, trying to make sense of what doesn't make sense, and finding humour, beauty and joy when things don't go according to plan.