Sydney Writers' Festival Saturdays

Watch SWF talks from the comfort of your Library, this October!

The Sydney Writers’ Festival has teamed up with the NSW State Library to bring you “the stories, voices, and conversations you love — not just during the five days of the Sydney Writers’ Festival” but throughout October as well!

Join us each Saturday for livestreams of some incredible writers talking about what they do best.

No bookings required. 

4 October

9am | Hannah Kent: Always Home, Always Homesick!
A love letter to Iceland. In 2003, 17-year-old Australian exchange student Hannah Kent arrives at Keflavík Airport in the middle of the Icelandic winter. Always Home, Always Homesick is Hannah’s exquisite love letter to a land that has forged a nation of storytellers, her ode to the transcendent power of creativity, and her invitation to us all to join her in the realms of mystery, spirit and wonder. Sit down with Hannah as she reflect on the writing of her memoir and shares how Iceland shaped the person she is today. In conversation with Maeve Marsden.

10:30am | Siang Lu: Ghost Stories
Miles Franklin Award winner’s bold and satirical reimagining of Australian storytelling. Take a tour of the absurd with author Siang Lu, whose Miles Franklin Award–winning novel Ghost Cities leaps from China’s abandoned megacities to parallel histories in an endlessly inventive allegory for today. An instant landmark in experimental Australian literature, Ghost Cities, much like its author’s nebulous internet presence, is at once a tongue-in-cheek satire and a bold exploration of failed expatriation and erasure. Discover Siang’s rich literary worlds in this conversation with James McKenzie Watson.

11 October

9am | Eric Puchner: Dream State
One summer reverberating for 50 years. A love triangle. A family saga spanning 50 years. A story about the magnetic pull of friendship. Fresh from Oprah’s bookshelf, discover this take on the great American novel with Eric Puchner’s magnetic Dream State. In conversation with Cassie McCullagh.

10.30am | David McWilliams: Money
Money makes the world go round “Money can be more powerful than religion, ideology or even armies. Mess with money and you mess with far more than the price system, inflation and economics – you mess with people’s heads.” Join renowned global economist David McWilliams to chart the history of money with his signature wit and unlock its mysteries and power: what is it, how does it work and why do we fight wars over it? From a tally stick in ancient Africa to coins in Republican Greece right up to the cryptocurrencies of today, uncover how the evolution of money has shaped our world. In conversation with Richard Holden.

12pm | Bob Brown: Defiance
Stories from nature and its defenders. Former leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown, has been standing up to those who would put profit before planet for half a century. In his new book, Defiance, he draws on his experience in the environmental movement from his time as director of the Wilderness Society, protesting the Franklin Dam to his distinguished political career advocating for the environment. To inspire a new generation of individual and collective action he considers the challenges facing nature’s defenders, from industry lobbyists to rising consumerism, and reflects on the motivations to keep fighting for our planet

18 October

9am | Jane Harper: Last One Out
The master of outback noir is back with a searing new novel In a dying town, Ro Crowley waits for her son on the evening of his 21st birthday. But Sam never comes home. Join Jane Harper as she unpacks the twists and turns of her latest novel Last One Out, where one set of footprints hold the answers.

10.30am | Sophie Gilbert: Girl on Girl
How pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves. Despite decades of progress, the gains of the feminist movement feel more fragile than ever. Exploring pop culture from the early 90s to now, Pulitzer Prize–nominated journalist Sophie Gilbert takes a microscope to it all – from Madonna, the Spice Girls, Kate Moss and Britney Spears, to Myspace and the #Girlboss era – uncovering how every form of media has shaped and warped women’s relationships with themselves and with other women. Are we doomed to never progress? Or can we fight back? Reckon with how pop culture has defined us in this essential discussion. In conversation with Yumi Stynes.

25 October

9am | Griffin Dunne: Coming of Age in Hollywood
Griffin Dunne grew up in the heart of Tinseltown amongst the biggest and soon-to-be biggest names of film, television and literature. After a decades-long career making movies including classics After Hours and Practical Magic, Griffin considers his upbringing as the child of writer and producer Dominick Dunne and activist Ellen Griffin and the nephew of writers John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. On the surface, his latest book The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir is a who’s who of pop culture royalty but underneath the glitter is a poignant recollection of a family full of love and laughter. Reminisce with Griffin in conversation with Benjamin Law.

10.30am | Omar El Akkad: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Omar El Akkad believed the West would be a place of freedom and justice for all. Join the award-winning novelist and journalist as he draws on a career covering the Wars on Terror, climate change, Black Lives Matter protests and Gaza to expose the broken promises of the West. Amid immense destruction One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This lays bare a society where the “least worst thing” absolves the soul. In this powerful reckoning Omar asks, as both an Egyptian-born US citizen and a father, how do we carve out a sense of possibility in these devastating times? With host Sisonke Msimang.

1 November
9am | Austen’s Powers
This year marks the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, whose literary brilliance continues to delight, challenge and beguile. Join a panel of self-professed Janeites as they gather to observe the occasion and trace the peerless wit, scathing social commentary and iconic love stories that have inspired countless adaptations on pages, stages and screens. Consider Austen’s literary afterlives with award-winning novelist Larissa Behrendt whose forthcoming novel reimagines Pride and Prejudice through a First Nations lens, expert in Romantic studies Professor Emeritus Will Christie and Walkley Award–winning writer and proud Austen-tragic Jane Caro. In conversation with Caroline Baum.

10.30am | Wild for Austen
Meet Jane untamed. If we ever truly believed Jane Austen to be a quiet spinster, Devoney Looser puts that myth to rest in her new book, Wild for Austen. As dramatic characters and events come to life in this entertaining account, we learn that Austen was far wilder in her time than we’ve given her credit for. Join author and scholar Devoney Looser in conversation to explore everything from Austen’s relationship to the abolitionist movement to her views on women’s suffrage, as well as the fascinating journey her legacy has taken over the past 250 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When

Location

Singleton Library, 8-10 Queens Street, Singleton, 2330, View Map