A number of Council facilities will be closed or operating with public holiday hours across the Easter long weekend, 3 - 6 April 2026.
Next date: Thursday, 21 May 2026 | 10:00 AM to Sunday, 24 May 2026 | 09:00 PM
Join us for Live & Local 2026, streamed live by Sydney Writers’ Festival and delivered locally to Singleton Public Library to bring the best of the Festival direct to you.
One of Australia’s most loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will livestream its headline events from Sydney to Singleton Public Library on Thursday 21, Friday 22, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 May.
Prepare to be invigorated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions featuring some of the world’s finest writers and thinkers. Audiences can also participate in live Q&A sessions at many events, sending questions straight to the Sydney stage.
Be sure to book your spot for the programs that require it!
Thursday 21 May
10 - 10.55am
The Future of Democracy series, hosted by Nick Bryant and Rosalind Dixon, is a collaboration between Sydney Writers’ Festival and the Resilient Democracy Lab at UNSW Sydney.
Professor of Philosophy and author A.C. Grayling outlines the fragility of democracy and the freedoms we take for granted and risk losing in For The People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy.
In recent years, the democratic foundations and civil liberties of Western nations that once seemed unshakeable have been shown to be remarkably fragile – vulnerable to authoritarianism, the whims of the wealthy and powerful and the erosion of civil liberties. As with previous works like Who Owns the Moon? and Discriminations, A.C. interrogates complex political realities and offers bold solutions.
Hear from a Festival favourite as he asks the critical questions of our time, followed by a discussion chaired by Nick Bryant (The Forever War) and Rosalind Dixon (The People's Guide to the Australian Constitution).
Presented in collaboration with the UNSW Resilient Democracy Lab.
12 - 12.55pm
Yann Martel: Son of Nobody
The story of the Trojan War, like so many wars real and imagined, is a story most often told by the victors, the princes and the powerful.
In this new imagining of the ancient legend, Son of Nobody, Yann Martel tells the familiar tale from an unheard perspective: that of a commoner and goatherd who becomes a soldier, Psoas, the son of nobody. Acclaimed for his Booker Prize–winning Life of Pi, adapted into an Oscar-winning film, Yann’s first novel in a decade sings a universal song about the power of story.
Unravel ancient traditions with Yann, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Claire Nichols (The Book Show).
Presented in partnership with ABC Radio National.
2 - 2.55pm
On a mission to spread the joy of good food, Australia’s beloved chef Stephanie Alexander released The Cook’s Companion in 1996.
Now, 30 years and half a million copies later, the book on everybody’s kitchen shelf is back in a fully updated edition with new recipes and expanded information. Offering invaluable insights, tips and tricks from an Australian food icon, The Cook’s Companion 30th Anniversary Edition is ready to inspire a new generation of cooks.
Hear from Stephanie – the creative and authoritative food thinker behind the essential resource – in conversation with fellow chef Adam Liaw in this special event.
4 - 4.55pm
A favourite Festival event for historical fiction buffs returns with stories from near and far.
Robbie Arnott’s Dusk, set in the mountains of Tasmania, and Tasma Walton’s I Am Nannertgarrook, based on a true story from Tasma’s family, were both awarded the ARA Historical Novel Prize for their brilliant stories from Australian history. While Booker Prize–winning writer Yann Martel’s first book in a decade, Son of Nobody, features the discovery of a new perspective from the Trojan War.
Sink into these stories of the past with Robbie, Tasma and Yann, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Kate Evans.
6 - 6.55pm
In a novel, the words on the page are our entrance into another’s mind. But sometimes it’s the space between the lines that define a character.
In David Szalay’s 2025 Booker Prize–winning Flesh, István is caught between the boundaries of Hungary and England, his teenage years and adulthood, his body and sense of self and desire and indifference. With spare, propulsive prose, David paints an intimate portrait of a man slowly unravelling as he asks profound questions about the strangeness of being.
Hear David trace the evolution of his singular novel and its protagonist, in conversation with Michelle de Kretser.
Friday 22 May
What if we could change our future by rewriting our pasts?
For author Amitav Ghosh and researcher Luke Kemp, navigating the present means understanding the past. In two books, The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis and Wild Fictions, Amitav considers human history through our relationship with the environment, while Luke retells the collapse of empires to find solutions for our current existential crises in Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse.
Revisit the past to find solutions for the present with Amitav and Luke in conversation with host Clare Wright.
The new novel from Susan Choi, multi-award-winning writer including the National Book Award and a Lambda Literary Award, is a sweeping, international family drama that was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. Flashlight, described by The Guardian as a return to the great American novel of the 20th century, beguiled readers for its examination of absence and silence in a small family rocked by the assumed death of Louisa’s father.
Join Susan as she discusses relationships and alienation in her new novel, in conversation with Beejay Silcox.
After being crowned the number one book of the 21st century by ABC Radio National, Australian literary sensation Trent Dalton’s newest book mixes gruesome true crime with a personal exploration of love and marriage.
Noah Cork had the scoop of his journalistic career hand-delivered to his mailbox. But his decision to pursue the lead of a cold-blooded killer while the case is still under investigation invites more chaos and destruction into his life than he anticipated. In Gravity Let Me Go, Trent returns to age-old themes of love and family in this story of ambition, truth and deception.
Join Trent for a discussion of his latest hit novel, in conversation with Cassie McCullagh.
Supported by Vision Australia.
Screen adaptations breathe new life into books, expanding their audiences and reimagining their worlds.
Crime writer Mick Herron’s Slough House thriller series was adapted into the award-winning Apple TV series Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman, and playwright Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie received international acclaim, including a Laurence Olivier Award, before it was adapted into both a novel and a film.
Get behind-the-scenes insight into the adaptation process and how reimagining their stories has influenced their careers, with Mick and Suzie in conversation with host Benjamin Law.
Instant bestseller and “best debut novel in years” (The Sunday Times) starts in a literal and metaphorical storm.
While registering her son’s birth, Cora faces a decision that could change his life: what will she name him? Her options – Bear, Julian or Gordon – each come with their own legacies, expectations and risks. In The Names, novelist Florence Knapp tells a powerful story of darkness and hope through three vastly different versions of a boy’s life.
Explore the profound force of family with Florence, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Claire Nichols (The Book Show).
Florence Knapp appears thanks to the support of The Salon.
Book Here
8 - 9.15pm
For novelists, winning a Booker Prize, one of the most coveted literary awards in the world, is a career- and life-changing achievement.
In this special event, a dazzling array of shortlisted writers and winners reflect on how it shaped their writing lives and read from the works that brought them recognition.
Hear panel discussion with 2025 Booker Prize winner David Szalay (Flesh), 2025 Chair of the judges and previous winner Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha), Susan Choi (Flashlight), Yann Martel (Life of Pi) and Charlotte Wood (Stone Yard Devotional). With host ABC Radio National’s Kate Evans.
Supported by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and the Korean Cultural Centre Australia.
Supported by the Consulate General of Ireland and Culture Ireland.
Saturday 23 May
An incomparable storyteller, lucid analyst and eloquent polemicist, acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh’s rich body of fiction and non-fiction work has shaped our contemporary understanding of history and the environment.
In this special event, Amitav reflects on his career and range of bestselling books including the Ibis trilogy, ground-breaking non-fiction in The Great Derangement and The Nutmeg’s Curse and his newest novel Ghost-Eye, set in 1960s Calcutta.
Explore the themes of history, post-colonialism and environmentalism behind his ongoing work, in conversation with Michael Williams.
We used to take honourable institutions, humans rights protections and freedom of speech for granted. With autocratic regimes on the rise around the world, these things are no longer guaranteed, even as the the value and importance of democracy becomes stark.
In this discussion, journalist and writer Jon Sopel (UnPresidented: Politics, Pandemics and the Race that Trumped All Others) joins co-hosts Nick Bryant (The Forever War) and Rosalind Dixon (The People's Guide to the Australian Constitution) to consider how to withstand the forces eroding democracies worldwide, from the rule of tech broligarchs to the autocratic superpowers.
Join Jon in conversation with Nick and Rosalind.
Fantasy is fiction at its escapist best.
Imagining new worlds, memorable characters and compelling plots, fantasy writers are the extreme jugglers of the writing craft. In this panel discussion, hear from three of the biggest names in fantasy for adults and young adults alike. Lev Grossman, author of The Bright Sword and the hit Magicians trilogy, international sensation and author of The Poppy War trilogy, Babel and Katabasis R.F. Kuang and Garth Nix, bestselling author of the Old Kingdom series, share their enthusiasm for the genre and its devoted readership.
Hear Lev, R.F. and Garth in conversation with Carody Culver.
Dubbed the “undisputed laureate of ordinary lives” by The Sunday Times, Irish Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle has kept us laughing and crying in equal measure.
From his prize-winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha to The Commitments, which was adapted into a BAFTA-winning screenplay, Roddy’s customary humour and dialogue capture beautiful relationships between lifelike characters, making him a literary icon.
In this special event, listen as Roddy reflects on his storytelling career and discusses his latest novel, The Women Behind the Door, which marks the return of beloved character Paula Spencer. In conversation with Kate Evans.
8 - 9pm
After her New York Times bestseller, Writers & Lovers, Lily King returns to themes of love, desire, forgiveness and loss in Heart the Lover.
Our narrator is a successful writer who is familiar with the classic tropes of love stories. She lives her life with her husband and children until a surprise forces her to confront the lingering strings of her own romantic past. This is Lily at her masterful best, with an epic story that celebrates literature and young love.
Revel in unforgettable connection and untangle the pieces of this love story with Lily, in conversation with Melanie Kembrey.
Supported by Bookoccino.
Sunday 24 May
In a world of misinformation, AI hallucinations and international cover-ups, the truth feels more elusive than ever.
Without a secure foundation of shared knowledge and institutions to support it, the basis of our society and culture is under threat. In this panel discussion, experts across technology, journalism and philosophy share their perspectives on the value of truth today. International correspondent Barbara Demick (Daughters of the Bamboo Grove), philosopher A.C. Grayling (For The People), Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales (The Seven Rules of Trust) and AI researcher Toby Walsh (The Shortest History of AI) share their insights.
Join Barbara, A.C., Jimmy and Toby in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Natasha Mitchell (Big Ideas).
Jimmy Wales appears thanks to the support of Phillip Keir and Sarah Benjamin.
12 - 1pm
Dav Pilkey, the world-famous creator of Dog Man and Captain Underpants brings his ‘Power Up with Reading’ book tour to Sydney Writers’ Festival.
See Dav draw his beloved characters live, hear his inspiring life story and prepare yourself for some hilarious onstage antics. It’s time to unlock your potential by powering up with reading. Don’t miss this fun, interactive, activity-filled event. Hosted by Nathan Luff.
Recommended for ages 6+
Award-winning journalist, presenter and author Antoinette Lattouf hit global headlines and set legal precedent in 2025 when her case with the ABC cracked open urgent questions about free speech, employment rights and who really pays the price when media power goes unchecked.
In her new book Women Who Win: Celebrating Courage, Conviction and Change, Antoinette writes from the eye of the storm. One woman. One contract. One refusal to step aside. From there, she widens the frame, tracing the lives of other Australian women across history who challenged authority, advocating for themselves and others.
Join Antoinette in conversation with Jo Dyer for an evening of sharp insight, hard-earned truth and feminist wins that we were meant to forget.
4 - 5pm
In the latest instalment of Mick Herron’s internationally bestselling series, palms are itching among Jackson Lamb’s cohort of misfit spies.
A legendary former spy’s missing book, a state secret and some mischievous blackmail: which underhanded action will rock the carefully calibrated boat of Slough House? An instant Sunday Times bestseller and continuation of the adapted Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, Clown Town is a spy thriller with a witty twist and an unforgettable band of characters.
Listen as Mick reveals details about the evolution of the Slough House thrillers and what comes next, in conversation with Michael Williams.
Singleton Library, 8-10 Queens Street, Singleton, 2330, View Map
8-10 Queens Street , Singleton 2330
Free