The Newcastle Writers Festival is a mile wide and a mile deep in talent and diversity this year.
The event which began today, Friday, April 5, runs through Sunday evening, featuring 95 events and 150 writers.
Here are 20 events worth checking out at the festival this weekend if you can:
Saturday
10.30am, The Press Book House. Former Newcastle resident and respected illustrator Liz Anelli along with writer Pamela Freeman launch Seed to Sky, a fascinating children's picture book about the Daintree.
10am, NuSpace X201. Singer and songwriter Deborah Conway discusses her memoir, Book of Life, in conversation with Magalena Ball. Conway has been a musician for over 40 years. Innovator, motivator, role model, facilitator and entrepreneur, Conway is fearless (or foolish) in her risk taking, has pushed and pulled existing boundaries and has always argued her cause with integrity and intelligence.
11.30am Saturday, Music conservatorium Crime writer in Pink: Best-selling Sally Hepworth, in is conversation with Amy Lovat. Hepworth, who lives in Melbourne, is a New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, most recently Darling Girls. She has sold more than one million books worldwide.
11.30am Saturday, NuSpace 101 (Sold out), Bri Lee: author, academic, activist. Bri Lee first captured the literary world's attention with her debut memoir Eggshell Skull, a compassionate and unforgettable interrogation of the injustices experienced by survivors of sexual assault. She's since penned two more books. Now, she's turned her attention to fiction. Bri talks with Bridie Jabour about her novel, The Work, a story of love, vulnerability, and privilege in the world of art, set between Sydney and New York.
1.30pm Saturday, Conservatorium of Music. Dark Places: Chris Hammer and Louise Milligan.
1.30pm - 2.30pm NuSpace 320 2023 Miles Franklin winner Shankari Chandran in conversation with Ailsa Piper
3pm, Conservatorium of Music The Case Against Marriage: Clementine Ford in conversation with host Maeve Marsden
3pm, Civic Playhouse Things We Don't Speak About: Sex. Esme Louise James, Alecia Simmonds and Yumi Stynes discuss sex, taboo and relationships from past to present.
3pm, NuSpace 101 The Palestine Laboratory: Author and filmmaker Antony Loewenstein in conversation with Matt Bevan about his book, The Palestine Laboratory.
3pm NuSpace 301 Closing Time: A Carer's Experience of Dementia. Narrator Ghillian Sullivan in conversation with poet Karin de Novellis.
4pm, Momo Wholefoods. Book Launch, Wear Next, Fashioning for the Future. Author Clare Press answers 'What will you be wearing in 10 years? Will your jacket have been grown in a lab, or your jeans coloured using bacteria?' Press' new book explores the factors that are likely to shape our fashion futures, from conscious, fair, slow and upcycled to bio-intelligent and digital. She'll speak to Rowena Foong about fascinating innovators around the globe who are redesigning fashion from the ground up and changing it in the most fundamental ways.
4.30pm Conservatorium of Music. The Teacher's Pet Journalist Hedley Thomas in conversation with Richard Glover.
7.30pm Conservatorium of Music Words & Music This special event celebrates music, literature and the nature of inspiration. Established stars Deborah Conway and Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil original member, who has a new memoir, The Silver River) with local musicians including Adam Newling and Piper Butcher. Also appearing poet and writer Natalie Damjanovich-Napoleon.
6.30pm - 7.30pm Civic Playhouse Welcome to Sex. Yumi Stynes and Melissa Kang in conversation with host Maeve Marsden. (This event will be livestreamed)
8pm Civic Playhouse. (Sold out) Bryan Brown, a Bloody Good Idea. Brown s a beloved Aussie actor who has become a best-selling writer. He will chat with Anna Downing about his first novel, The Drowning, which follows the stunning success of his short story collection, Sweet Jimmy. (This event will be livestreamed)
Sunday
10am - 10.40am NUspace X402 The Fruit Nerd Join Thanh "The Fruit Nerd" Truong as he talks you through fruit and veg with your very own fruit-matching game! Gold coin donation.
11.30am - 12.30pm Conservatorium of Music Lies My Mirror Told Me. Comedian, writer and commentator Wendy Harmer in conversation with Jane Caro.
11.30am - 12.30pm Nuspace 321 The Love Language of Food Reece Hignell, Linda Marigliano and Charlotte Ree with host Yumi Stynes
1.30pm - 2.30pm Civic Playhouse Man-made Journalist and writer Tracey Spicer in conversation with Beejay Silcox. Her book, Man-Made: How the bias of the past is being built into the future, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2023.
4.30pm, NuSpace 321 Poetics and Practice: Jazz Money in conversation with Peter Johnson about their poetry, practice and contribution to Newcastle Art Gallery collection publication.
