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Thursday 25 May
8:00am - 9:00am
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Jane Harper has been hailed "the queen of outback noir" (The Sunday Times) for a string of crime novels that have sold more than 3 million copies in 40 territories worldwide. Her latest book, Exiles, brings back federal policeman Aaron Falk, who was first introduced in The Dry. He investigates the disappearance of a woman from a country wine festival whose infant daughter is found unharmed in her pram. See Jan in conversation with Michaela Kalowski about the thrilling an likely final instalment of the much-loved Falk series.
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Thursday 25 May
10:00am - 11:0am
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Much-loved Conversations host and bestselling author Richard Fidler delves into The Book of Roads & Kingdoms, an account of medieval wanderers who travelled to the edges of the known world during Islam's fabled Golden Age. He joins Caroline Baum to discuss the work hailed by The Sydney Morning Herald as "a bewitching tale consisting of stories within stories that radically tilts the Western reader's perspective, revealing a world when all roads led to Baghdad."
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Thursday 25 May
12:00pm - 1:00pm
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From Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Geraldine Brooks, Horse is a historical saga of spirit, obsession and injustice. With the moral complexity of her novel March and a multi-stranded plot reminiscent of People of the Book, she explores the true tale of one of America's greatest racehorses while reckoning with the corrosive legacy of slavery and racism. Praised for "almost clairvoyant ability to conjure up the textures of the past and of each character's inner life" (The Wall Street Journal), Geraldine appears in conversation with Nicole Abadee.
Geraldine Brooks appears thanks to the support of Rosie Williams and John Grill AO.
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Thursday 25 May
2:00pm - 3:00pm
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Bestselling British author and activist George Monbiot turns his attention to farming as one of the often-overlooked causes of environmental destruction in Regenesis : Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet. In his urgent and ultimately hopeful account of our faltering food system, he considers how we can make peace with our planet, restore its living systems, and replace the age of extinction with an age of regeneration. See George as he appears live via video with Rebecca Huntley.
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Thursday 25 May
4:00pm - 5:00pm
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Beloved radio presenter Richard Fidler and bestselling author and Oxford professor Peter Frankopan share the stage to discuss their richly rendered works of historical non-fiction. Richard is the author of Ghost Empire, The Golden Maze and, most recently, The Book of Roads & Kingdoms, the story of Arab and Persian travelers in medieval China, India and Byzantium. Peter is author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World and the Earth Transformed: An Untold History, a fascinating account of climate change across human history. Richard and Peter appear in conversation with historian Clare Wright.
Peter Frankopan appears thanks to the support of Tearaway Press.
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Friday 26 May
8:00am - 9:00am
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In skilled hands, historical fiction brings the past to life in surprising ways. It also helps us to make sense of our present, and even offers foreknowledge of the future. Hear from some of the century's finest writers of historical novels - Geraldine Brooks (Horse), Pip Williams (The Bookbinder of Jericho) and emerging talent Sally Collins-James (One Illumined Thread) - as they discuss the past as prologue and how they convincingly intertwine fact and fiction in their work. This panel event is hosted by ABC RN's The Bookshelf's Kate Evans.
Supported by ARA.
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Friday 26 May
10:00am - 11:00am
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Eleanor Catton became the youngest winner of the Booker Prize in 2013 for her sprawling Victorian mystery The Luminaries. It's keenly anticipated follow-up, Birnam Wood, is a psychological thriller set in rural New Zealand, where super-rich foreigners face off with ragtag locals on the eve of a global catastrophe. Eleanor returns to the Festival in conversation with Beejay Silcox about her gripping story that brings kaleidoscopic insight into what drives us to survive.
Eleanor Catton appears thanks to the support of Rosemary Block.
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Friday 26 May
12:00pm - 1:00pm
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Two-time world debating champion Bo Seo and former High Court justice Michael Kirby examine how we might better listen to and disagree with each other in an era of increasingly harsh and divirsive discourse. They discuss Bo's new book, Good Arguments, part memoir of how he discovered the art of debating as a shy, conflict-adverse child, and part treatise onwhy the pillars of good debate - fact finding reason and persuasion - offer and antidote to political spin, fake news and social media slugfests.
Supported by Jibb Foundation.
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Friday 26 May
2:00pm - 3:00pm
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After penning the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, American author Colson Whitehead set out to write a trilogy of stories centered on a furniture salesman-turned-crook named Ray Carney. The first in the series, Harlem Shuffle, is a hugely entertaining tale of race, power and the history of New York in the guise of a page-turning heist novel. Join Colson in conversation with Michael Williams about the book and its forthcoming follow up, Crook Manifesto, which continues the saga in an increasingly combustible 1970s Manhattan.
Colson Whitehead appears thanks to the support of Matthew and Fiona Playfair.
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Friday 26 May
4:00pm - 5:00pm
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RBG: Of Many, One, playwright and lawyer SuzieMiller (Prima Facie) read her way into Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s character and intellect via hundreds of pages of cases and judgements. To bring her to the stage, actor Heather Mitchell (Everything and Nothing) even brushed her teeth ‘as Ruth would’. Find out more about the alchemy that brought RBG to life on the page and the stage in this very special conversation between two unique artists. They are joined by Ailsa Piper.
(Changed schedule, previously Daniel Lavery: Dear Prudence and more).
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Saturday 27 May
8:00am - 9:00am
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C ulinary icons Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer have inspired generations of home cooks and fundamentally transformed how we think about food. They reflect on their decades-long friendship, and their partnership in running a cooking school for Australians in a medieval villa in Italy. They also talk about their influential books on preparing, cooking and savouring delicious food, including their co-authored Tuscan Cookbook, which was recently optioned to be made into a feature film. They are joined on stage by cook, writer and presenter Adam Liaw.
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Saturday 27 May
10:00am - 11:00am
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We are fascinated by stories of crime and how they unfold. There are no finer narrators of such stories than legendary author Helen Garner and The Teacher's Pet podcaster Hedley Thomas, whos work explores the link between confronting terrible things that happen and the people who are involved. They sit down with Sarah Krasnostein to explore the compelling nature of crime and the pressing question of what happens when justice takes a lifetime - or if it never comes at all?
Helen Garner appears thanks to the support of Kathy and Greg Shand.
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Saturday 27 May
12:00pm - 1:00pm
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Four favourite writers come together to give the lowdown on having their works adapted into TV shows and movies and adapting the work of others. Hear from Eleanor Catton, whose novels The Rehearsal and The Luminaries have made their way to the screen; Holly Ringland, whose bestseller The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is being turned into a series starring Sigourney Weaver; and Tom Rob Smith, whose novel Child 44 became a movie with Tom Hardy and whose adaptions for the screen The Assassination of Gianni Versace have won him an Emmy and a Golden Globe. They chat with Benjamin Law.
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Saturday 27 May
2:00pm - 3:00pm
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Australian novelist Pip Williams drew wide acclaim for her bestselling debut, The Dictionary of Lost Words, "a marvellous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress" (Geraldine Brooks). Her new novel, The Bookbinder of Jericho, covers similar terrain, with the story of a young British woman working in a book bindery who gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life. Pip is in conversation with Cassie McCullagh.
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Saturday 27 May
4:00pm - 5:00pm
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How is fiction evolving with our times? Is the novel a vulnerable art or more vital than ever? Could AI one day pen a masterpiece or do our storytellers guard an inimitable craft? Join some of the leading names in literature today - Eleanor Catton, Richard Flanagan, Tracey Lien and Colson Whitehead - for a lively discussion about the state of the novel and the future of fiction. They are joined in conversation by ABC RN's The Bookshelf's Kate Evans.
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Saturday 27 May
5:30pm - 6:30pm
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Women and girls have long been pressured to conform to written and unwritten rules about how to think, act look and feel. But a new generation of writers and activists are breaking down barriers to allow women and girls to show their real selves. Hear from Heartbreak High actress, advocate and Different, Not Less author Chloe Hayden, Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American filmaker and Gigorou author Sasha Kutabah Sarago, and activist for sexual assault survivors and The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner author Grace Tame in conversation with disability and women's rights advocate Hannah Diviney about their pathbreaking work.
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Sunday 28 May
8:00am - 9:00am
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Relive all the thrills and spills of the year in Australian politics with veteran journo Barrie Cassidy and his hand-picked squad of the country's sharpest pundits. From ScoMo's secret ministries to the climate reckoning of the Teal wave and the verdict on Labor's first year in office, it's all up for dissection as they take the pulse of the nation. Barrie shares the stage with Katharine Murphy, Niki Savva and Laura Tingle.
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Sunday 28 May
10:00am - 11:00am
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Last year saw independent candidates spectacularly oust Liberal Party stalwarts from once safe seats and upend the electoral rulebook. Hear from a panel with different perspectives as they consider the role of issues like climate action and political integrity in the independent candidates' victories, what their ascension reveals about the country's mood for change, and how they might shape our politics into the future. Independent MP Helen Haines, The Big Teal author Simon Holmes a Court and The Teal Revolution: Inside the Movement changing Australian Politics author Margot Saville speak with Barrie Cassidy.
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Sunday 28 May
12:00pm - 1:00pm
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With the campaign for a First Nations Voice to Parliament in full swing, leading First Nations thinkers Stan Grant and Teela Reid ask whether we are entering a new era for Australian democracy. Are we ready to speak and hear the truth about history as we move into the future? Two storytellers with different experiences and perspectives, they talk about what it means to be a First Nations person in a country that is yet to reconcile historical wrongs.
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Sunday 28 May
2:00pm - 3:00pm
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What will a Voice to Parliament actually mean? Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and legendary journalist Kerry O'Brien have worked together to write an accessible and engaging guide to this question. Whether you want to understand more about the Voice or would like some clear answers to share in conversations with others, this is a great opportunity to join an inspiring discussion of what our shared future can be.
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