The Five Best Things to See at the Brisbane Writers Festival 2015

Fancy yourself a thriller fan? Mesmerised by mysteries? Do you spend your time reading page-turners and trying to piece together the culprit — or, when your head isn’t buried in a book, daydreaming about solving real-life cases in stately mansions? If so, Playing Agatha Christie is the Brisbane Writers Festival 2015 event for you. Though a chat about the famous author with psychological crime fiction writer Sophie Hannah — who offered her own entry into the Hercule Poirot cannon in 2014 — already sounds like fun, that’s not all this evening promises. At Brisbane’s oldest surviving residence, you’re encouraged to don pearls, feathers, monocles and moustaches to really get into the good ol’ fashioned whodunit spirit.

If there’s a trend everyone can get behind, it’s books about kick-ass ladies doing kick-ass things. Harry Potter‘s Hermione Granger and The Hunger Games‘ Katniss Everdeen have been leading the charge of late — but they’re in good company. From Jane Eyre and Hester Prynn to the modern-day characters getting our feisty hearts a-pumping, the heroine is an enduring part of literature for a reason. Discover more as Sarah Waters, Jane Caro, Kate Grenville and Sophie Hannah discuss the hows and whys about the women readers have grown to love, laud, obsess over and idolise — as well as address the ways in which characters and writers can help us be the heroines of our own existence.

There’s more to literary love-ins than those who wield words giving voice to them. At Brisbane Writers Festival 2015, there’s also an innovative and unique installation of artist prints, poetry, prose and musicians that enliven the communication of our ornithological friends — aka bird calls. Honing in on the flying species that call the Bimblebox Nature Refuge home,Bimblebox 153 Birds celebrates the ways wildlife connects with each other. It also makes a statement about creatures in a place that could be destroyed by a coal mine, which makes dropping by on your way to a more traditional BWF session more than just a good way to break up your festival experience.

Who doesn’t love First Dog on the Moon? As the Guardian‘s much-loved cartoonist, he’s canny with political comedy and clever with a pencil. In the flesh, he’s just as smart and satirical, as two of his Brisbane Writers Festival 2015 events will prove. We’d tell you to see his live show and his panel discussion on sarcasm, but they’ve already sold out, so it appears you’re way ahead of us. Thankfully, the astronaut pooch is also fond of the soothing elixir that is whisky, and he wants to share his experiences. In what’s likely to be BWF’s most liquor-fuelled event, Malt Lovers sees everyone’s favourite creative canine and fellow cartoonist Jon Kudelka hop through the highlights of their 600km tour of every whisky distillery and whisky bottler on the Tasmanian Whisky Trail.

Assuming you haven’t been hiding away from the internet for the better part of 2015, you should be well aware of the work of Jon Ronson. Prior to this year, the Welsh journalist, author, filmmaker and radio presenter was perhaps best known for writing the book The Psychopath Test and co-writing the filmFrank partly based on his own experiences. Then his latest publication, So, You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, was released, shedding light on the insidious side of our online behaviour. Seeing him chat, in the flesh, about his three years spent researching the worst of social media-facilitated public humiliation is a rare occasion — and if you want more pearls of Ronson wisdom, then check out his Brisbane Writers Festival 2015 opening address and discussion on the state of 21st-century investigative journalism.