Brisbane Writers Festival
This October, your bookshelf comes alive again at a four-day literary festival. No genres are barred at this gathering of local and international literary celebrities.
Overview
If you're hungry for more from the author behind Boy Swallows Universe — and if you've ever wanted the inside scoop on Tinseltown, you'll want to make a date with the 2025 Brisbane Writers Festival. As always, the festival celebrates local literary legends as much as it welcomes international writers. Prepare to be busy, literature lovers: more than 100 live sessions are on the full bill.
When the BWF takes place from Thursday, October 9–Sunday, October 12 at the Brisbane Powerhouse and other venues around Brisbane, you'll spot some familiar headliners. Trent Dalton will return with the launch of his most personal novel to date Gravity Let Me Go, while Anita Heiss retakes the mic as one of the prolific Indigenous voices resonating through the festival.
They're joined by other A-listers, literary or otherwise: actress and memoirist Ione Skye, filmmaker and writer Griffin Dunne (yes, the Practical Magic director and Joan Didion's nephew) unravel the myth and mystique of Hollywood, American romantasy star Callie Hart speaks about Quicksilver and historian Bettany Hughes guides audiences through ancient worlds in a sightseeing tour and Helen Garner unpacks the Aussie passion for footy with former AFL player Brandon Jack.
From there, the usual applies at Brisbane's annual ode to storytelling and publishing: if it involves words, it's probably covered. Among the book-centric buffet, other highlights include keynote addresses by Heiss and Singaporean poet Theophilus Kwek, cultural critic Sophie Gilbert dissecting Y2K-era misogyny at the heart of Girl on Girl, Fisk writer Steph Tisdell talking about her debut YA novel and a mixed bag of old and emerging authors examining their chosen genres of crime and historical fiction. Or, there's also the New York Times bestseller and PEN/Faulkner Award finalist Eric Puchner, crime novelist Mark Brandi and Obernewtyn Chronicles' Isobelle Carmody — and the fact that Sharlene Allsop and Jillian Bowie are both guest curators.
Sally Hepworth, Holly Wainwright, Michael Robotham and Di Morrissey are also flying the flag for Australian scribes, each with a new tome to discuss. This year, Queensland is particularly well-represented, with over half of the artists hailing from the Sunshine State — among them are Steve Minon, Laura Elvery, Kimberley Allsopp, Melanie Saward, Martine Kropkowski, Cheryl Leavy, Joanna Jenkins, Lauren Ford and Allison Rushby.
If you're trying to make sense of the world, you're in luck there, too. Political analyst Clinton Fernandes takes on the circus of politics in the Trump era, Bryan Horrigan examines ethics in business and David McWilliams unpacks the relationship between humans and money. Inspiring stories of human resilience are in the spotlight too, with sessions featuring F1 engineer turned Lune Croissanterie founder Kate Reid, Masterchef host Melissa Leong, kickboxer John Wayne Parr, Pub Choir's Astrid Jorgensen, Ottolenghi offsider Helen Goh, and athletic legend Turia Pitt — and poets from all over the Asia Pacific will unpack the importance of language.
Two days dedicated to children and YA fiction, celebrating Aussie drag culture from Rupaul Drag Race Down Under's Art Simone, exploring the impact of our COVID vaccinations, solutions to the Doomsday clock, the Anzac myth, conspiracy theories, the history of Brisbane's rock scene and how to write stories inspired by your own life: they all deserve some attention because the lineup is jam-packed.
Morgan Roberts
Images: Josef Ruckli, Markus Ravik and Morgan Roberts.
Information
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