There are heaps of wonderful literary events coming up in this year's Melbourne Writers Festival – so, to help you navigate the program, here are some of our top picks, based on whether you're a fiction lover or a fan of essays and nonfiction.
For the full events lineup and to book your tickets, head to the MWF website – but better go quick, lots of events have already sold out!
Hear from incredible novelists
Mother Tongue: Writing Matriarchies
Three celebrated First Nations writers – Judi Morrison, author of Secrets; Tasma Walton, author of I Am Nannertgarrook; and Anita Heiss, author of The Paradise Pact – come together to explore the power of telling women’s stories and honouring matriarchies through fiction.
Friday 8 May, 6.00pm | Find out more and book tickets
Wilder Shores: Writing the Changing Planet
As climate change destabilises the natural world in ways large and small, how do we reckon with an uncertain future? Australian authors Romy Ash (Mantle) and Bri Lee (Seed) speak about their powerful works of climate fiction, while Slovenian poet and researcher Ana Svetel gives insight into the changing landscapes of Iceland and the Alps.
Saturday 9 May, 10.30am | Find out more and book tickets
Burial Grounds: Indigenous Perspectives on Horror
Horror is hardly a genre that needs much introduction – graveyards, monsters, things that go bump in the night. But what is at the heart of horror and stories of the uncanny for Indigenous Peoples, when colonisation is as horrific as humanity gets? What does a history unburied look like in the light?
Saturday 9 May, 2.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
Toni Jordan and Michael Winkler: Animal Instincts
Join Toni Jordan (Tenderfoot) and Michael Winkler (Griefdogg) for a wide-ranging conversation about the real and metaphysical relationships between dogs and humans, and how animals can illuminate the most human parts of ourselves.
Saturday 9 May, 4.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
Mythical Retellings
In this fascinating panel discussion, writers Nikita Gill (Hekate: The Witch), Yann Martel (Son of Nobody) and Zoe Terakes (Eros) consider what draws them to archetypal tales of gods, goddesses, heroes and monsters – and how their work breathes new, often subversive life into old stories.
Sunday 10 May, 4.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
Discuss big ideas
Bob Brown: Defiance
Bob Brown comes to Melbourne Writers Festival with his bold new book, Defiance: Stories from Nature and Its Defenders, for a special live recording of the Good Weekend Talks podcast.
Saturday 9 May, 10.30am | Find out more and book tickets
Tareq Baconi: Fire in Every Direction
Palestinian scholar Tareq Baconi discusses his memoir, Fire in Every Direction, in which a love story, a political awakening and a tale of queer self-discovery converge.
Saturday 9 May, 12.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
Toby Walsh: AI - Boom or Doom?
For the annual John Button Oration, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW and author of The Shortest History of AI Toby Walsh delivers an illuminating address exploring the current and future impact of AI on our society.
Saturday 9 May, 2.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
Crip Stories: Nothing About Us Without Us
The word ‘crip’ was once used to discriminate. But today, it is reclaimed and celebrated. This session brings together contributors and editors of Mascara Literary Review’s new anthology Crip Stories to discuss the vibrant and diverse experiences of disabled people
Saturday 9 May, 1.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
Centring First Nations Knowledge
In this panel discussion, Julie Andrews OAM (Where’s All the Community?), Professor Eddie Cubillo (Defending the Defenceless) and Dr JM Field (The Eagle and the Crow) come together with host Tony Birch to reflect on Indigenous ways of knowing, being and relating.
Sunday 10 May, 1.30pm | Find out more and book tickets
These events are all happening in the Melbourne CBD, but there's also events happening around Melbourne's suburbs – take a look and see if the festival is coming to your local library! Or explore the full program here.
