Celebrate the publication of Eleanor Elliott Thomas’ brilliant new novel, Do We Deserve This? to be launched by Emily Spurr at Readings Carlton.

Bean Halloway, lone nobody in a family of ambitious somebodies, is still figuring out what she wants from her life. She always says she doesn't care about money-but will that still be the case when she finds herself in possession of a lottery ticket worth millions? Bean bought the ticket for her mother Nina, who is glamorous and charismatic-but not exactly an ideal parent. Before Bean can hand it over, an accident leaves Nina in a coma.

Join the award-winning novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad as he draws on a career covering the Wars on Terror, climate change, Black Lives Matter protests and Gaza to expose the broken promises of the West. Amid immense destruction One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This lays bare a society where the “least worst thing” absolves the soul.

In this powerful reckoning Omar asks, as both an Egyptian-born US citizen and a father, how do we carve out a sense of possibility in these devastating times? With host Sisonke Msimang.

Omar El Akkad discusses his searing new work, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This – a powerful reckoning with Western hypocrisy. 

Sparked by his viral tweet during the bombardment of Gaza – viewed over 10 million times – Omar El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This lays bare the fractures he has seen in the West’s empty promises of freedom and justice.  

In this timely session, the Egyptian-Canadian novelist and journalist reflects on how events like the Black Lives Matter protests, the escalating climate crisis and the violence in the Middle East have reshaped his understanding of migration, power and inequality and forced him to confront what it means to live in a West that has betrayed its fundamental values.  

Praised by Richard Flanagan as ‘a howl from the heart of our age’, El Akkad’s book explores exactly how the West has failed and offers hope for a way forward. With Tasneem Chopra.

Can fiction reveal deeper truths than journalism ever could? Come hear Jana Wendt – journalist, presenter, writer, and living legend of Australian media – as she ponders the question. Jana drew in huge audiences to her programs across public and commercial television over a three-decade career. Now she turns her prodigious writing skills and inquisitive reporter’s eye to fiction, with the whimsical, haunting and witty collection, The Far Side of the Moon and Other Stories. Hear how she made the leap from investigative journalism to explore deeper truths, deploying the most important skill for any writer: coaxing out the story. In conversation over a wonderful three-tiered High Tea with Canberra's own Alex Sloan. 

Words, photos, paintings, plays and films all provide windows into our world. Each of our panellists has worked in different ways with the interaction between these forms and seeks to elevate and celebrate the space artists need to express their creativity. Gail Jones (The Name of the Sister) started as a visual artist and painter, coming later to the sensuous delight of words and now one of Australia's most prolific literary authors. Kate Grenville (Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place) began in film and has had fascinating experiences seeing her iconic Australian books translated to stage and screen. Quentin Sprague (What Artists See) writes exquisitely about art and offers glimpses into the lives of some of Australia's best contemporary artists. Together they reflect on their journeys and explore the question: what can images do that words can’t, and what can words do that images can’t? Moderated by writer and artist Kim Mahood. 

OMAR EL AKKAD’S ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS

Egyptian-American journalist Omar El Akkad’s new book has been described by Richard Flanagan as ‘a howl from the heart of our age.’ Exploring recent global flashpoints, including Black Lives Matter, the Gulf War, and the genocide in Gaza, Omar’s book is a call for accountability and clarity, and a courageous examination of what it means to live in societies that have strayed so far from the values they claim to uphold. With Antoinette Lattouf.  

Inspiration for a Writing Life

This course provides practical strategies to find inspiration to nourish your writing practice, helping you reframe perspectives and celebrate small victories.

Every writer, no matter how accomplished, grapples with moments of doubt. How do you find the discipline to keep writing when the going gets tough? How do you maintain belief in yourself when surrounded by so many incredible books and with talented authors emerging daily? And how do you truly trust the creative process, allowing yourself to play with words even when the finish line seems distant? It's a universal challenge, one that can be overcome with the right tools and mindset. 

This course is designed to empower you to navigate these real struggles. You'll get practical, actionable strategies for responding to the self-doubt that often whispers in a writer's ear. You'll learn how to reframe your perspective and celebrate small victories. 

Ingrid Laguna is an award-winning novelist and educator. She has published a memoir and numerous books for children. Her work has been published internationally, featured by Reading Australia and given Notable recognition by the CBCA. Her novel Edie Tells a Lie (Text Publishing) was released in July 2025 and My Brother Otto (Text Publishing) is scheduled for publication in February 2026. 

Ingrid’s writing has featured in various publications, including The Monthly, the Age, Teacher Magazine and the AEU Magazine. 

Join two of Australia's most highly regarded writers speak about the lure of the Australian outback with its landscapes, characters and unsettled complexity. Here we have different tales of desperate searches to uncover what has happened to two women in the outback. Stories multiply. Heart and horror beat in tandem. Cops try to do their best. Gail Jones (The Name of the Sister) and Garry Disher (Mischance Creek: The New Hirsch Novel) will together explore the power of beautifully written outback crime. Moderated by The Garret’s Astrid Edwards.

Join this stellar panel of authors to hear about their latest titles as well as the books that ignited their passion for writing, and those they turn back to time and again for inspiration. What are some of the books of the 21st Century they want to shout to the rooftops and celebrate? Trent Dalton (Gravity Let Me Go, Boy Swallows Universe), Heather Rose (A Great Act of Love, Bruny) and Garry Disher (the Peninsula Crimes and Hirsch series) name some of their favourites…and the titles may delight and surprise you. Hosted by Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh for The Bookshelf this is also a chance to talk about the books put forward by the public in ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Books of the 21st Century. Bring your notebook and add to your summer reading list!

Omar El Akkad is joining the festival after recently releasing his searing memoir One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. But he first burst onto the literary scene with his bestseller American War, set during a climate change instigated Second U.S. Civil War in the year 2074. Jennifer Mills, in Salvage, explores sisters (one suspended in outer space and another down on the ravaged earth) after ecological collapse. And Madeleine Watts, in Elegy, Southwest follows a young couple driving along the course of the Colorado River as it threatens to run dry. Through speculative fiction, each author brings harrowing yet gentle perspectives on living, and loving, alongside planetary environmental breakdown. Together, and moderated by The Garret's Astrid Edwards, they'll discuss what it will take to save the best parts of our humanity and how fiction helps us find it.