Lorin Clarke (Would That Be Funny?) and Rob McHaffie join Bendigo Art Gallery Curator Emma Busowsky for a conversation about art, satire, and that great wellspring of creative inspiration – family.

Clarke’s idyllic, hilarious and deeply nerdy childhood in the family of beloved satirist John Clarke honed her own keen eye for social observation.

McHaffie’s lively narrative paintings depict his young family alongside a colourful cast of familiar characters, from super cool hipsters to mums and dads, dog walkers and latte drinkers.

Inspired by McHaffie’s solo exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery, this session will explore the value of autobiographical material, probe the fine balance of affection and sting in good satire, and celebrate the joys and challenges of family life.

Ruined gold-rush towns, remote caravan communities, idyllic mountain hide-aways, small fishing villages, a produce market...there's danger at every turn in small town Australia if the authors of crime fiction novels Hayley Scrivenor, Margaret Hickey and Vikki Wakefield are to be believed.

Join these mystery writers as they talk to Amy Doak about the landscapes and characters that make contemporary Aussie crime books so compelling.

Vikki Wakefield writes fiction for adults and young adults. Her novels have been shortlisted for numerous awards. After You Were Gone, a psychological thriller, was her first novel for adults and was published in 2022 to much acclaim. To the River is her second psychological thriller for adults. Vikki lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

All that water — and land! and resources! — so close to home. How can we navigate local and global journeys, across time, space and country, in an age of climate change and imminent environmental collapse? Kate Mildenhall (The Hummingbird Effect), James Bradley (Deep Water), Dr Lauren Fuge (Voyagers) with Dr Lilian Pearce.

Lauren Fuge is an award-winning science writer who is currently undertaking a PhD exploring creative forms of climate communication. She won the magazine category of the 2023 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards and the 2022 UNSW Bragg Prize for Science Writing. Her writing features regularly in the Best Australian Science Writing anthology. Fuge holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Science in Experimental and Theoretical Physics.

Kate Grenville (Restless Dolly Maunder), Iain McCalman (John Büsst) and Ross McMullin (Life So Full of Promise) share the research and inspiration behind the biographies they've written with Sam Kane.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes, has been adapted for the stage and as an acclaimed television miniseries, and is now a much-loved classic. Grenville’s other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places and the Orange Prize winner The Idea of Perfection. Her recent non-fiction includes One Life: My Mother’s Story, The Case Against Fragrance and Elizabeth Macarthur’s Letters. Her most recent novel is the bestselling A Room Made of Leaves. She has also written three books about the writing process. In 2017 Grenville was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.

Exit stage left – and enter page one! Join three of Australia’s most exciting voices in stage and screen to find out what happens when acclaimed playwrights become novelists? Finegan Kruckemeyer (The End and Everything Before It), Jane Harrison (The Visitors), Jordan Prosser (Big Time) with Carrie Tiffany.

Finegan Kruckemeyer was born in Ireland and now lives in Adelaide. He is an award-winning playwright, whose works have been performed on six continents and in eight languages. The End and Everything Before It is his first novel.

Few Australian authors are as greatly loved or widely revered as Arnold Zable. Recently recognised with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature, he continues to chart new territory on the map of our national consciousness. Join Arnold in conversation with Bram Presser as they discuss his storied life at the forefront of Australian literature and human rights advocacy.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia's most celebrated authors. She is a recipient of the Creative Australia (Australia Council) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature and the author of 18 books, many of which, like The Secret River, are considered Australian classics. Kate is the first Australian to be twice-shortlisted for the International Women's Prize for Fiction, in 2024 for Restless Dolly Maunder and 2001 for The Idea of Perfection, which won the prize that year.

Kate joins Dr Yves Rees to discuss the people and places of Australia that have inspired her writing, the mistakes and memories she’s made along the way and the stories that still remain untold.

Mark Raphael Baker was a Holocaust scholar, an inspiring teacher and the critically acclaimed author of The Fiftieth Gate and Thirty Days. He was also a much-loved member of the Melbourne and Sydney Jewish Communities. In this session, panellists who knew Mark well, will speak on aspects of his life and work and Michelle Lesh and Raimond Gaita will read from A Season of Death,Mark’s posthumous memoir, forthcoming.

Join bestselling author of the Trauma Cleaner and The Believer, Dr Sarah Krasnostein, as she delves into the craft of writing and the ethical dimensions of factual storytelling. 

Referencing Genesis throughout The Believer, Sarah explores origin stories and psychological foundatioons, examining how subjects come to hold extreme worldviews.

A rare opportunity to hear from one of our most insightful and respected writers. Moderated by Michaela Kalowski.

Helen Garner’s beloved 1984 novella The Children’s Bach has been described as her masterpiece. Centring on a small suburban family and the unexpected bohemian visitors who puncture their seemingly comfortable bubble, the story and prose incorporate musical references and motifs throughout.

At this event, Garner, librettist Glenn Perry and composer Andrew Schultz will discuss the process of adapting the acclaimed novella into a chamber opera with host Sian Prior. Musicians and performers from Lyric Opera of Melbourne will close out the evening with a short performance from their upcoming production of The Children’s Bach.