Live & Local: Sydney Writers' Festival 2026
Description
SYDNEY WRITERS' FESTIVAL LIVE & LOCAL RETURNS FOR 2026
You don't have to travel to Sydney to attend Sydney Writers Festival!
The SCWC is hosting SWF Live & Local sessions over two days, Friday 22 and Saturday 23 May in Coledale Community Hall.
Enjoy sessions livestreamed direct from Sydney Writers Festival with some of the biggest names in literature right now: Trent Dalton, Roddy Doyle, Florence Knapp, Mick Herron, Suzie Miller and R.F. Kuang. Plus hear local authors Gwen Wilson, Lauren Keegan and Starre Vartan discuss books and writing live on stage.
Friday 2–7pm, tickets $35 / $40
Saturday 4–7pm, tickets $25 / $30
Two-day pass $50 / $60
Don't miss our Live & Local workshop with Alyssa J. Montgomery on Friday morning.
Friday 22 May
- 2:00 pm - 2:55 pm
Trent Dalton: Gravity Let Me Go
Join multi-award-winning writer Trent Dalton to discuss his latest novel, Gravity Let Me Go, and its themes of love, family, ambition and deception. In conversation with Cassie McCullagh.
- 3:15 pm - 3:45 pm
LIVE & LOCAL ON STAGE: Gwen Wilson
Gwen Wilson’s debut historical novel Louisa offers a heartfelt and imaginative portrayal of a woman’s quest for independence in 19th-century Australia. She discusses the inspiration found in the life of her great grandmother with author and playwright Christine Sykes.
- 4:00 pm - 4:55 pm
Great Adaptations
Get behind-the-scenes insight into adapting stories from page to screen with writers Mick Herron (Slow Horses) and Suzie Miller (Prima Facie) in conversation with Benjamin Law.
- 5:15 pm - 5:45 pm
LIVE & LOCAL ON STAGE: Lauren Keegan
History and folklore collide in Lauren Keegan’s new novel, The Woman in the Seal Skin, a wonderfully atmospheric tale about a young woman that delves into the selkie myths of 17th-century Scotland. Lauren appears in conversation with author Julie Keys.
- 6:00 pm - 6:55 pm
Florence Knapp: The Names
Explore the profound force of family and the life-defining act of naming a child with bestselling debut author of The Names, Florence Knapp, in conversation with ABC Radio National’s Claire Nichols.
Saturday 23 May
- 4:00 pm - 4:55 pm
Fantastical Worlds
Hear international bestselling writers Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang and Garth Nix discuss their careers, their enthusiasm for fantasy and the genre’s dedicated readers. With host Carody Culver.
- 5:15 pm - 5:45 pm
LIVE & LOCAL ON STAGE: Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan’s The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body is a science-backed, myth-busting love letter to the female body. She chats with Enough Said’s Adara Enthaler about her exploration of the female body’s sensitivity, endurance, immunity, longevity, and more.
- 6:00 pm - 6:55 pm
Roddy Doyle in Conversation
Listen as Irish author of Booker Prize–winning Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Roddy Doyle discusses his life’s work and latest novel, The Women Behind the Door. With Kate Evans.
Live & Local On Stage: Meet the Presenters
Gwen Wilson
Gwen Wilson captivated readers worldwide with her best-selling memoir, I Belong to No One (Hachette). Drawing inspiration from real-life stories, her short stories and blog posts often explore themes of resilience, love, and the indomitable human spirit. In Louisa, her debut historical novel, Gwen delves deep into the life of her great grandmother, and others of her era, to offer a heartfelt and imaginative portrayal of a woman’s quest for independence in 19th-century Australia. Richly detailed, Gwen’s immersive storytelling and commitment to authentic historical research blends fact with compelling fiction to vividly bring the past to life.
Lauren Keegan
Lauren Keegan is an author and psychologist living on Dharawal and Gundungurra Country (Wollondilly, New South Wales). She has worked in perinatal and infant mental health for fifteen years, has two young girls and drinks more tea than is sensible. She is the author of All the Bees in the Hollows, which was voted Best Debut Fiction at the 2025 Indie Book Awards and longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize 2025. The Woman in the Seal Skin is her second novel.
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is a journalist covering health & science, the natural world, and the female body—especially the parts that are strong, misunderstood, or totally ignored. Her science journalism and investigative reporting has been published in National Geographic, Scientific American, The Washington Post, Undark, New Scientist, WIRED, and other outlets where curiosity is a job requirement. She's published essays in Aeon’s Psyche, Candidly, and her newsletter Palimpsest of Flesh, as well as short fiction.
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