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.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE NOW

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
In Louisa, her debut historical novel, Gwen Wilson 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.

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
Lauren Keegan's second novel, The Woman in the Seal Skin, is a wonderfully atmospheric and compelling historic novel set in Scotland in 1695. Based on the selkie myths of the time, this is the story of Malie, a young woman struggling with grief, oppression, her relationship with nature and her own inherent wildness within during Europe's 'little ice age'.

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—an exploration of the female body’s sensitivity, endurance, immunity, longevity, and more. The book relies on dozens of interviews with exercise scientists, immunity and pain researchers, biological anthropologists, and other experts as well as an ice-mile swimmer, competitive woodchopper, firefighter, jiu jitsu practitioner, Nike ultrarunner, thriving nonagenarians, 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.