Join authors Susan Wyndham and Susan Lever as they chat about their most recent biographies and the art of writing abut prominent historical figures.

About Woman in the Watchtower by Susan Wyndham:

Elizabeth Harrower wrote some of the most intense, original and highly regarded novels of the twentieth century. Then she abruptly stopped writing in the 1970s and became one of the most puzzling mysteries of Australian literature. Why didn’t she continue? Harrower gave evasive answers to friends and interviewers, and only since her death in 2020 has a deeper search been possible.

In this definitive biography, renowned journalist and writer Susan Wyndham grapples with the elusive Harrower. She immerses us in the author’s tumultuous family, her complex friendships with Patrick White, Christina Stead, Kylie Tennant and Shirley Hazzard, and her timeless probing of the human spirit in five remarkable novels.

Drawing on time spent with Harrower, revealing analysis of her fiction and new research, Wyndham unmasks a literary legend.

Join one of Australia's most trusted voices as Waleed Aly sits down with Amy Sambrooke to discuss Reasoning with Chaos, his guide to finding sense in uncertain times.

Drawing on years of columns and commentary, the collection chronicles a period of profound upheaval, revealing threads he didn't see at the time. Twelve new essays tie the collection together, tackling our shifting relationship with technology, what's genuinely revolutionary about this moment, and what really matters in life, despite the overwhelm and confusion so many of us feel. The result is a real-time record of a chaotic age, recast with hindsight and clarity, from a writer and broadcaster renowned for making the incomprehensible make sense.

Vulnerable and fierce, hilarious and heartbreaking, Queerstories celebrates the culture and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community, one true story at a time. Hosted by Festival director Maeve Marsden, who has curated this national storytelling project for more than ten years, listen to unexpected stories from some of our greatest LGBTQI+ authors: tales of pride, prejudice, resilience and resistance.

Queerstories is a beloved favourite of the Festival circuit, and has brought more than 700 writers to the stage, from Brisbane to Byron Bay, Mudgee to Murwillumba, Adelaide to Albury, the Blue Mountains and beyond.

Hosted by Maeve Marsden with Bob Brown, George Kemp, Zoe Terakes, Bobuq Sayed, and Chloe Mills.