Sydney Writers’ Festival is returning to The Music Lounge.
After the wild success of Live & Local in 2023, Sydney Writers’ Festival returns to Wollongong in 2024 to bring the best of the Festival direct to you.
This day-long event includes a live stream of panels direct from Sydney Writers Festival, alongside in-person panels featuring local writers in conversation, curated by the South Coast Writers Centre.
One of Australia’s most loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will live-stream its headline events from Sydney to Wollongong on Sat 25 May.
Prepare to be invigorated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions featuring some of the world’s finest writers and thinkers. Audiences can also participate in live Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions straight to the Sydney stage.
Join us for Live & Local 2024, streamed live by Sydney Writers’ Festival and delivered locally to the Wollongong Town Hall.
SWF Stream Session 1: Celeste Ng: Our Missing Hearts, with Celeste Ng and Claire Nichols
Sit down with New York Times bestselling author Celeste Ng, whose smash hit Little Fires Everywhere was adapted into a miniseries starring Reese Witherspoon. Listen in as she discusses her new dystopian novel with Claire Nichols.
Live Panel Discussion #1
Siobhan O’Brien’s historical novel All the Golden Light is set around the iconic lighthouse on Belowla Island, while Lyn Hughes’ Mr Carver’s Whale travels from the Azores to Lisbon, from Newfoundland until finally arriving in the small whaling port of Eden, NSW. Siobhan O’Brien and Lyn Hughes speak with Suzanne Leal about the histories at the centre of their novels, transforming that history into historical fiction and using our glorious coastline as the setting.
SWF Stream Session 2: Trent Dalton: From Eli to Lola, with Trent Dalton and Cassie McCullagh
Trent Dalton, award-winning author of Boy Swallows Universe (now a hit Netflix series) returns with Lola in the Mirror, a big, beautiful novel about grappling with our past, present and possible futures. In conversation with Cassie McCullagh.
SWF Stream Session 3: Storytellers: Leigh Sales and Lisa Millar
ABC legends Leigh Sales (Storytellers) and Lisa Millar (Muster Dogs) unpack the craft of turning real life events into narrative, drawing from their recent books and a combined 65 years in journalism.
Live Panel Discussion #2
Catherine Cole speaks with Christine Sykes about her memoir Slipstream – on Memory and Migration which examines the sacrifice of migrants to build a better future for their children, and her experience of growing up in Australia as the child of Ten Pound Poms.
SWF Stream Session 4: Bringing the Past to Life, with Francesca de Tores, Mirandi Riwoe, Abraham Verghese, and Kate Evans
Be transported by authors Francesca de Tores (Saltblood), Mirandi Riwoe (Sunbirds) and Abraham Verghese (The Covenant of Water) as they discuss the power of historical fiction. With ABC RN’s Kate Evans.
We are committed to delivering safe & enjoyable performing arts experiences.
For important information and FAQs, please visit www.merrigong.com.au/staysafe.
