StoryFest

An author, doctor-come-eco-entreprener, an award-winning podcaster and a social change communicator take the stage to discuss the power of words and stories to drive positive change. Inga Simpson Pia Winberg Caitlin Chang Facilitator - Richard Glover Storyfest Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.storyfest.org.au/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Two of the genre’s biggest Australian names take the stage with a successful debutant to unpack the keys to success and how to keep the genre fresh and captivating. Candice Fox Chris Hammer Mitch Jennings   Facilitator - Michaela Kalowski Storyfest Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.storyfest.org.au/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join rewilding facilitator, adventurer, writer and inaugural winner of Alone Australia Gina Chick, and social activist, radical entrepreneur and founder of the Moroccan Soup Bar Hana Assafiri as they share the life journeys that, in their own unique ways, underline the importance of kindness and connection. Gina Chick Hana Assafiri Facilitator - Michelle Barraclough   Storyfest Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Great authors capture our imagination not just through their latest publications, but across a body of must-read work. Rarely do we take time to discuss a writer’s work in detail and explore what shapes their stories individually and collectively. From The Underdog to The Book Thief to his recent memoir Three Wild Dogs and the Truth , this session is sure to be a fascinating insight into Markus Zu...

Technology makes life easier, right? But how easy is too easy? How do we manage the consequences - expected or otherwise - of AI on society, and with it the future of employment, health, education and democracy? Join multiple Walkley Award-winning author, journalist, broadcaster and the inaugural national convenor of Women in Media Tracey Spicer AM, and Toby Walsh, Scientia Professor of Artificial...

Join us for the opening of StoryFest 2023 when key storytellers with strong connections to our community shared their own perspectives of what makes the Milton Mollymook Ulladulla area on Murramarang country so special. Featuring author and Walkley Award-winning journalist  Bronwyn Adcock  ( Currowan ), proud Gunai woman, award-winning author, multidisciplinary artist and consultant  Kirli Saunder...

In a world of fake news, AI, and concentrated media ownership this session explores the nature of truth and our increasingly tenuous grip on it. Author, businesswoman and activist  Wendy McCarthy  will host a lively (and no doubt honest) discussion with veteran SMH cartoonist  Alan Moir , journalist  Bronwyn Adcock , and historian  David Hunt . Storyfest Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.storyfest.org....

Join us as we dive into the world of character and caricature in our nation’s storytelling, and what makes the Australian character and character writing unique. Featuring host  Kirk Docker  (ABC’s  You Can’t Ask That ) with  Michael Winkler  ( Grimmish ),  Chris Hammer  ( Scrublands ,  The Tilt ) and  Holly Wainwright  ( The Couple Upstairs ).  Storyfest Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.storyfest.org....

Stories can be transformative and none more so than real-life writing. Writer and mentor, Lee Kofman ( The Writer Laid Bare: Emotional Honesty in a Writer’s Art, Craft and Life) will lead an exploration of how memoir and life writing can help both writers and readers gain new insights, and find resilience, resolution or new ways to thrive in the face of adversity, with authors Jackie Bailey ( The...

Laughter may be the best medicine, but comedy is the hardest thing to write. Leading authors Holly Wainwright ( I Give my Marriage a Year ), Jackie Bailey ( The Eulogy ) and Katharine Pollock ( Her Fidelity ) have tackled the task more successfully than most, and will take the stage with irreverent moderator David Hunt ( Girt series) for what’s sure to be a lively and laughter filled session. Stor...

Creator of award-winning documentary series  You Can’t Ask That,  Kirk Docker  brings his unique interviewing style to StoryFest when he explores the importance of giving voice to stories that need to be told with  Zaheda Ghani , author of the Richell Prize shortlisted novel  Pomegranate & Fig,  recipient of the Western Sydney Emerging Writers Fellowship and Ambassador for Australia for UNHCR;...

Almost 10 years ago, author and columnist Peter FitzSimons AM and broadcaster Richard Glover set a world record for the longest interview (24 hours). For StoryFest 2023, they reunite for a shorter, but no less wide-ranging discussion about Peter’s latest publications ( The Battle of Long Tan , The Opera House ), his views on Australia today, and where we are headed tomorrow. Storyfest Website - ⁠⁠...

Wendy McCarthy and Clementine Ford come together in conversation to explore how ways of disrupting and breaking the system have changed - or if they have changed at all. What works, what doesn’t, and what’s required in future to address issues of inequality and injustice in Australian society? A must-attend session featuring two powerful but distinctly different voices from different generations....

Katharine Pollock ( Her Fidelity and @thatrecordstoregirl) interviews former punk rocker and award-winning crime author Dave Warner ( After the Flood ), alongside Frances Peters-Little ( Jimmy Little: A Yorta Yorta Man ), about song-led stories and the impact of songwriting and music on the Australian narrative. Full of song and fascinating chat about songwriting, influences and inspiration, this...

Nearly half of all Australians have read a crime, mystery or thriller novel in the past twelve months. Hear from some of the biggest names in Australian fictional crime writing when best-selling author Chris Hammer ( Scrublands , The Tilt ), Wollongong-based Hayley Scrivenor ( Dirt Town ), and former punk rocker turned crime writer Dave Warner ( After the Flood) join journalist Philip Williams at...

Pip Williams ’ novel The Dictionary of Lost Words was the highest selling novel in Australia in 2022 and her follow-up, The Bookbinder of Jericho , is touted for similar success. In conversation with Michelle Barraclough , Pip discusses the motivations behind the novel, the magic of words - both common and those excluded from our everyday vocabulary - and why every word is so important. Storyfest...

Join Robbie Arnott ( Limberlost , The Rain Heron ) and Inga Simpson ( Willowman , The Last Woman in the World ) for this intimate conversation between two of Australia’s leading authors with a shared love of our coast, our characters and our continent, as they explore how the magical properties of the natural world shape and shift their approach to storytelling. Storyfest Web - https://www.storyfe...

In this fast-paced storytellers shootout, David Hunt interviews six locals from the Shoalhaven who have recently published their work. You’ll hear a little from each storyteller and find out why you need their book on your shelf.  Featuring: Patti Bartlett & Jenny Cleary - Five Villages Helen Moody - Islands of the NSW South Coast Marita Smith - Kindred Ties Trilogy Julie Bozza - Writ in Blood...

Romance novels are sometimes dismissed as a lesser genre compared to more critically acclaimed writing styles. Leading romance writers Penelope Janu ( Shelter from the Storm , Clouds on the Horizon ), Alice Boyle ( Dancing Barefoot ) and Clare Fletcher ( Five Bush Weddings ) join author and moderator Claudine Tinellis ( Talking Aussie Books podcast) to discuss their latest novels and explore why r...

Lost for Words The publication of the Dhurga Dictionary and Learner's Grammar in 2019 is the culmination of decades of work and a turning point in the revitalisation of one of the key indigenous languages on the NSW south coast. The journey began when Brinja-Yuin woman Kerry Boyenga, a teacher at Broulee Public School, approached the principal about teaching Dhurga as a language other than English...

In their latest novels, Charlotte McConaghy and Kate Mildenhall have imagined the future. One where climate change has resulted in mass extinctions of threatened species. The other, an Australia ruled by the ominously named The Department which tracks every move you make. They are both novels that ask questions about love, loyalty and what drives us to commit desperate acts. Join them as they disc...

BRAZEN HUSSIES reveals a revolutionary chapter in Australian history, when the bold women of the Women's Liberation Movement reignited Australia’s feminist revolution. Interweaving freshly uncovered archival footage, personal photographs, memorabilia and lively personal accounts from activists, BRAZEN HUSSIES shows us how a daring and diverse group of women joined forces to defy the status quo, de...

SHOW NOTES Charles Massy OAM gained a Bachelor of Science (Zoology, Human Ecology) at ANU, before going farming for 35 years, developing the prominent Merino sheep stud ‘Severn Park’. Concern at ongoing land degradation and humanity’s sustainability challenge saw him return to ANU to undertake a PhD in Human Ecology. Using his personal farming experience as a touchstone, Call of the Reed Warbler t...

Craig Silvey is the author of the bestselling multi-award winning novel,   Jasper Jones. Released in 2009, it went on to be turned into an acclaimed play and film.  His third novel, Honeybee , was published in 2020 and has already won legions of fans. Honeybee is a heartbreaking, life-affirming novel that throws readers headlong  into a world of petty thefts, extortion plots, botche...

In her debut novel, The Dressmaker , Rosalie Ham introduced the world to the outback town Dungatar with its eccentric residents, petty  politics and haute couture through the wonderful character, Tilly Dunnage. It became an international bestseller and its reputation cemented with the release of the film of the same name. But what  happened to Tilly after she left town remained an u...