Blue Mountains Writers' Festival

19/09/2026

HOW TO BOOK AUSLAN INTERPRETED SESSIONS
The Blue Mountains Writers' Festival has Auslan interpreting available for D/deaf and hard of hearing people eager to attend. Interpreters can be booked for specific sessions by emailing [email protected], with four interpreters available across the weekend.

Check out the program and book now: www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au

Thanks to Breda Carty for filming our Auslan promo!

19/09/2026

JANE CARO AND CHRIS HAMMER IN CONVERSATION WITH KATE MILDENHALL
Join two titans of journalism and fiction as they discuss their latest novels with beloved and prolific author Kate Mildenhall.

With more than 1.5 million copies sold, and multiple screen adaptations, Chris Hammer’s ninth novel Full Circle covers everything that makes crime fiction tick: power, money, justice and love.

With a decades-long career as a columnist and agitator, when Jane Caro turned her hand to writing crime, her novels were instant bestsellers. In The Mother and Lyrebird, she crafts page-turners with a deeply feminist sensibility, exploring real-world issues with the pace, plot and tension required by the genre.

Don’t miss these two sharp minds in a candid conversation about what it takes to capture the best and worst of human nature.

This event is presented in partnership with Megalong.

Event Name: JANE CARO AND CHRIS HAMMER in conversation with Kate Mildenhall
Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Time: 10:00-11:00am
Venue: Tibbi Whalan Hall
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/jane-caro-chris-hammer

This event is included in Weekend and Day Passes, or single tickets can be purchased. Head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.

18/09/2026

ROOMS WITH A WORLD-HERITAGE VIEW
Perched on the edge of the Jamison Valley escarpment in Leura, the Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains by MGallery is only a short 10-minute drive from the Blue Mountains Writers Festival. Surrounded by valley views, lush bushland and walking trails, their 224 rooms and suites offer the ideal literary weekend away.

The Blue Mountains Writers Festival wouldn't be possible without the support of local patrons of the arts like the Fairmont Resort.

Explore the extensive grounds and gardens with a heated indoor pool and spa, sauna, outdoor pool and deck, gym, KidsZone children’s facilities including three separate games rooms, library and billiard room, golf course, tennis courts, basketball court, merry-go-round, boutique shop and the only resort train in the Blue Mountains.

The Fairmont Resort is also home to numerous dining experiences, the award-winning Two Doctors Wh***ey Tavern, Ubika Day Spa Blue Mountains, Leura Golf Club and Blue Mountains Ice-Skating Rink.

Head to their website for more information: https://www.fairmontresort.com.au/

17/09/2026

PIP WILLIAMS IN CONVERSATION WITH DEBRA ADELAIDE
Join New York Times bestselling author Pip Williams as she introduces audiences to her breathtaking new novel, The German Ward, in a warm and thoughtful conversation with Debra Adelaide.

Author of The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho, both recognised in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Books of the 21st Century, Pip’s latest novel takes us to France in 1915, where an English nurse falls for a German doctor held as a prisoner of war. Their relationship might have been lost from history entirely, if not for a set of drawings rediscovered generations later. Elegant and atmospheric, The German Ward is historical fiction at its best, from one of Australia's most accomplished storytellers.

This event is presented in partnership with Megalong.

Event Name: PIP WILLIAMS in conversation with Debra Adelaide
Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Time: 11:30-12:30pm
Venue: Tibbi Whalan Hall
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/pip-williams-in-conversation

This event is included in Weekend and Day Passes, or single tickets can be purchased. Head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.

16/09/2026

IS JUSTICE POSSIBLE?
Two incisive thinkers on law and power ask a deceptively simple question: is justice possible, and if the systems we have keep failing us, where else might we look?

In her new book Finding Justice, Larissa Behrendt draws on decades of experience moving between courtrooms and Country. She argues that more than one way of understanding law has always existed in Australia and looks to First Nations practices of sovereignty – grounded in self-determination, reciprocity and collective care – as evidence that another kind of justice is possible.

Shortlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize, Marika Sosnowski's 58 Facets: On Law, violence and revolution is part memoir, part exposé, weaving together the narratives of Holocaust survivors and Israeli war criminals with Syrian activists, revolutionaries and dissenters, to trace how governments use law and bureaucracy to control the people caught within them.

Event Name: IS JUSTICE POSSIBLE? Larissa Behrendt and Marika Sosnowski in conversation with Eric Sidoti
Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Time: 2:00 pm 3:00 pm
Venue: Tibbi Whalan Hall
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/is-justice-possible

This event is presented in partnership with

This event is included in Weekend and Day Passes, or single tickets can be purchased. Head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.

15/09/2026

KNOWING COUNTRY
With vast knowledge and fierce intellect, writers and community leaders Bruce Pascoe, Barry Corr and Debra Dank invite readers to reconsider what they know about this place, its history, its land and culture, and the futures that might be possible if we collectively work towards change.

With backgrounds in activism, academia, literature, agriculture and journalism, and a slew of awards between them, don’t miss the opportunity to learn from these great minds, as they unravel settler understandings and assumptions, and share what they know of the more-than-ancient civilisations that have lived in and with this place for many thousands of years.

This event is presented in partnership with Out of the Blue - Blue Mountains Experiences.

Event Name: KNOWING COUNTRY: Bruce Pascoe, Barry Corr and Debra Dank in conversation with Rae Johnston
Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Time: 5:00 -6:00 pm
Venue: Tibbi Whalan Hall
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/knowing-country

This event is included in Weekend and Day Passes, or single tickets can be purchased. Head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.

14/09/2026

MEGALONG VALLEY PROGRAM
Two exclusive events takes place at The Old Stables in the Megalong Valley, a rural paradise just half an hour from Katoomba. Presented in partnership with Megalong.

/ BRUCE PASCOE in conversation with Grace Lucas-Pennington /
Aboriginal farmer and award-winning writer Bruce Pascoe is joined by Bundjalung writer, editor and mentor Grace Lucas-Pennington for a far-reaching discussion focused on Dark Emu, Big Sky and his broader body of work. Reconsidering the colonial myths that have attempted to justify dispossession, Pascoe’s writing offers deep insight into our history, and how science and philosophy, when tempered by holistic knowledge, offer possible pathways to a better future.

Date: Friday 30 October 2026
Time: 11:00-12:00pm
Venue: The Old Stables, Megalong Valley
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/bruce-pascoe

/ THE BOOK SHOWDOWN with Benjamin Law, featuring Mirandi Riwoe and Brooke Davis /
As Tolstoy once said, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Happily, this means there are endless iterations of dysfunctional families in literature to appall and delight us. If you love reading about chaotic families too, join host Benjamin Law for a special F*cked Up Families edition of his new book club The Book Showdown, with special guests Mirandi Riwoe and Brooke Davis.

Benjamin and friends will discuss and dissect Zadie Smith’s secret-spilling masterpiece On Beauty and Winnie Dunn’s fiercely hilarious and heartbreaking debut Dirt Poor Islanders. Expect hectic opinions, controversial takes and a bonus book trivia quiz for all assembled.

Date: Friday 30 October 2026
Time: 2:00 - 3:00pm
Venue: The Old Stables, Megalong Valley
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/book-showdown

* These events are included in Platinum Passes, or a limited number of single tickets are available. Head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.

12/09/2026

12/09/2026

WRITE YOUR STORY - BOOK NOW
Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival workshops are selling fast! Whether you’re an established writer or just starting out, book now to hone your craft with Benjamin Law, Toni Jordan, Ashley Kalagian Blunt, Anthony Mullins, Jane Messer, Debra Dank, Luke Patterson, Kathryn Heyman, Kris Kneen, Cynthia Banham, Katia Ariel, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Eleanor Limprecht, Johanna Bell and Mirandi Riwoe, 29 Oct - 1 Nov 2026.

LEARN MORE: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/workshops

11/09/2026

OPENING NIGHT: ECHOES AND EDGES
Storytelling is found in the shape of our landscapes, in the words and voices of those who are long gone. When looking to the future, how will our stories of now echo? What imprints will we leave behind?

In turbulent times, we walk on a precipice of right or wrong, resistance or compromise, individualism or community. How does literature balance us as we walk these edges? How do the edges define us?

Hosted by Festival Director Maeve Marsden, our opening night features celebrated writers and poets Pip Williams, Larissa Behrendt, Micaela Sahhar, Marie Elena Ellis and Michael Winkler. Each incredible writer will share a reading inspired by the Festival theme — Echoes & Edges — followed by a breathtaking musical interpretation by cabaret icon Victoria Falconer.

Don’t miss this spectacular start to the Blue Mountains Writers Festival — a chance to kick off your weekend with a sense of inspiration and connection.

Event Name: OPENING NIGHT: Echoes and Edges
Date: Friday 30 October 2026
Time: 6:00-7:30pm
Venue: Tibbi Whalan Hall

Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/opening-night

This event is included in Platinum and Gold Passes, or single tickets can be purchased. Head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.

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