The writer festival season for 2026 is well underway, and in just under a month, it will be Sydney’s turn to host literary talents from at home and abroad.
This year, the theme of the festival is “Show Me the Truth.” Artistic Director Ann Mossop says the chosen theme is “an invitation to engage with the many ways writers bring the truth to life. At a time when the norms of truth-telling are slipping away … truth can feel fractured, slippery and polarising. But it is worth holding on to and the work of writers coming to the Festival shows us the many miraculous ways this can be done.”
Read on to learn when and where the Sydney Writers Festival is happening, who is attending, and how to get your tickets.
When is Sydney Writers Festival 2026?
The festival runs from 17–24 May, 2026, with almost 200 events taking place.
Where is the festival?
The main home of the Sydney Writers Festival is Carriageworks in Eveleigh. However, events also take place in Sydney city, as well as Parramatta.
If you cannot make the festival in person, many of the talks are recorded and released as episodes on the Sydney Writers’ Festival podcast. Additionally, select events are livestreamed.
Who is speaking at the Sydney Writers Festival 2026?
Australia authors and public figures speaking at the festival include:
- Randa Abdel-Fattah
- Stephanie Alexander
- Rebecca Armitage
- Jane Caro
- Shankari Chandran
- Annabel Crabb
- Trent Dalton
- Winnie Dunn
- Michelle de Kretser
- Anna Funder
- Tigest Girma
- Richard Glover
- Madeleine Gray
- Osher Günsberg
- Narelda Jacobs
- Adam Liaw
- Siang Lu
- Melissa Lucashenko
- Charlotte McConaghy
- Dervla McTiernan
- Suzie Miller
- Dr Melanie Saward
- Hayley Scrivenor
- Holly Wainwright
- Tasma Walton
- Charlotte Wood
International guests include:
- Jacinda Ardern
- Susan Choi
- Nikita Gill
- Mick Herron
- Lally Katz
- Lily King
- Florence Knapp
- Rebecca F. Kuang
- Yann Martel
- David Szalay
For a full list of attendees, explore the Sydney Writers Festival program.
Read their books before you see them
Here is a small selection of books written by speakers attending the 2026 Sydney Writers Festival.
Charlotte McConaghy
Wild Dark Shore
Fiction
Tasma Walton
I Am Nannertgarrook
Historical fiction
Stephanie Alexander
The Cook’s Companion
Cookbook
Dervla McTiernan
The Unqiet Grave
Thriller
Dr Melanie Saward
Love Unleashed
Romantic comedy
Narelda Jacobs
If Queers Weren’t Meant to Have Kids …
Adult picture book
Michelle De Krester
The Life to Come
Literary fiction
Trent Dalton
Gravity Let Me Go
Crime fiction
Annabel Crabb
The Wife Drought
Non-fiction
Lily King
Heart the Lover
Fiction
Rebecca F. Kuang
Yellowface
Fiction
Tickets for the Sydney Writers Festival are available through their website.
