Sydney Writers' Festival

The searing debut novel of one of Australia’s most lauded journalists, Act of Grace bears the same passion and political fire as Anna Krien’s non-fiction works, Night Games and Into the Woods. Told through the eyes of a returned Australian soldier, a young Indigenous woman and an Iraqi refugee formerly embroiled in the atrocities of Saddam Hussein’s reign, Act of Grace has been hailed as “breathtakingly humane” by Anna Funder and “a work of stunning virtuosity” by Ceridwen Dovey. Catherine Keenan AM speaks with Anna about the damage one generation bestows upon the next, and the potential for transformation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A master of popular criticism, The New York Times have christened Daniel Mendelsohn “our most irresistible literary critic”. In The Bad Boy of Athens: Classics from the Greeks to Game of Thrones, Daniel uses the ancient past as a lens to examine modern culture in a collection of essays that traverse everything from Sappho’s sexuality and the feminism that can be found in Game of Thrones, to the unexpected connections between Homer and robots. Daniel is joined by Tali Lavi. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Charlotte Wood has captured the feminist zeitgeist once again with The Weekend, her sharply observed and excruciatingly funny follow-up to the Stella Prize–winning The Natural Way of Things. When three lifelong friends in their 70s meet at a beach house owned by a fourth friend who has just died, old conflicts resurface and a secret threatens their bond. The Weekend is about growing old and growing up, and uncovering the lies we tell ourselves. Charlotte appears in conversation with Lucinda Holdforth to discuss her masterful and tender celebration of friendship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most talked-about books of the year, Julia Phillips’s powerful debut thriller Disappearing Earth has been hailed as “daring, nearly flawless” (The New York Times Book Review). When two sisters disappear from a beach on the far-flung Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia, readers are drawn into an astonishing cast of characters connected by an unfathomable crime. Shortlisted for the 2019 National Book Award, Julia joins Tam Zimet to discuss this unusual, cleverly constructed novel that illuminates the themes of ethnicity, gender, hearth and kin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In The White Girl, Miles Franklin Award-shortlisted author Tony Birch shines a spotlight on 1960s Australia and the then-government’s devastating policy of taking Indigenous children from their families. Set in a fictional Australian town at the tail end of the Menzies era, The White Girl is a captivating allegory of good and evil. Through the strong black women at the story’s core, Tony explores the legacy of Australia’s colonial past. Tony, who received the Patrick White Award for his contribution to Australian literature and culture, speaks with Evelyn Araluen about his acclaimed new novel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special Sydney Writers' Festival edition of Guardian Australia’s monthly book club, Helen Garner discusses the second volume of her diaries, One Day I’ll Remember This, which tracks a particularly tumultuous decade of her life: it begins with a love affair in 1987, and ends with the 1995 publication of The First Stone. The author of Monkey Grip, Joe Cinque’s Consolation and This House of Grief  speaks about her work and life, and how the process of diarising can make an impact on both, in conversation with our Artistic Director Michael Williams. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of Cheltenham Literature Festival, Sydney Writers' Festival co-presented a special conversation between Wiradjuri author Tara June Winch (The Yield) and Kurdish film-maker, writer and refugee Behrouz Boochani (No Friend but the Mountains). Now released as a podcast, the award-winning pair discuss their powerful works with shared themes of language, colonial violence and writing about Australia from the outside. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trent Dalton's novel, All Our Shimmering Skies, is an exhilarating tale of love, friendship and gifts that fall from the sky. Set in the Northern Territory during World War II, it’s filled with Trent’s typically acute observations, larger-than-life characters and moments of both pure joy and heartbreaking sadness. In conversation with Annabel Crabb, Trent discusses his extraordinary rise to literary acclaim, the much-loved international phenomenon, Boy Swallows Universe, and the new book he calls a love letter to Australia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Step behind the clichés about silver tsunamis to explore the power and politics, lives and loves, losses and salvations that define who we are and how we live as we get older. Griffith Review’s Getting On explores the themes of aging, mortality and maturity through fiction, memoir, essay and reportage, revealing the complexities of lives lost and found. Join Tony Birch, Andrew Stafford and Jane R. Goodall in conversation with Griffith Review editor, Ashley Hay. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For some, DNA testing is a harmless foray into their family’s past. But for others, it can be life-changing. The increase in popularity of DNA testing means thousands of people all over the world are unearthing long-held secrets, opening up a floodgate of questions for their families and our society. With donors often shielded by non-disclosure and anonymity laws, for many, the results of these tests can start a lifelong struggle with laws that protect the interests of parents – but not their children. Bri Lee joins author Dani Shapiro (Inheritance) to explore the complex questions surrounding our right to know our own identity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First published when she was a teenager, Alice Oseman has grown up alongside her readers. With an extraordinary seven books now under her belt, her heartfelt stories of fandoms, friendship and love continue to obsess and delight the YA world. Join Alice for a fascinating discussion with Jes Layton on how she has changed over her writing career; the importance of writing stories inspired by your own life – and choosing the right form for them; her graphic novel series Heartstopper; and her most personal work to date, Loveless. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Stone Sky Gold Mountain Mirandi Riwoe evokes the rich, unfolding tapestry of Australian life 150 years ago in the township of Maytown, Far North Queensland. Displaced siblings Ying and Lai Yue, forced to flee their home in China, soon find themselves abandoning work on the goldfields only to become embroiled in a community trying to make sense of a violent crime. Racial tension and suspicion quickly place all those considered outsiders at the centre of this poignant and enduring tale. Mirandi joins Rashida Murphy to discuss the impetus and inspiration behind her new novel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There Was Still Love, the profoundly moving new novel from Miles Franklin Award–shortlisted author Favel Parrett, follows twin sisters separated at 15 by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia and kept apart by the Cold War. Tender and beautifully told, the story reads as a love letter to strong women who bind families together. Elizabeth McCarthy speaks to Favel to reflect on a novel that explores what it means to make a home, and how a person might secure freedom in a world ruptured by political and personal upheavals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ARIA award-winning triple j host Alex Dyson talks to fellow YA author Will Kostakis about his debut YA novel, When it Drops. Sixteen-year-old Caleb is a socially awkward outcast dealing with the death of his father by secretly making music in his bedroom until he becomes suddenly, and reluctantly, famous. When it Drops is a hilarious and touching coming-of-age story about family, friends, fame, and the importance of never leaving your computer unattended. This conversation is part of our YA podcast series. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part political thriller, part family saga and part love letter to Tasmania, Bruny is the most ambitious novel yet from the Stella Prize– and Christina Stead Prize–winning author of The Museum of Modern Love. Opening with an explosive terrorist act, Bruny immerses us in a future where America has withdrawn from the UN, a king sits on the British throne and China is building a bridge between Hobart and Bruny Island. Heather Rose discusses her subversive tale of a new world order with Suzanne Leal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.