If this is your first time attending a Newcastle Writers Fest event, you’re in for an amazing experience. We’re thrilled that such a talented group of writers will be visiting our city, and we can’t wait to be a part of it.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the great options (it’s tough to choose, with so many fantastic events this year!), we’ve put together a list of our top picks for the festival.
Your Time Starts Now: An Evening With Julie Goodwin
Saturday April 5, 6:30PM - 7:30PM, Performance Arts Culture Cessnock
We were first charmed by Julie Goodwin when she served up simple, authentic dishes during the debut season of Masterchef– and took home the main prize. It was the beginning of a dizzying number of opportunities that included hosting an award-winning breakfast show and writing best-selling cookbooks. What we didn’t see was the mounting pressure of success. Julie will speak about her extraordinary experiences and how they have shaped who she is today. Hosted by Jane Tara.
We were first charmed by Julie Goodwin when she served up simple, authentic dishes during the debut season of Masterchef– and took home the main prize. It was the beginning of a dizzying number of opportunities that included hosting an award-winning breakfast show and writing best-selling cookbooks. What we didn’t see was the mounting pressure of success. Julie will speak about her extraordinary experiences and how they have shaped who she is today. Hosted by Jane Tara.
Saturday
Kink In The Tale: Live Storytelling for Grown-ups
Saturday April 5, 6:00PM - 7:30PM, Civic Playhouse Newcastle
Six storytellers tell their true (enough) sex stories in this sell-out event. Get ready to laugh, gasp, blush and cry all at the same time with sex-positive, inclusive stories told live on stage. You’ll hear from award-winning authors Kris Kneen (Fat Girl Dancing) and Dylin Hardcastle (A Language of Limbs), sexologist Hilary Caldwell (Slutdom: Reclaiming shame-free sexuality), artist, author and performer Helen Hopcroft (The Nights), the unforgettable Dan McIvor, and your sexually intrepid, ever irreverent host, Donné Restom. If you’re a fan of events like Queerstories, Story Club, or Erotic Fan Fiction, you’ll love this: it’s storytime done kinky. Don’t bring the children and remember, respect, consent, non-judgment and an open heart will make you a better lover — and the best kind of listener.
Six storytellers tell their true (enough) sex stories in this sell-out event. Get ready to laugh, gasp, blush and cry all at the same time with sex-positive, inclusive stories told live on stage. You’ll hear from award-winning authors Kris Kneen (Fat Girl Dancing) and Dylin Hardcastle (A Language of Limbs), sexologist Hilary Caldwell (Slutdom: Reclaiming shame-free sexuality), artist, author and performer Helen Hopcroft (The Nights), the unforgettable Dan McIvor, and your sexually intrepid, ever irreverent host, Donné Restom. If you’re a fan of events like Queerstories, Story Club, or Erotic Fan Fiction, you’ll love this: it’s storytime done kinky. Don’t bring the children and remember, respect, consent, non-judgment and an open heart will make you a better lover — and the best kind of listener.
Saturday
Highways and byways: Jimmy Barnes in Conversation
Saturday April 5, 8:00PM - 9:00PM, Newcastle Conservatorium of Music Concert Hall
From larger-than-life adventures to vivid and poignant tales of the imagination, no one tells a yarn quite like Jimmy Barnes. In his fourth memoir Highways and Byways, he takes readers on another enthralling tour, this one complete with the odd detour, and a roundabout or two, through the life of one of this country’s most successful and beloved artists. Hosted by Richard Glover.
From larger-than-life adventures to vivid and poignant tales of the imagination, no one tells a yarn quite like Jimmy Barnes. In his fourth memoir Highways and Byways, he takes readers on another enthralling tour, this one complete with the odd detour, and a roundabout or two, through the life of one of this country’s most successful and beloved artists. Hosted by Richard Glover.
Saturday
Better Off Said: Eulogies for the Living and Dead
Saturday April 5, 8:00PM - 9:30PM, Civic Playhouse Newcastle
Better Off Said: Eulogies for the Living and Dead is a spoken-word salon celebrating words, stories and human experiences. Is there someone still out there in the world waiting to hear an important message, or a time in history you wish you’d used your voice? Now is the opportunity to leave no verbal stone unturned. To find closure. To sing truth from the rooftops before it’s too late. Festival guests Nikki Gemmell, Sulari Gentill, Anita Heiss and Kris Kneen will speak to the phrase “The words I wish I’d said” and deliver a living eulogy to someone or something still of this earth, to celebrate the best in our lives while we’re here to hear it. David Marr is our special guest eulogist to round out the evening. Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker. Produced by Marieke Hardy.
Better Off Said: Eulogies for the Living and Dead is a spoken-word salon celebrating words, stories and human experiences. Is there someone still out there in the world waiting to hear an important message, or a time in history you wish you’d used your voice? Now is the opportunity to leave no verbal stone unturned. To find closure. To sing truth from the rooftops before it’s too late. Festival guests Nikki Gemmell, Sulari Gentill, Anita Heiss and Kris Kneen will speak to the phrase “The words I wish I’d said” and deliver a living eulogy to someone or something still of this earth, to celebrate the best in our lives while we’re here to hear it. David Marr is our special guest eulogist to round out the evening. Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker. Produced by Marieke Hardy.
Saturday
Family Fun
Sunday April 6, 9:30AM - 1:15PM, Newcastle Museum Theatrette
9.30am–10.15am Book Launch I Live Here: Story Hunter Anthology
In 2024, the festival’s Story Hunter program took local authors into primary schools across our region to work with students. Join us for the launch of the latest anthology, which showcases poems and stories from the next generation of Hunter writers. Aged from 8 to 12, the students hail from the Singleton, Cessnock, Dungog, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle local government areas.
10.00am–11.30am The Tiny Forest with Odette Tonkin and Anna Scobie (Outdoors – weather permitting)
Delve into the magic of The Tiny Forest with local children’s book author Odette Tonkin and illustrator Anna Scobie. Have fun creating your very own environmental warrior book character, enjoy live readings from the book and let your imagination run wild with watercolour nature-based art activities.
10.30am–11.15am The Long and Winding Road with Jeremy Lachlan
Join best-selling author Jeremy Lachlan for an in-depth chat about his creative life – and what it really takes to write and publish an epic action-adventure novel. Jeremy will talk about the long and winding road to becoming an author, the inception of his epic action-adventure series The Jane Doe Chronicles, his creative process, and how personal triumphs and tragedies have shaped the plots of his award-winning novels.
11.30am–12.15pm Draw Along With Me – Dub Leffler. Pencils and paper provided!
12.25pm-1.15pm Shower Time! with Nat AmooreNat’s new junior fiction series is all about a teleporting shower. But how on earth did she get that idea? Aren’t showers just boring? Not when you’re Nat Amoore. Find out the whacky shower stories behind this hilarious new series and maybe even help Nat create the next Shower Land blockbuster. Don’t forget your shower cap!
MC Jerry Ray Gold coin donation Supported by Catfish Foundation and Novoschool
9.30am–10.15am Book Launch I Live Here: Story Hunter Anthology
In 2024, the festival’s Story Hunter program took local authors into primary schools across our region to work with students. Join us for the launch of the latest anthology, which showcases poems and stories from the next generation of Hunter writers. Aged from 8 to 12, the students hail from the Singleton, Cessnock, Dungog, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle local government areas.
10.00am–11.30am The Tiny Forest with Odette Tonkin and Anna Scobie (Outdoors – weather permitting)
Delve into the magic of The Tiny Forest with local children’s book author Odette Tonkin and illustrator Anna Scobie. Have fun creating your very own environmental warrior book character, enjoy live readings from the book and let your imagination run wild with watercolour nature-based art activities.
10.30am–11.15am The Long and Winding Road with Jeremy Lachlan
Join best-selling author Jeremy Lachlan for an in-depth chat about his creative life – and what it really takes to write and publish an epic action-adventure novel. Jeremy will talk about the long and winding road to becoming an author, the inception of his epic action-adventure series The Jane Doe Chronicles, his creative process, and how personal triumphs and tragedies have shaped the plots of his award-winning novels.
11.30am–12.15pm Draw Along With Me – Dub Leffler. Pencils and paper provided!
12.25pm-1.15pm Shower Time! with Nat Amoore
MC Jerry Ray Gold coin donation Supported by Catfish Foundation and Novoschool
Sunday
It’s Complicated: Mothers and Daughters in Fiction
Sunday
April 6,
11:30AM - 12:30PM, University of Newcastle NUspace X320
Recent novels by Jumaana Abdu, Emma Darragh, and Jessie Tu grapple with the complexities of motherhood—from tenderness to tension, loyalty to abandonment—set against cultural and generational division. The authors speak with Zohra Aly about exploring the dynamics of fractured mother-daughter relationships. This is event is free; no bookings required.
Recent novels by Jumaana Abdu, Emma Darragh, and Jessie Tu grapple with the complexities of motherhood—from tenderness to tension, loyalty to abandonment—set against cultural and generational division. The authors speak with Zohra Aly about exploring the dynamics of fractured mother-daughter relationships. This is event is free; no bookings required.
Sunday
Photo by Tess Lehman
