MWF
7-10 May
2026

Filters

4 May

Primary Schools Day - Monday

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Primary school students in Years 3 to 6 are encouraged to explore their imaginations with an inspiring mix of storytellers at State Library Victoria.
5 May

Primary Schools Day - Tuesday

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Primary school students in Years 3 to 6 are encouraged to explore their imaginations with an inspiring mix of storytellers at State Library Victoria.

OutLoud Slam Final

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After two days of heats, join us at Melbourne Writers Festival for the OutLoud Slam Finals, where schools from across the state will take the stage to compete live in front of a panel of esteemed judges.

Lally Katz: Writing Your Life

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Memoirist, playwright, screenwriter and neighbourhood spy Lally Katz will lead a writing workshop focused on bringing the stories of your life, both mundane and profound, vividly onto the page.  
6 May

Slow Read Exhibition [Hawthorn]

In an era of constant scrolling and visual saturation, Hawthorn Arts Centre’s ‘Slow Read’ exhibition turns our attention back to the printed page and to quiet, deliberate acts of looking and reading.  

Secondary Schools Day - Wednesday

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Secondary school students from Years 7 to 10 will enjoy an immersive day of learning at State Library Victoria, shaped by storytellers working across various media.  

Jonathan Butler: Family History as Creative Inspiration

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Every family tree hides a story worth telling. This workshop will show you how to find it and turn it into compelling writing that others will want to read.  

Shaun Micallef: De'Ath Takes A Holiday [Doncaster]

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Join Micallef at Doncaster Library as he discusses the absurdist tale of the troubled Comte De’Ath in a hilarious chat about life, death, the living and the undead.

Anita Heiss: The Paradise Pact [Kooyong]

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Wit, warmth and heart take centre stage as bestselling author Anita Heiss discusses her latest novel, The Paradise Pact.
 

Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe: Big Sky at the Planetarium

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Immerse yourself in an evening of celestial wonder, science and philosophy as award-winning writer and Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Ray Norris discuss their jointly authored new book, Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth.

This event is sold out but tickets are still available for Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe: Big Sky at The Athenaeum.
7 May

Slow Read Exhibition [Hawthorn]

In an era of constant scrolling and visual saturation, Hawthorn Arts Centre’s ‘Slow Read’ exhibition turns our attention back to the printed page and to quiet, deliberate acts of looking and reading.  

Secondary Schools Day - Thursday

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Secondary school students from Years 7 to 10 will enjoy an immersive day of learning at State Library Victoria, shaped by storytellers working across various media.  

Benjamin Stevenson: Everyone in this Bank is a Thief [Melton]

A devious murder mystery that will have you locked in by chapter one. Ten suspects. Ten heists. A puzzle only Ernest Cunningham can solve.

Opening Night: Visions & Revisions

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Join us to open the 2026 Festival and celebrate 40 years of Melbourne Writers Festival.

Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe: Big Sky [Kew]

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Join celebrated writer Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Professor Ray Norris at Kew Courthouse as they discuss Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth – a powerful meeting of ancient sky knowledge and contemporary science.

This event is sold out but tickets are still available for Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe: Big Sky at The Athenaeum.
8 May

Slow Read Exhibition [Hawthorn]

In an era of constant scrolling and visual saturation, Hawthorn Arts Centre’s ‘Slow Read’ exhibition turns our attention back to the printed page and to quiet, deliberate acts of looking and reading.  

Zoe Terakes: Making Art in the Margins

Join actor, writer and trans rights advocate Zoe Terakes for a generative workshop on queer and cultural storytelling, ancestry and art as necessity.  

VCE Program - Friday

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The VCE Program offers Year 11 and 12 students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the curriculum, under the guidance of renowned local authors.  

Beejay Silcox: Literary Criticism

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In this workshop led by Beejay Silcox, you’ll step inside a new novel – Olga Ravn’s The Wax Child, recently longlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize – with a trusted critic as your guide.

The Book Factory

The Book Factory is a low-fi hi-brow diamond cut book kiln purple sheen. It makes the book object, but you make the book.

Mother Tongue: Writing Matriarchies

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Three celebrated First Nations writers come together to explore the power of telling women’s stories and honouring matriarchies through fiction, in a special event curated by Anita Heiss.

R.F. Kuang: Katabasis

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Prepare for one hell of a journey as literary sensation R.F. Kuang (Babel, Yellowface) discusses her latest spellbinding novel, Katabasis.

New event added: An additional session of R.F Kuang: Katabasis [Sunday] will be held on Sunday 10 May. R.F Kuang will also appear in the panel, Secret Histories: Tales of Dark Academia.

Exit 8: Screening and Q&A with Genki Kawamura

MWF and Cinema Nova present a very special screening of Japanese psychological thriller Exit 8, followed by a post-screening Q&A between director Genki Kawamura and critic Stephen A Russell.

Life Lines: A Song Cycle of Dorothy Porter

Sophia Brous with Paul Grabowsky AO

MWF presents a world premiere performance of a song cycle highlighting the interplay between words and music, based on the writing of celebrated Australian poet Dorothy Porter.    

Dervla McTiernan: Three Reasons for Revenge [Moonee Ponds]

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Robert Forster: Songwriters on the Run [Kew]

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Robert Forster is renowned as a singer-songwriter and founding member of iconic indie band The Go-Betweens.

Bri Lee: Seed [Kooyong]

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Acclaimed author Bri Lee discusses her astonishing new novel Seed, an environmental thriller exploring themes of climate change, legacy and dangerous secrets.

Queerstories

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For the past decade, Queerstories has connected audiences across Australia. Now, the beloved LGBTQIA+ storytelling series returns to Melbourne Writers Festival for one night only.

Jacinda Ardern: A Different Kind of Power

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Hear from Jacinda Ardern, the trailblazing leader and former Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, at Melbourne Town Hall.
9 May

Maria Reva: Character Networks

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Discover how to create dynamic connections and build dramatic tension in your stories through character networks.

Dervla McTiernan and Benjamin Stevenson: Blood on the Page

Two of Australia’s most thrilling crime writers come together to discuss their latest books and what compels us about these darkly addictive tales of murder, mystery and twisted motives. 

Reimagining Resistance Beyond Colonies

This powerful panel brings together Indigenous writers from Canada and Australia to explore how storytelling becomes a site of resistance, refusal, and reclamation.

Political Year in Review

One year on from the Federal Election, it’s time to take stock.

Bob Brown: Defiance

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Bob Brown comes to Melbourne Writers Festival with his bold new book, Defiance: Stories from Nature and Its Defenders, for a special live recording of the Good Weekend Talks podcast.  

Naynay and the Mermaid with Tasma Walton

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In this children’s storytime event, author Tasma Walton reads from Naynay and the Mermaid, a magical underwater adventure tale inspired by Boonwurrung/Bunurong stories from coastal Melbourne.    

Wilder Shores: Writing the Changing Planet

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From ancient forests and towering mountains to the most remote reaches of the planet, landscapes shape our lives and sense of self. As climate change destabilises the natural world in ways large and small, how do we reckon with an uncertain future?

Minute Cryptic Crossword Workshop

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Discover the secrets to unlocking cryptic crosswords in this cosy workshop held in the convivial surrounds of The Moat.    

Raging Disgracefully

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When it comes to the experience of modern womanhood, there’s a lot to talk about – and in this frank, spirited and insightful panel, nothing is off the table.

Lost and Found: Griffith Review

‘Loss,’ wrote Marcus Aurelius, ‘is nothing else but change’.

Making the Victorian Treaty

For the first time in Australia's history, a Treaty has been signed with First Peoples. Victoria’s Statewide Treaty commenced on 12 December 2025 after nearly a decade of conversation, consultation and negotiations.  

The Book Factory

The Book Factory is a low-fi hi-brow diamond cut book kiln purple sheen. It makes the book object, but you make the book.

Yann Martel: Son of Nobody

Join Yann Martel, the Man Booker Prize-winning author of beloved classic Life of Pi, as he shares his luminous new novel of love, grief and classical mythology.   

Genki Kawamura: From Japan to the World

This event will take place entirely in Japanese language with open captions in Japanese, and is recommended for Japanese-speaking audience members. 

Tareq Baconi: Fire in Every Direction

Palestinian scholar Tareq Baconi discusses his memoir in which a love story, a political awakening and a tale of queer self-discovery converge.

Robert Forster: Songwriters on the Run

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Join Robert Forster as he discusses music, life on the road and writing his high-octane fiction debut – and shares a very special musical performance.

Book Club: The Children's Bach with Bri Lee and Jaclyn Crupi

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Spend the afternoon with Bri Lee and Jaclyn Crupi as Lee’s hit Substack News & Reviews goes IRL with an intimate book club event, discussing Helen Garner’s novella The Children’s Bach.  

Crip Stories: Nothing About Us Without Us

The word ‘crip’ was once used to discriminate. But today, it is reclaimed and celebrated.

Nikita Gill: Hekate

Discover a lyrical and fiercely feminist reimagining of an enigmatic goddess, as internationally bestselling poet and writer Nikita Gill presents her new work, Hekate: The Witch.

Evelyn Araluen and Maxine Beneba Clarke: Girl, Woman, Poem

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Two of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary poets discuss their incisive new collections of poetry, and their shared themes of girlhood, rage and resistance.

Chris Tse: Collaborative Poetry

Be guided on collaborative methods of expanding and improving your poetry craft by 2022-2025 New Zealand Poet Laureate Chris Tse.  

Burial Grounds: Indigenous Perspectives on Horror

Horror is hardly a genre that needs much introduction – graveyards, monsters, things that go bump in the night. But what is at the heart of horror and stories of the uncanny for Indigenous Peoples, when colonisation is as horrific as humanity gets? What does a history unburied look like in the light?

Toby Walsh: AI - Boom or Doom?

The John Button Oration

For the annual John Button Oration, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW and author of The Shortest History of AI Toby Walsh delivers an illuminating address exploring the current and future impact of AI on our society.

Secret Histories: Tales of Dark Academia

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Tales of dark academia emerge from the gloom of university cloisters.

Michael Pedersen: Muckle Flugga

Discover an astonishingly original story of memory, nature and the beauty of human connection as acclaimed Scottish poet and writer Michael Pedersen discusses his debut novel Muckle Flugga.

Shaun Micallef: De'Ath Takes A Holiday

National treasure and bon vivant Shaun Micallef has done it all: chat shows, sitcoms, beloved Australian dramas, feature films, radio, journalism, theatre and more.  

Acoustic Mirrors: An Afternoon of Poetry and Music

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Words and sound weave together as local and international poets and musicians transform the written word into a collection of poetic performances and intimate soundscapes.

Sex, Love and Other Catastrophes

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A panel of smart, candid women explores how evolving ideas about sex, consent and intimacy are transforming our understanding of what modern-day relationships can – and should – look like.

This event is now sold out. Madison Griffiths and Dee Salmin also appear in Breaking Taboos: Rewriting Sex, Love and the Body on Sat 9 May 6.30pm.

The Next Big Thing

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Discover new works and celebrate cutting-edge writing talent at The Next Big Thing.  

Bob Brown: Defiance [Kooyong]

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Join Bob Brown at Vision Australia Library for a fireside chat, as he reflects on reasons for optimism, the irreplaceable beauty and value of nature and a lifetime of activism.

Queer View Mirror: Kill Your Boomers

Nothing is off limits as comedian Aurelia St Clair and author Fiona Wright speak with Jonathan Butler and Sam Elkin, the hosts of 3RRR’s riotously queer talk show, Queer View Mirror.  

Genki Kawamura: One Hundred Flowers

Japanese author Genki Kawamura (If Cats Disappeared from the World) makes his Melbourne Writers Festival debut in celebration of his affirming new novel, One Hundred Flowers.

Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe: Big Sky

Astrophysicist Ray Norris and award-winning writer and Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man Bruce Pascoe discuss their jointly authored new book, Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth.

Toni Jordan and Michael Winkler: Animal Instincts

What can animals teach us? Two beloved novelists discuss their new books that explore our relationship to our canine companions.

The Guardian’s Are You Game Show

Did you follow the latest literary scandal? Can you tell true Dickens from AI? Do you even read the news?

The Book Factory

The Book Factory is a low-fi hi-brow diamond cut book kiln purple sheen. It makes the book object, but you make the book.

Dervla McTiernan and Louise Milligan in Conversation [Hawthorn]

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Two of Australia’s most acclaimed and insightful crime writers come together to discuss their thrilling new novels.  

Sintering: An Evening of Indigenous Brilliance

From poetry, to fiction, to nonfiction, to everything outside of and in-between, this event is a celebration of the encompassing, expansive, and uncontained way we know Indigenous brilliance, globally and locally, to exist.

Human Love Quest: Talk Wordy to Me

Calling all lovelorn literati! Are you tired of searching for a lover who’s also a booklover? Looking for someone who’s on the same page when it comes to romance?  

Breaking Taboos: Rewriting Sex, Love and the Body

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Join three leading feminist voices for a bold, unflinching conversation about the experiences women are often taught to silence. 

Antoinette Lattouf and Grace Tame: Women Who Win

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Across history, women were told to sit down, smile and stay quiet. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. They spoke out, stood tall – and ruined the patriarchy’s day.
10 May

Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes: Decolonial Writing

Join Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes for an enlightening workshop designed to encourage you to think carefully, critically and creatively about decolonial writing.

Shut Up and Write!

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Writing is often treated as something you do alone. The Wheeler Centre’s Shut Up and Write! offers an alternative: write alongside others, without comparison or competition.

Maria Reva: Endling

Join Maria Reva as she sits down to discuss her thrilling Booker Prize-longlisted debut, Endling.

Stephanie Alexander: 30 Years of The Cook's Companion

Hear first-hand from culinary pioneer Stephanie Alexander as she celebrates the 30th-anniversary reissue of her iconic kitchen bible, The Cook’s Companion.

Top 100 Books with ABC Radio National

Passionate readers and insightful writers come together to celebrate the books that have shaped them, inspired by ABC Radio National’s forthcoming Top 100 Books Countdown.  

Hiroko Yoda: Eight Million Ways to Happiness

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Japanese cultural historian Hiroko Yoda explores the spiritual life of Japan and offers an illuminating guide for those searching for meaning in the modern world.

Melbourne Memoryscapes: Walking Tour with Robyn Annear

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Lose yourself in Melbourne’s cultural past as Robyn Annear, troubadour historian and author of Shutter City, leads a fascinating walking tour through the city’s lost buildings and forgotten stories.

My Body is My Home with Jasper Peach and Beci Orpin

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This is my body. It's my home.  
I will live here my whole life long.  
Every part of me belongs. 

Omar Musa and Ellena Savage: Past Imperfect

Discover stories global in outlook and thrilling in their incisive social commentary, as Omar Musa and Ellena Savage come together to discuss their new novels’ shared themes of inheritance, (in)justice, redemption and the ways in which the past haunts the present.  

The Book Factory

The Book Factory is a low-fi hi-brow diamond cut book kiln purple sheen. It makes the book object, but you make the book.

Sunday Afternoon Book Club

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Join beloved local literary taste-makers Marieke Hardy, Jason Steger and host Michael Williams, along with Booker Prize-winner Yann Martel, for a very special book club event.

Mieko Kawakami: Sisters in Yellow

International Booker Prize-shortlisted author Mieko Kawakami (Breasts and Eggs, Heaven) presents her latest novel, Sisters in Yellow – a noir-tinged tale of friendship, found family and the injustices women face.

Breaking News: The Rise of Independent Media

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A robust and diverse media landscape that holds government and institutions to account is essential to healthy democracy. Trust in traditional media is floundering both in Australia and overseas – but it’s not all bad news.

Shut Up and Write!

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Writing is often treated as something you do alone. The Wheeler Centre’s Shut Up and Write! offers an alternative: write alongside others, without comparison or competition.

Whose Poet Laureate Is It, Anyway?: The Peter Steele Poetry Conversation

Later this year, the inaugural Australian Poet Laureate will be appointed, and tasked with promoting poetry and mentoring the next generation of young poets. But what is the true definition of a poet laureate?

Centring First Nations Knowledge

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What are the pathways to a future in which First Nations knowledge systems are centred, and communities are empowered to meet their own social, cultural and economic needs?

Melbourne Memoryscapes: Walking Tour with Robyn Annear

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Lose yourself in Melbourne’s cultural past as Robyn Annear, troubadour historian and author of Shutter City, leads a fascinating walking tour through the city’s lost buildings and forgotten stories.

Susan Choi: Flashlight

Discover a sweeping generational saga about ordinary people facing extraordinary, often malevolent forces with literary luminary Susan Choi.

Ariana Reines in Conversation

Poet, playwright, performing artist and translator Ariana Reines is one of the most electrifying voices in modern American poetry.  

David Moscrop: Too Dumb for Democracy?

Why do we make irrational political decisions? Can our stone-age brains process democracy in the digital age?

Looking at Women, Looking at War: Cities of Literature Book Club

Join this special book club discussion on Victoria Amelina's Looking at Women, Looking at War.

Mythical Retellings

What drives our fascination with the myths and legends of the past? What can they tell us about ourselves? And what happens when we reframe ancient tales through contemporary understandings of race, gender, sexuality and class?  

Chelsea Vowel: Indigenous Futurisms

In this thought-provoking lecture, Métis author Chelsea Vowel explores Indigenous futurisms as a dynamic movement that transcends traditional literary genres, encompassing art, music, video games, fashion, and various media that express Indigenous perspectives on the past, present and future.

Translation Slam with Hiroko Yoda

The MWF Translation Slam returns for another thrilling year – and this time, it’s all about the intricacies of Japanese translation.

David Szalay: Flesh

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2025 Booker Prize winner David Szalay discusses Flesh: his propulsive and hypnotic novel about a man unravelled by a series of events beyond his grasp.

Closing Night Address: Tony Birch on The Ethical Imagination

In the 2026 MWF Closing Night Address, activist, historian and author Tony Birch considers the ethics of being a reader, and of being a writer.    

R.F. Kuang: Katabasis [Sunday]

New event added!

Prepare for one hell of a journey as literary sensation R.F. Kuang (Babel, Yellowface) discusses her latest spellbinding novel, Katabasis.