Literature and Ideas Full Program Announcement
Literary luminaries Damon Galgut, Amy Bloom , Sequoia Nagamatsu, Ben Macintyre, Jane Harper and Holly Ringland join a galaxy of stars at this year’s Writers Weekend.
Celebrating the Perth Festival 2023 theme Djinda, we will present a full weekend (Sat 25 – Sun 26 Feb) of more than 50 big, bold sessions at the beautiful Fremantle Arts Centre exploring the power of the stars and our connection to the greatness of the cosmos.
Expect passionate debate, thrilling stories and lashings of laughter across the entire weekend led by the writers, pundits and mavericks who are shaping the zeitgeist across pop-culture, social affairs, politics, history and all matters of the head and heart. Listen to urgent First Nations voices, famous foodies, men’s book-club favourites, artists, comics, poets, crime writers, hopeless romantics, music-makers, science gurus and even a reality television star or two.
Alongside our star-studded line-up with Booker Prize-winner Damon Galgut and Miles Franklin Literary Award-winner Jennifer Down will be Alice Nelson, Alice Pung, Ben Bravery, Chloe Hooper, Craig Silvey, Don Watson, Jackie Huggins, Jess Ho , Jessie Stephens, Hayley Scrivenor, Larissa Behrendt, Lee Kofman, Matt Agnew, Michelle Johnston, Mohammed Morsi, Ros Thomas, Shirley Marr, Tineke Van der Eecken and Susan Midalia.
Kicking off the weekend will be the night-time opening party All the Stars (Fri 24 Feb) at Fremantle Arts Centre. Exploding on to the stage will be Brooke Blurton, Sarah Malik, Winnie Dunn, Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa, Vuma Phiri, Holden Sheppard and Madison Godfrey plus DJ curators Soul Alphabet.
Joining Literature & Ideas Curator Sisonke Msimang will be our 2023 guest curators, award winning poet Elfie Shiosaki and children’s author James Foley.
James will bring his special touch of wonder and mischief to the special kids day out at Family Day in Freo (Sun 26 Feb) where younger booklovers can experience the magical power of stories. Guests include Sarah Winifred Searle, Kelly Canby, Cristy Burne, Cheryl Kickett-Tucker and Kathryn Lefroy.
Literature & Ideas Curator Sisonke Msimang :
Come and spend time with us in the gardens of Fremantle Arts Centre, where every panel and conversation will have truth telling at its heart.
We’re looking forward to welcoming a new generation of festival-lovers who will find plenty of authors and fun topics to get excited about. And of course, audiences who know and love Writer’s Weekend will be able to enjoy a full menu of sessions by beloved authors. There will be something for everyone, from those captured by political debates, mesmerised by memoirs and faithful to our beloved fiction writers. There will be books, conversations, excellent coffee, blankets on the lawn and chairs decked out waiting for you, and – if you stay long enough – you can sit under those famous WA stars.
To get you inspired for the Writers Weekend, join us at Subiaco Arts Centre for A Day of Ideas (Sat 18 Feb) where you’ll hear from an exciting mix of scientists, artists, and community and industry leaders. The afternoon of talks co-hosted by Kylie Bracknell and Sisonke Msimang includes wisdom from Renae Sayers, Carol Redford, Professor Fiona Stanley, Dr Roma Yibiyung Winmar, Abdul-Rahman Abdullah and Braden Hill.
Season Details
Venue: Perth Festival
Date: 10 Feb -05 Mar 2023
For more information click HERE
