Group 54

Saved Events (0)

×

2026 Festival Writers

Programs Events Artist
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A headshot of Barbara Truelove smiling.

Barbara Truelove

Barbara Truelove is an Australian author and game designer. She writes about werewolves and sometimes other things, including but not limited to vampires, zombies, and sentient space ships. She’s worked as a television production assistant, a hotel receptionist, and a kindergarten teacher. She started writing when she was nine years old and believes it’s too late to break the habit now. Her latest book is She’s a Doll.
VIEW PROFILE
A portrait of Barrina South against a brown background, holding the book Makarra.

Barrina South

Barrina is a Barkindji poet and critic. In 2024, her debut poetry collection titled Makarra, was shortlisted in the 2025 Prime Ministers’ Literary Award for poetry and won the 2025 ACT Literary Award for Poetry. Her work has featured in the Griffith Review, The Suburban Review, Rabbit, Cordite Poetry Review, Coastlines plus Teesta Review: A Journal of Poetry, Kolkata, India. Barrina is a member of the Canberra Critics Circle and a Director of MARION Act.
VIEW PROFILE
A portrait of Beejay Silcox sitting in a grey armchair in front of a window.

Beejay Silcox

Beejay Silcox is a book critic. Her work is celebrated for its resolute – some might say foolhardy – honesty. She has been described as “the most significant new Australian critic in decades”. Beyond the page, she is a literary polymath: interviewer, prize judge, manuscript doctor, festival programmer, and award-winning creative writing educator. Beejay has stories to tell; she eloped to Las Vegas, escaped quicksand, and was once rescued from a picnic at Hanging Rock.
VIEW PROFILE
A headshot of Ben Bramble against a light background.

Ben Bramble

Ben Bramble is a Lecturer in Philosophy at ANU and a Mission Specialist at InSpace. His latest book is Lunacy: Ten False Promises of the New Space Age (Princeton University Press).
VIEW PROFILE
Interior headshot of Bernard Keane with a blurred background.

Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane is Crikey’s politics editor. Before that he was Crikey’s Canberra press gallery correspondent, covering politics, national security and economics. He also spent 15 years in the Australian public service. He is co-author of the bestselling A Short History of Stupid, and author of The Mess We’re In and a novel, Surveillance. His latest book is Seize the Moment: Australia’s real opportunities in an unstable world.
VIEW PROFILE

Bill Shorten

Professor The Hon. Bill Shorten became Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra in January 2025, after a career that included leadership roles with the Australian Workers’ Union and 18 years serving federal politics, including six as Leader of the Opposition. Since joining the University of Canberra, Professor Shorten has focused on building on its impactful history of practical education, mission-driven research and industry collaboration. He strongly believes that a modern university recognises the unique pressures on today’s school leavers and mature students alike and works to widen participation for all who seek an education.
VIEW PROFILE
A headshot of Billy Griffiths in front of a wooden fence surrounded by leaves.

Billy Griffiths

Billy Griffiths is a writer and historian at Deakin University. He is the bestselling author of Deep Time Dreaming, which has won prizes in literature, archaeology and history, including Book of the Year at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. His latest book is The First Inventors: How people shaped a continent, with Larissa Behrendt and Sean Ulm.
VIEW PROFILE
A portrait of Brendan James Murray sitting at a desk with a typewriter and lamp.

Brendan James Murray

Brendan James Murray is an award-winning author and teacher. His first book, The Drowned Man, won the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime, and his acclaimed memoir The School was selected by the Grattan Institute for the Prime Minister’s Summer Reading List and shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award for Nonfiction. His most recent work is Childhood.
VIEW PROFILE

Briony Winchester

Briony Winchester is a journalist, cultural commentator and professional stickybeak who has spent more than 25 years asking the questions everyone else is thinking. A former Lifestyle Editor of The Canberra Times, she now writes for This is Canberra and Region Canberra, hosts podcasts, and is building a body of work exploring the conversations we rarely have out loud. She is also, for reasons she’ll happily explain, writing an erotic novel set in Bunnings.
VIEW PROFILE
Outdoor headshot of Bronwyn Saunders smiling at the camera while holding a copy of Diprotodon, wearing a diprotodon t-shirt and with a toy diprotodon on her shoulder.

Bronwyn Saunders

Bronwyn Saunders is a passionate citizen scientist who delights in sharing fascinating facts about Australia’s natural history, especially Australia’s Pleistocene megafauna. As a child, she loved to visit the Naracoorte Caves, where she learned all about the megafauna featured in Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey. Bronwyn lives with her family in Canberra and is hard at work researching and writing her next books.
VIEW PROFILE
A headshot of Bronwyn Swasbrick in front of a bookshelf, holding a stack of books.

Bronwyn Swasbrick

Bron is a lifelong booklover, reader, and reviewer, who has been talking about books online for about a decade and gets especially excited about Australian writers and their stories. You can find Bron discussing her latest and most favourite reads on Instagram @bookishbron and on her website BookishBron.com
VIEW PROFILE
A portrait of Bruce Scates in front of a bush.

Bruce Scates

Bruce Scates is a Fulbright scholar and Emeritus Professor of History of the Australian National University. He has pioneered new forms of life writing, published widely on the human cost of war and is a major contributor to debates in social, labour and gender history. His recent books include The Last Battle: Soldier Settlement in Australia and WW1: A History in 100 Stories. His path-breaking novel, On Dangerous Ground: A Gallipoli Story received special commendation in the Christina Stead Awards.
VIEW PROFILE

Subscribe

For all the latest news and offers, sign up to our mailing list.

Saved Events (0)

×