2026 Festival Artists - Canberra Writer Festival 2026

Saved Events (0)

×

Home / 2026 Festival Artists

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

Sally Pryor

Sally Pryor is a Canberra journalist who has covered arts, history, literature, crime and many more things at The Canberra Times for 18 years. She’s also a lifelong bookworm with too many books – both read and unread – on her shelves and across her desk.

Sandra Bennett

Sandra Bennett is a former Primary School teacher and now award-winning author. Literacy has always been a priority and passion for Sandra leading her to write stories that take children on a journey of imagination and inspiration. She appreciates the struggle of teaching reluctant readers, understands the importance of hooking children with reading and is devoted to writing stories that entice readers with excitement, adventure, a bit of mystery and a whole lot of fun. Her latest book is Drumming Dragons.

Sandy Bigna

Sandy Bigna is a passionate supporter of local children’s literature. She started up the Aussie Kids Books Instagram account, which reviews Australian children’s books, and has worked as a children’s librarian. Little Bones is her debut novel, which won the 2025 Children’s Book Award at the QLD Literary Awards, Best Children’s Fiction in the 2026 Aurealis Awards, and has been shortlisted in the 2026 NSW Premier’s Awards, and the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Awards for Younger Readers.

An outdoor portrait of Saskia Beudel with arms behind her back, in front of a wooden fence.

Saskia Beudel

Saskia Beudel is the author of the novel Borrowed Eyes and nonfiction works A Country in Mind: Memoir with landscape and (with Jill Bennett) Curating Sydney. Her books have been shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, a Dobbie Award and the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. Her most recent book is Peaking: One hundred and eleven days on two wheels. She publishes widely as an essayist, most recently in the Virginia Quarterly Review.

Scott Woodard

Scott Woodard stumbled from a creative writing degree into a career in commercial radio. Across seven years and three states, he raced pantomime horses, annoyed reality TV stars, MCed music festivals, broadcast through fires and floods, championed communities around Australia and played a lot of Ed Sheeran. Scott’s debut novel Poster Boys was published in February. His comedic fiction emphasises the importance of empathy, self-acceptance and independent thinking for Australian teens.

Outdoor portrait of Sean Ulm, smiling at the camera and holding a black chicken.

Sean Ulm

Distinguished Professor Sean Ulm is Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures at James Cook University and one of Australia’s leading archaeologists. His research focuses on long-term relationships between people and Country. A Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, he has published more than 150 scholarly articles and books. His latest book, The First Inventors: How people shaped a continent, was co-authored with Billy Griffiths and Larissa Behrendt.

A greyscale portrait of Siang Lu with a dark, unfocused background.

Siang Lu

Siang Lu is the Miles Franklin-winning author of Ghost Cities and ABIA-winning author of The Whitewash. He is the co-creator of The Beige Index and the creator of #sillybookstagram. Ghost Cities was shortlisted for eight additional awards, including the ALS Gold Medal, The Voss Literary Prize and The Age Book of the Year. In 2026, Ghost Cities will be published with Simon & Schuster’s Summit UK and US imprints, and in 25 territories in translation thereafter.

Portrait of Sita Sargeant smiling with thumbs in her pockets, in front of a dark background.

Sita Sargeant

Sita Sargeant is a social entrepreneur, author, and one of Australia’s leading voices in women’s history. In 2021, she founded She Shapes History, a company making women’s history accessible and engaging through walking tours, digital content, and partnerships with historic sites and cultural institutions. She published a book by the same name in 2025, sharing the stories of over 250 women who helped shape 31 towns and cities across Australia. In 2026, she was named the ACT Young Australian of the Year.

A portrait of Sophie Gee in front of a grey pillar, with her arms resting on a glass barrier.

Sophie Gee

Sophie Gee is Professor of English at Princeton University. She was inaugural Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Sydney, and now Director of Collaborative Inquiry, where her work is to build the public value of the humanities. She co-hosts the globally successful Secret Life of Books podcast. Her most recent scholarly book is The Barbarous Feast: Eating and Writing in the Eighteenth-Century World, a new account of the rise of the novel.

Portrait of Sophie Gillies wearing a colourful dress and leaning against a brick wall.

Sophie Gillies

Sophie Gillies is a children’s author and educator who has taught English and Environmental Education to students aged 5 to 95. She lives on Ngnunnawal Country with her partner and twin daughters. Sophie’s non-fiction picture book, Wombat Poos are Square, which introduces the wild and whacky poos of Australian animals, has been shortlisted for the Wilderness Society’s Environment Awards for Children’s Literature, and selected for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s 2026 book distribution.

Sophie Green

Sophie Green is an author and publisher who lives in Sydney. In her spare time, she writes about country music on her website, Sunburnt Country Music. Sophie’s novels are internationally published, and each has been an Australian Top Ten bestseller. The Frock Shop, which was released in July 2026, is her eighth novel.

Stephanie Owen Reeder

Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder OAM is a Canberra-based author who has written and edited over 60 books for children and adults. Her work has received honours including the NSW Premier’s History Award, the CBCA Book of the Year Award, the ACT Literary Award, the Whitley Zoological Award and the CBCA Laurie Copping Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature. Stephanie is celebrated showcasing Australia’s unique wildlife in books such as Peculiar Parents and Rakali of the Riverbank.

Stephen Fishbach

Stephen Fishbach is a bestselling novelist and Pushcart Prize-winning short story writer. His novel Escape! was an instant bestseller and received praise in the Atlantic, Slate, People, and many others. He is a former speechwriter and media executive who has used media superpowers for positive social change. In 2008, he was runner-up on Survivor, and in 2015, he was voted by fans to return to the show. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two children.

A portrait of Stephen Young against a grey background.

Stephen Young

Dr Stephen Young is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Otago. An award-winning author, Stephen has written books, edited volumes and special journal editions, and published in academic journals, magazines, blogs and other public-facing media. His newest book is Outlawed. He grew up outside of Chicago, Illinois, but now lives and works in Dunedin, New Zealand, with his family.

A dramatic greyscale studio portrait of Steve Toltz sitting backwards on a chair.

Steve Toltz

Steve Toltz is an Australian novelist. His debut novel, A Fraction of the Whole, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. His second novel, Quicksand, won the 2017 Russell Prize for Humour Writing. His third novel, Here Goes Nothing, published in 2022, was shortlisted for the Nib Literary Award and the Aurealis Awards. His latest novel is A Rising of the Lights.

Portrait of Sue Whiting smiling at the camera against a neutral background.

Sue Whiting

Sue Whiting is an award-winning children’s and YA author. As the former senior commissioning editor and publishing manager for Walker Books Australia, Sue knows books inside out and is a passionate advocate for reading for pleasure. Sue’s books include the bestselling novels Missing, The Book of Chance, and the popular Pearly and Pig series. Her latest novel is the enthralling middle-grade historical adventure Hill End Gold. Sue loves enthusing kids about books and reading.

Interior portrait of Susan Orlean seated on a modern chair with a black and white fox terrier, with the Los Angles skyline through the window.

Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean is the best-selling author of nine books, including The Orchid Thief, Rin Tin Tin, and The Library Book. Her most recent book is Joyride: A memoir. She has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside. She had several Hollywood films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush.

Subscribe

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

Saved Events (0)

×