After the wild success of Live & Local in 2024, Sydney Writers’ Festival returns to Esperance in 2025 to bring the best of the Festival direct to you.
One of Australia’s most loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will livestream its headline events from Sydney to Esperance Public Library on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 May
Prepare to be invigorated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions featuring some of the world’s finest writers and thinkers. Audiences can also participate in live Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions straight to the Sydney stage.
Join us in the corner lounge area for Live & Local 2025, streamed live by Sydney Writers’ Festival
All welcome - RSVP's not required
2025 PROGRAM
Thursday 22nd May
10am - 11 am We Are the Stars
with Gina Chick & TK (host)
Hear Alone Australia winner Gina Chick regale you with stories of her extraordinary life, from her unconventional childhood to deep links with nature as an adult.
12 Noon - 1pm You Are Here
with David Nicholls & Jennifer Byrne (Host)
Travel the winding road of love through first encounters and second chances with bestselling novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls, in conversation with Jennifer Byrne on his latest love story.
2pm - 3pm Past and Future of Indigenous Recognition
with Thomas Mayo, Clare Wright & Lorena Allam (host)
Respected Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and historian Clare Wright reflect on the history of First Nations movements for change in Australia and look at next steps
4pm - 5pm The Ministry of Time
with Kaliane Bradley & Melanie Kembrey (host)
Question what it means to change the world by defying history with Kaliane Bradley’s bestselling debut, which blends time travel, romance and spy thriller.
Friday 23rd May
10am - 11am The Season
with Helen Garner and David Leser (host)
Hear iconic Australian writer Helen Garner’s reflections on football and the cycles of life in The Season, her first full-length book in a decade.
12 noon - 1pm Our Evenings
with Alan Hollinghurst and Georgina Godwin (host)
Hear Alan Hollinghurst discuss his seventh novel, a rich and pleasurable account of a lifetime in modern England and the search for identity.
2pm - 3pm From Brooklyn to Long Island
with Colm Tóibín and Kate Evans (host)
Hear how Laureate of Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín returned to the Lacey family of international bestseller Brooklyn with the long-awaited sequel, set 20 years after Rose’s death.
4pm - 5pm Untrue Crime
with Kate McClymont, Shankari Chandran & Ian Rankin
Novelist Shankari Chandran, investigative journalist Kate McClymont and Diamond Dagger Award winner Ian Rankin discuss the line between fact and fiction in the stories they tell about crime
