Sydney Writers' Festival

The Ministry of Time landed on multiple bestseller lists thanks to its highly original, genre-defying story, which combines elements of time travel, romance and spy thriller. Described by Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton as “outrageously brilliant”, Kaliane Bradley’s debut challenges the boundaries of literary and genre fiction as the past meets the future when a disaffected civil servant accepts a job at a mysterious new government ministry specialising in ‘historical expats’. Hear Kaliane and host Spectrum editor Melanie Kembrey unpack the triumph of Kaliane’s debut novel and what it means to change the world by defying history. With an introduction from Fiona Morrison. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It seemed improbable enough in 2016, but here we are now in Donald Trump’s second term at the White House.  What does the return of the 45th President of the United States mean for the international superpower?  And how will it affect the rest of us? Listen in as journalist and political commentator Peter Beinart, foreign correspondent Nick Bryant and Director of the Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program Emma Shortis join host Barrie Cassidy to unpack the election outcome, Trump’s first few months in office and what to expect over the next four years.  This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beloved Irish author Marian Keyes unpacks her latest story of lost sparks and old flames and what happens when high-flyer Anna swaps New York’s skyscrapers for the rugged Irish coast. Readers were first introduced to the loveable and chaotic Walsh Family 30 years ago. They’ve watched the five beloved sisters, including middle daughter Anna, grow into middle age. Anna enjoys a solid and enviable life in New York until her spark goes out and she needs the warm embrace of her family in Dublin to kickstart her passion for life. A thorny local public relations project and the reappearance of an old flame might just do the trick. As Marian introduces a wonderful cast of new characters to fall in love with in her sixteenth novel, she also sheds light on the novel’s themes including midlife lessons, friendship break-ups, letting go of mistakes, regret and perceiving yourself differently. Expect laughter, heartfelt moments and inspiring storytelling that showcases Marian’s fearless honesty, warmth and wit for an uplifting event with one of the most beloved voices in fiction today. Hear bestselling author Marian Keyes discuss the latest Walsh Family instalment in conversation with author and Mamamia podcast host Holly Wainwright.  This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1998, at the beginning of his esteemed career as an international human rights lawyer, Philippe Sands was invited to advise Augusto Pinochet as the Chilean dictator faced arrest in London. Instead, Philippe chose to act as a barrister for Human Rights Watch, where he uncovered the well-hidden connection between Pinochet and former SS commander Walther Rauff. In his latest book, part memoir and part detective story, Philippe draws on interviews and archives to link two of the most brutal regimes of the 20th century at the infamous 38 Londres Street in Santiago. Hear Philippe in conversation with Rosalind Dixon. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mariana Enriquez, an acclaimed Argentinian writer known for her horror fiction, dives into her latest work, 'A Sunny Place for Shady People.' She explores the haunting intertwines of political violence and trauma in her stories. The conversation reveals how ghostly apparitions symbolize collective memory and societal challenges. Mariana discusses women's journeys amidst societal expectations, and the unique cultural nuances of Gothic literature. She also shares insights into the art of crafting short stories, enhancing the reader's emotional connection to unsettling truths.

Acclaimed columnist and political commentator Peter Beinart issues a bold appeal to rewrite the narrative of Jewish identity to embrace nuance, tradition and culture. Bringing together his personal experience and understanding of politics with history and a clear vision for the future, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning is a provocative work that grapples with persecution, victimhood, supremacy, morality and the distinction between the nation-state. Hear Peter tell a new story of Jewish identity in conversation with Debbie Whitmont.  This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the one hand, food is about comfort, love and passion. On the other, it’s about the economics of the restaurant rat race and the politics of identity and historical context. Hear chefs, restauranteurs and culinary stars Parwana’s Durkhanai Ayubi (Returning the Moon), Adam Liaw (Time for Dinner) and Melbourne icon Tony Tan (Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class) discuss the good and bad of food culture. They consider our relationship with food, the flavours of identity, capitalism’s control of the restaurant industry and the social change on the horizon. With host Virginia Trioli. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel.  Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the International Space Station, a team of astronauts watch our big blue planet as it silently turns beneath them.  This 2024 Booker Prize–winning novel is largely observations of the astronauts as they collect data and record small, slow changes in their environment and their own bodies. Yet Samantha Harvey’s prose is expansive, delicately encompassing life and death, fragility and strength, hope and fear in concentric circles of human life. Hear Samantha discuss the profundity of this meditative novel in conversation with ABC Radio’s Claire Nichols (The Book Show). This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Artificial intelligence’s collision with human creativity is one of the most important stories of our time. With the accelerating impact of AI, so much of what we understand about being human is being re-written. Acclaimed writer Jeanette Winterson (12 Bytes: How artificial intelligence will change the way we live and love) sees AI changing our lives in unprecedented ways. Academic and researcher Toby Walsh (The Shortest History of AI) predicts the place AI will have in our futures. Hear Jeanette and Toby bring the perspectives of an artist and a scientist together in this important contemporary conversation. With an introduction from Verity Firth. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local treasure Dylin Hardcastle and international gems Alan Hollinghurst and Yael van der Wouden trace love, longing and queer experience through the decades in their heartfelt new novels. In Dylin’s A Language of Limbs and Yael’s The Safekeep, teenage girls and women navigate unexpected Sapphic desires, while Alan paints a portrait of one man’s journey of self-discovery from childhood into adulthood in Our Evenings. Discover how these intimate yet expansive queer histories came to be in this discussion with host Maeve Marsden. This episode was recorded live in May at the 2025 Sydney Writers’ Festival. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and follow our channel. Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.  After more? Follow Sydney Writers’ Festival on social media:Instagram: @sydwritersfestFacebook: @SydWritersFestTikTok: @sydwritersfestSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.