Nick Moir is Chief Photographer for The Sydney Morning Herald, and the 2020 Nikon-Walkley Feature/Photo Essay Award-winner for Firestorm, Moir’s middle-of-the-inferno coverage of the 2019/2020 summer bushfires.

Illawarra Mercury photographer Sylvia Liber is the 2020 Nikon-Walkley Prize winner for Community/Regional. Liber travelled the East Coast after the destruction of the fires, capturing the aftermath and the stories of people who had lost everything in the inferno.

Hear about being trapped in the middle of firestorms and eucalyptus explosions, conditions so extreme that camera parts started melting, chasing extreme weather around the world, watching the devastating effects of climate change unfold in person, and the stories that developed in the aftermath of the destruction of the summer bushfires. 

Walkeys Live: The Journalist Gene is a series of five one-hour biographical portraits of five Walkley Award-winning or recognised journalists, exploring the national and international context in which their award-winning work took place; the influences and personal inspirations for their approach; and the professional drive, courage and values that sustain their work.

This event was presented by Sydney Festival in partnership with the Walkley Foundation.