Sydney Writers' Festival
Sydney Writers' Festival
Playlist by Sydney Writers' FestivalAustralia's largest celebration of literature, stories and ideas. Bringing together the world's best authors, leading public intellectuals, scientists, journalists and more. Subscribe to our channel f…Follow the podcast:
754 clip(s) in playlist
China Past, Present, Future
As politicians and analysts attempt to manoeuvre with the global superpower, these writers reflect on how the 20th century got the nation where it is today. Bombard the Headquarters!: The Cultural Revolution in China is Linda Jaivin’s account of the ideological quarrels and personalities that und…
52:18
Catherine Chidgey: The Book of Guilt
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winner Catherine Chidgey’s 9th novel, The Book of Guilt, sparked an international bidding war. With undertones of Shirley Jackson and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, the story’s teenage triplets discover – when the government decides to shut down their home – that som…
50:54
The Moriarty Sisters
This trio of Australian literary talents make writing a family affair. The Moriarty sisters, Jaclyn (the Kingdom and Empires series), Liane (Here One Moment, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers) and Nicola (Every Last Suspect and The Fifth Letter) have decades of writing experience between…
48:23
Family Secrets
Every family has a secret but not every family has a memoirist to reveal it to the world. Writer and former restaurant reviewer Candice Chung’s memoir Chinese Parents Don’t Say I Love You is a tender account of reconnecting with her family and breaking down the barriers of cultural taboos. Exit Wo…
50:21
Out of This World
Space, in all its awe-inspiring, mind-blowing expanse, is still the final frontier. Its greatness and grandness force us to reflect on our humanity, our existence and our place within the universe. In Samantha Harvey’s Booker Prize–winning Orbital, six astronauts contemplate the Earth and its in…
52:37
Harriet Walter: What Shakespeare's Women Might Have Said
After a lifetime of bringing Shakespeare’s female characters to life on stage, multi-award-winning British actor Harriet Walter lends them her pen in She Speaks!. Shining a new light on classic stories, Harriet writes between the lines of some of Shakespeare’s most compelling characters – from s…
1:03:34
The F Word
[Content warning: sexual assault] Feminism has a checkered past, but what can we expect from feminist ideas these days? CEO of independent news commentary platform Cheek Media Co. Hannah Ferguson (Taboo: Conversations we never had about sex, body image, work and relationships), Stella Prize winn…
50:58
Rumaan Alam's American Dream
Rumaan Alam’s Entitlement probes complex racial and social dynamics much like his New York Times bestselling Leave the World Behind, which was adapted into a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali. In his new novel, Rumaan introduces themes of wealth and philanthropic aspirations …
51:14
Liane Moriarty and David Nicholls
International bestselling novelists Liane Moriarty and David Nicholls share the experience of seeing their powerful local stories turn into bingeable television series and films. Liane’s Big Little Lies was the first book by an Australian to debut at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list and, s…
57:49
Turmoil and Tyranny
Wars, coups and economic and climate crises: each new headline can make it feel like the world is suddenly falling apart. But behind many dramatic world events are long-term historical patterns and the rise (and sometimes the fall) of tyrannical and authoritarian rulers. From the Arab Spring to t…
52:03