“Though I am not religious, I have often been grateful for how the calendar of my parents’ faith can bring me to pause and contemplation. I suspect I am not alone in finding it difficult to make space for such moments of serenity in this age.” – Christos Tsiolkas

For our 2021 Festival, an all-star line-up of guests came together to deliver a speech on the Festival theme, Within Reach. Speakers celebrated the power of writing to generate empathy, imagination and action. In this moving highlight, award-winning writer Christos Tsiolkas contemplates the centrality of family and the assurance of ritual in times of uncertainty and separation.