Manly Writers' Festival invites readers to follow ideas, as well as authors

The 2026 Manly Writers’ Festival is inviting readers to engage with books and ideas in a different way — by following pathways rather than individual sessions.

Rather than presenting the program as a long list of events, this year’s Festival has been curated around a series of thematic pathways designed to help audiences navigate conversations that matter most to them.

The pathways include:

• Power, Truth and Accountability

• Country and Who We Are

• Australia In the World

• Personal Reckonings

• Living Today

• Stories and Storytellers

• So, You Want to be a Writer?

Each pathway brings together writers, journalists, historians, and storytellers whose work speaks to shared questions about democracy, identity, belonging, ethics, imagination, and the role of storytelling in public life.

Festival Director Bonita Mersiades said the pathway approach reflects the way many readers engage with books.

“People don’t just read one genre or one author. They’re following ideas, whether it be about power, truth, country, memory, or how stories shape who we are. The pathways allow audiences to move through the Festival in a way that feels coherent and meaningful to them.”

Pathway sessions span fiction and non-fiction, journalism and memoir, history and cultural commentary, encouraging conversation across forms rather than siloing writers by genre alone.

The approach also allows audiences to tailor their Festival experience — whether they attend a single pathway across the weekend or dip into different themes session by session.

The Manly Writers’ Festival will take place across multiple venues in Manly from 19–22 March 2026, bringing together established voices, emerging writers and local storytellers for conversations grounded in ideas, curiosity and respectful debate.

Now in its third year, the Manly Writers’ Festival remains volunteer-run and independently funded, supported by community partners and donors including the TAG Family Foundation, Fair Play Publishing, the Northern Beaches Council and Multicultural NSW.

Events will be held across galleries, community spaces, clubs and performance venues throughout Manly.

Tickets are on sale now with the full program and ticket information available at www.manlywritersfestival.org.au.