Help support the Manly Writer's Festival by donating today. Your contribution helps us continue to celebrate storytelling, creativity, and community in Manly, Sydney. DONATIONS Join our Donors Circle How and why your support can help We value your support to secure the future of the Manly Writers' Festival and to help prioritise literacy and creativity for the next generation. Your donation can help us keep ticket prices low, bring a regional Australian or international artist to the Festival, and much more, including keeping the Manly Writers' Festival alive. All donations of $2 and above are tax-deductible. Join our Donors Circle with one of the following tiers, or choose your own amount. Book Lovers ($50+) — Name listed on our website and in the program Festival Friends ($200+) — As above, plus a surprise book from our collection to say thank you Story Champions ($500+) — All the above, plus an invitation to a special thank-you gathering Literary Ambassadors ($1,000+) — Become one of our ambassadors and, in addition to the above, your generosity will receive year-round recognition, including when you join us at special events and selected sessions. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

Learn about the Manly Writer's Festival, a celebration of storytelling, creativity, and community in Manly, Sydney. Discover our mission, history, and the impact of our events. ABOUT US DISCOVER THE MANLY WRITER'S FESTIVAL STORIES TO INSPIRE The Manly Writers' Festival brings readers, writers and thinkers together for a literary event that shows a side of Manly beyond the beach and the ferry. Whether you're into history, politics, crime, sport, fiction, or anything that is a good read, we host storytellers for three days around the end of March/early April each year in a challenging, relaxed, and fun environment. We want to feed your heart and mind by presenting an eclectic range of authors, poets, journalists, and thinkers and introducing local and emerging writers to discuss stories and issues that will energise, inform and inspire you. To keep up to date about our authors and events, please sign up for our e-newsletter. Manly Writers’ Festival was established as a not-for-profit charitable organisation and recognised as a cultural institution by the Australian Taxation Office in 2024. We are overseen by a Board comprising local community members. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

Explore highlights from past Manly Writer's Festivals. Discover key moments, featured speakers, and memorable events from our previous festivals in Manly, Sydney. PREVIOUS FESTIVALS 2024 14, 15, 16 March 2024 Program 2025 28, 29, 30 March 2025 Program ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

Jane Caro Author Talk with Jane Caro BUY TICKETS 2025 PROGRAM < VIEW ALL PROGRAMS Author Talk with Jane Caro DATE: Friday 28th March LOCATION: Darley Smith Building COST: $22 Jane Caro is a Walkley Award-winning columnist, author, broadcaster, and social commentator. She has worked in marketing and advertising and has penned over 15 books across a range of genres, including novels, women’s issues, religion, and memoirs. Her latest novel, Lyrebird, is based on the premise that lyrebirds are exceptional mimics. So, when one emits the sound of a woman screaming in terror and pleading for her life, how do a young PhD student and an inexperienced detective convince anyone that the bird witnessed a murder without an actual missing person, let alone a body? In her latest thriller, released on April 1st, Jane highlights injustices faced by marginalised women. BUY TICKETS < PREVIOUS NEXT > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

Max Holzner, Josh Piterman, Katherine Wiles, Gillian Wills 'Teach the Children Well' (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) BUY TICKETS 2025 PROGRAM < VIEW ALL PROGRAMS 'Teach the Children Well' (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) DATE: Sunday 30th March LOCATION: Manly Golf Club COST: $22 Studies show that music education helps improve cognitive function and literacy. Increasingly crowded curriculums and finite resources have seen schools cut back on music programs, resulting in thousands of children leaving primary with no formal music education. Many schools that try to retain some music in their curriculum often deliver it by a generalist teacher who has received 17 hours of music education in their four-year degree, compared with 350 hours for a generalist teacher in South Korea. How do we ensure policymakers and educators see the bigger picture of the value and importance of music education to every child’s development? Panel: Max Holzner, Josh Piterman, Katherine Wiles, Gillian Wills Host: Suzanne Leal BUY TICKETS < PREVIOUS NEXT > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

36c36552-b1b6-44a5-b6f3-7c9987857a38 Peter FitzSimons ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Peter FitzSimons Peter FitzSimons AM is Australia’s bestselling non-fiction writer, and for the past 35 years has also been a journalist and columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sun Herald. He is the author of a number of highly successful books, including Breaker Morant, Burke and Wills, Monash’s Masterpiece, Kokoda, Ned Kelly and Gallipoli, as well as biographies of such notable Australians as Sir Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake and Nick Farr-Jones. His passion is to tell Australian stories, our own stories: of great men and women, of stirring events in our history. Peter grew up on a farm north of Sydney, went to boarding school in Sydney and attended Sydney University. An ex-Wallaby, he also lived for several years in rural France and Italy, playing rugby for regional clubs. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Author Talk with Peter FitzSimons DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 09.30am-10.30am WITH: Anne Maria Nicholson TICKETS < PREVIOUS AUTHOR NEXT AUTHOR > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

7da0e091-e36b-478a-9907-40ecd9e7d516 Jane Caro ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Jane Caro Jane Caro AM is a Walkley award winning Australian columnist, author, novelist, feminist, public education activist and social commentator. She was awarded the B&T Women in Media Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Once upon a time, she was also a multi-award winning advertising copywriter and an academic. These days, she is a full time writer, novelist, speaker, MC and TV, radio and media pundit. She has published 13 books. Her most recent, The Mother, is a best seller. Her next novel, Lyrebird, will be released in April 2025. In 2024 she interviewed Miriam Margolyes at The Sydney Opera House and Newcastle’s Civic Theatre, Bryan Brown at Cremorne Orpheum and Jodi Piccoult at 4 Seasons, in between writing her columns for Nine Media and The Big Smoke, articles for The Saturday Paper and The Monthly, appearing on Nine’s Today and Today Extra and ABC’s The Gruen. She intends to continue saying yes to any other interesting work that comes her way including Writer’s Festivals, speaking engagements and developing a TV series with co-creators Julian Morrow and Jennifer Robinson. In her spare time, she is a beef producer and a timber grower. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Author Talk with Jane Caro DATE: Friday 28th March TIME: 2.00pm-3.00pm WITH: TICKETS < PREVIOUS AUTHOR NEXT AUTHOR > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

09368532-3f67-43cb-8985-ef67770820e4 Anne Maria Nicholson ABOUT < VIEW ALL HOSTS Anne Maria Nicholson Anne Maria Nicholson is a journalist, author and public speaker who has worked for many of Australia’s major media organisations, as well as internationally. For more than 20 years, Anne Maria was a news and current affairs journalist at the ABC, specialising in the arts and reporting for Foreign Correspondent, Lateline and 730. Anne Maria has written three novels: Poker Protocol (2022), Pliny’s Warning (2009) and Weeping Waters (2006). Anne Maria is a longtime Manly resident and was an independent councillor on Manly Council and supported the introduction of many reforms including open and transparent government. She was Deputy Chair of the Australian Society of Authors and a Director of the Copyright Agency. She is currently President of the Manly Art Gallery & Museum Society. < PREVIOUS HOST NEXT HOST > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

Deborah Pike, Jessie Tu, Gillian Wills Creative Lives In Fiction: Stories Of Love, Ambition And Self-Discovery BUY TICKETS 2025 PROGRAM < VIEW ALL PROGRAMS Creative Lives In Fiction: Stories Of Love, Ambition And Self-Discovery DATE: Sunday 30th March LOCATION: Manly Golf Club COST: $22 Explore the intricate dynamics of identity, ambition, and creativity with Deborah Pike (The Players), Jessie Tu (The Honeyeater), and Gillian Wills (Big Music). Through the lens of coming-of-age journeys, the tension between art and societal expectations, and the complexities of love and ambition, these novels illuminate the universal struggle to find one’s place in a rapidly shifting world. Join us for a compelling discussion on how cultural and societal pressures shape personal growth and creative expression and what it means to forge an authentic identity amidst competing demands. Host: Summer Land BUY TICKETS < PREVIOUS NEXT > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

4868dac1-0d81-43f8-bf95-5147314b1316 Heidi Coupland ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Heidi Coupland Heidi is an accomplished ethnographer and academic researcher who over the past 20 years has written about the experiences of others. She has a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, a Master of Public Health and a PhD. She has also been a board member for the National Centre for Childhood Grief. A Single Lifeline is her first book. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Fighting the Long Goodbye DATE: Friday 28th March TIME: 11.20am-12.20pm WITH: TICKETS < PREVIOUS AUTHOR NEXT AUTHOR > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

Meg Keneally, Catherine McKinnon Australian Historical Fiction BUY TICKETS 2025 PROGRAM < VIEW ALL PROGRAMS Australian Historical Fiction DATE: Saturday 29th March LOCATION: Darley Smith Building COST: $22 We discuss Australian historical stories from 18th century England to World War II with two authors. Free by Meg Keneally blends storytelling with social critique in the story of Molly Thistle, who is transported to the new penal colony after stealing a horse and defies convention to create a commercial empire. To Sing of War by Catherine McKinnon weaves together an Australian nurse and soldier in New Guinea, scientists in Los Alamos, and a mother in Japan, connected in a moment of history in a tale of friendship, love, and war. Host: Victoria Haskins BUY TICKETS < PREVIOUS NEXT > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.

429426af-eac9-4326-8bcf-2ed8b8c608e9 Andrew Fowler ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Andrew Fowler Andrew Fowler is an award-winning investigative journalist and a former reporter for the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent and Four Corners programs. His latest book NUKED: the Submarine Fiasco that Sank Australia’s Sovereignty won the 2024 Walkley Award. Fowler began his journalism career in the UK, where he worked for the London Evening News. He has been the chief of staff and acting foreign editor of The Australian newspaper. He wrote The Most Dangerous Man in the World , the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, in 2011, updated in 2012 and 2020. Fowler first interviewed Assange for Foreign Correspondent in 2010, for which the program won the New York Festival Gold Medal. This is Fowler’s fourth book. His two others are The War on Journalism (2015) and Shooting the Messenger: Criminalising Journalism (2017). He is a winner of the United Nations Peace Prize. Fowler has also lectured at universities and colleges in Australia, the UK, and France and has contributed to various academic books and papers. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: "I don't think, I know." DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 12.10pm-1.10pm WITH: Mark Corcoran TICKETS WHAT: Frontline Perspectives: Reporting the World Beyonder Borders DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 2.50pm-3.50pm WITH: Bonita Mersiades TICKETS < PREVIOUS AUTHOR NEXT AUTHOR > ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The Manly Writers' Festival acknowledges and thanks the original storytellers on the lands on which our events take place, the Gameraygal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge and respect their continuing connection and culture, and we pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.