36692df7-ce3b-444e-ac3c-80ebaa4785f6 Joanna Nell ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Joanna Nell Dr Joanna Nell is a British-Australian writer, GP and advocate for positive ageing. Her essays and short fiction have won multiple awards and been widely published in magazines, journals, and literary anthologies. Her first five novels, The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village, The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker, The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home, The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital, and Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year, were national bestsellers. Joanna lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. < 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.

755dc300-7f59-4ef4-9daf-2f5214ecefaf Graeme Simsion ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Graeme Simsion Dr Graeme Simsion is the author of the widely acclaimed novel The Rosie Project, which spent 65 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and, with its two sequels, has sold seven million copies in forty languages. A film is in development with Sony Pictures. The Best of Adam Sharp, also an international bestseller, is in development with New Sparta Pictures and Creative Differences was optioned to Truce Films. Graeme is co-author of the bestselling Menzies Mental Health series with his wife, Anne Buist. < 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.

b9b7b5e2-df14-461c-bd52-b3dc2883301a Caroline Baum ABOUT < VIEW ALL HOSTS Caroline Baum Caroline Baum is a communicator, storyteller, advocate, moderator, journalist, curator, podcaster and author. She works in all digital and traditional media. Her writing covers culture, food, people, places, issues. Aside from journalism, she has written program notes for the opera and ballet, blogs for theatre and film productions, tourism advertorial, exhibition catalogues, speech notes, and eulogies. She grew up and was educated in the UK and began her working life there as a TV researcher for Michael Parkinson and Melvyn Bragg. < 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.

f725429c-c992-48ec-be5d-c68ba46e3634 Candida Baker ABOUT < VIEW ALL HOSTS Candida Baker Candida Baker is a writer, editor, photographer, journalist, and natural horsemanship practitioner. She is the author of the novels Women and Horses and The Hidden and an award-winning book of short stories, The Powerful Owl. Candida’s book, The Heart of a Horse, was published in 2021. Her latest book, Light and Shadow, was published by Fair Play Publishing in 2025. Candida held positions at many of Australia’s major publications. She was a feature writer with the Melbourne Age for seven years; Deputy Editor of the Good Weekend magazine; Arts Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and Editor of The Weekend Australian Magazine. She regularly reviews books and writes features for a variety of magazines and newspapers. < 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.

f0641a6b-cc78-464a-9219-dd461836b9f4 Nikki-Lee Taylor ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Nikki-Lee Taylor Nikki Lee Taylor is an Australian author. In 2025, she was awarded the Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Award for Crime Fiction. Her latest title, Wildling Road, also won last year’s Hawkeye Manuscript Development Award. Nikki has written three independent titles, including international bestseller The Secrets We Keep, The Truth We Tell, and The Alibi. Nikki is a former news journalist, coffee addict, and dog trainer, and she competes in canine scent work trials with her dog Saxon. She lives in Newcastle, NSW. < 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.

76b514e7-9ecb-4022-a76a-686dcead6893 Heather Morris ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Heather Morris Heather Morris is an internationally bestselling author with a passion for stories of survival, resilience, and hope. Born in New Zealand, she has lived between Australia and New Zealand since 1971. After completing a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, she worked for over two decades in the Social Work department at a major Melbourne hospital while nurturing her passion for storytelling through scriptwriting studies in Australia and the US. In 2003, Heather met Lale Sokolov, whose story formed the basis for The Tattooist of Auschwitz (2018) and the follow-up novel, Cilka’s Journey (2019). Three Sisters (2021), the story of three Holocaust survivors who knew Lale from their time in Auschwitz-Birkenau, concluded the Tattooist trilogy. The Tattooist of Auschwitz became a global phenomenon, with the book adapted into a Stan’s Original Series in 2024. Sisters Under the Rising Sun is based on the true-life experiences of women held in Japanese POW camps during World War II. Together, Heather’s books have sold over 19 million copies worldwide. The Wish is Heather’s first contemporary novel. It was inspired by her years spent working in a busy public hospital, alongside families facing the toughest of times with love and courage. < 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.

aedf91af-fad4-4f93-888e-9c7c356db2da Lee Kofman ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Lee Kofman Dr Lee Kofman is the author of six books, including The Writer Laid Bare, Imperfect – which was shortlisted for the Nib Literary Award 2019 – and The Dangerous Bride. She is the editor of Split, which was longlisted for the ABIA Awards 2020, and co-editor of Rebellious Daughters and Ruptured. Her short works have been published worldwide. Lee regularly speaks at literary events, judges literary awards, and is an experienced writing mentor and teacher of writing. < 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.

5d25a28d-e2a4-4823-b201-96983d12fef4 Anna Dombkins ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Anna Dombkins Anna Dombkins is an Australian writer from Wollongong and the author of Home, Forever – A Story of Adoption, Hope and the Mountains we’re all Climbing which will be launched at the Festival. She and her husband Mark have six children and are passionate advocates for adoption, having adopted three of their children from Tanzania. Anna studied Psychology at Wollongong University and Charles Sturt University and works as a School Counsellor. She is a Founding Director of Forever Projects, a charity started by Mark and Anna after living in Tanzania, which supports women in poverty to keep their babies and empowers them to live independently. < 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.

< Back Stories and Storytellers Conversations about how stories are told, shaped and received across contemporary, literary, historical, romance, spy thrillers and crime fiction, exploring voice, genre, memory and imagination. Sessions in this Pathway Open Book: Writing Lived Experience Tracy Crisp, Natalie Scott View Session Truth, Voice and Who Is Believed Debra Adelaide, Sue Woolfe View Session A Speed Date with Love Holly Cardamone, Karen Farrell, Amy Hutton, Eleanor Kirk, Joanna Nell, Courtney Peppernell View Session Open Book: Becoming Yourself Under Pressure Robbie Coburn, Amy Coomer, Matilda Meikle View Session Open Book: What the Writing Reveals James Dunbar, Jack Heath, Matthew Spencer, Dave Warner View Session The Murder Next Door Kate Horan, Troy Hunter, Ali Lowe, Nikki Lee-Taylor View Session History’s Long Shadow: Writing the Past Candida Baker, Susan Francis View Session Age of Extremes: Spies, Lies and Power Games in the 21st Century Tim Ayliffe, Jack Beaumont, Michael Brissenden View Session Inside the General Hospital Anne Buist AO, Graeme Simsion View Session Previous Next

Program Age of Extremes: Spies, Lies and Power Games in the 21st Century BUY TICKETS DATE: Sunday 22 March, 2026 TIME: 1.00-2.00pm COST: $25.00 Henry G's PATHWAY: Stories and Storytellers HOST : Troy Hunter < VIEW ALL SESSIONS Jack Beaumont Michael Brissenden Tim Ayliffe From covert operations to information warfare, today’s global tensions increasingly play out in the shadows. In Age of Extremes: Spies, Lies and Power Games in the 21st Century, three writers of contemporary political and espionage fiction examine a world shaped by surveillance, disinformation and instability. Drawing on backgrounds in journalism, diplomacy and intelligence, they discuss how power operates behind closed doors, how truth is manipulated, and why fiction can sometimes reveal more than official accounts. This session examines the relationship between reality and invention, the narrative patterns behind modern crises, and the enduring appeal of spy and political thrillers as a way to make sense of a volatile world. A sharp, timely conversation about secrecy, influence and storytelling.

23aee6a3-07bf-45a1-be32-695989550de5 John Coomer ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS John Coomer John Coomer has been a freelance editor and writer since 2015. Prior to that, he spent more than two decades working for major commercial publishers including Wiley, McGraw-Hill and Cambridge University Press. < 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.

8fad0ffa-8b9c-46b8-a62c-7c5dca6c00d7 Jack Toohey ABOUT < VIEW ALL HOSTS Jack Toohey Jack Toohey is an Australian creative director and activist known for his ability to distil complex issues into clear, compelling content. He rose to prominence in 2023 with a viral video examining the difference between housing affordability in 1983 compared with 2023, which amassed over 20 million views. A former music photographer and creative agency founder, Jack has redirected his communication skills towards storytelling that exposes harmful systems and advocates for social and climate justice. < 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.