611ed6f6-866d-4009-a46e-8a35a578277e David Dufty ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS David Dufty David Dufty is a Canberra-based writer and researcher. He completed a psychology degree with honours at the University of Newcastle, has a PhD in psychology from Macquarie University, and has worked as a statistician and social researcher at the University of Memphis, Newspoll, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. His previous book, How to Build an Android, described modern developments in robotics and artificial intelligence. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Before the NBN and Snowy 2.0 DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 09.30am-10.30am 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.

d04b302d-0901-4442-8304-9aa497bb6890 Deborah Pike ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Deborah Pike Deborah Pike was born in Zimbabwe, moved to Hong Kong as a child and grew up in Perth. She has a PhD from the University of Sydney and now teaches literature at UNDA Sydney campus. She is a winner of an Australian Government Award for University Teaching. Deborah has travelled widely, living in Paris for several years, where she held positions at Shakespeare & Company Bookstore, the OECD, the University of Paris VII and the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Deborah is the author of the monograph The Subversive Art of Zelda Fitzgerald. Her debut Novel, The Players, was released in 2024. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Creative Lives In Fiction: Stories Of Love, Ambition And Self-Discovery DATE: Sunday 30th March TIME: 10.00am-11.00am WITH: Summer Land 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.

e25543b1-0d6f-4539-a664-751ebc003dab Helen Hayes ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Helen Hayes Helen Hayes is a travel writer and guide who has been in the media since 1977, spending many years in radio – on- and off-air, with her most enjoyable role being the helicopter traffic reporter for 2UE, almost a decade as a researcher on the Great Outdoors travel show on Channel Seven and over 20 years working as an editor on high profile magazines such as Vacations & Travel and Holidays with Kids, as well as contributing to other magazines and newspapers including the Australian Financial Review, Escape, Explore, and Signature Luxury, Travel & Style. Helen also sub-edits several magazines. Helen has won several awards, and been a finalist in others. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: "I haven't been everywhere, but it is on my list." (Susan Sontag) DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 2.50pm-3.50pm WITH: Rananda Rich 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.

a3808287-a50b-4461-b81b-4185015d82f8 Jo Peck ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Jo Peck Jo Peck grew up in Healesville, Victoria. She worked in advertising for thirty-five years, co-running her own ad agency, Working Girls Advertising, for twenty of those years. She lives in Melbourne with her new partner. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Changing Life DATE: Friday 28th March TIME: 12.40pm-1.40pm WITH: Suzanne Leal 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.

e5233e55-7215-4a3d-9ea1-7ae2109cbc8f Tim Ayliffe ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Tim Ayliffe Tim Ayliffe is an award winning thriller writer whose novels have been informed by his 25-year career as a journalist and media executive in Australia and around the world. He writes about espionage, extremism, politics and the global power games at play in the 21st Century. He's the author of the ‘John Bailey’ series including The Greater Good, State of Fear, The Enemy Within, Killer Traitor Spy and his most recent novel, The Wrong Man. Tim's thrillers are also in development for TV. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Politics, Power and the Thrill of the Chase DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 10.50am-11.50am WITH: Helen Vatsikopoulos 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.

703a0ba5-5659-49e4-88bb-4ce9c6606c8b John Maynard ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS John Maynard John Maynard is a Worimi Aboriginal man from the Port Stephens region of NSW and an Emeritus Professor with the University of Newcastle. He has held several major positions and served on numerous prominent organisations and committees, including Deputy Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Executive Committee of the Australian Historical Association, New South Wales History Council, Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council, Australian Research Council College of Experts, National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network and the NSW Fulbright Selection Committee. He gained his PhD in 2003, examining the rise of early Aboriginal political activism. He has worked with and within many Aboriginal communities, urban, rural, and remote. Professor Maynard’s publications have concentrated on the intersections of Aboriginal political and social history, and the history of Australian race relations. John is a passionate sports fan and the author of several books on Aboriginal people and sport, with Golf Dreaming – An Aboriginal Social, Political, Cultural and Historical Perspective of Golf to be published in April 2025. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Sunrise Raconteurs: From the Fairway to the Goal Line DATE: Sunday 30th March TIME: 09.15am-10.15am WITH: Simon Hill 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.

7b292d63-d31d-4eb5-a1d7-8f003c471521 Sara Haddad ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Sara Haddad Sara Haddad is an editor and writer who has worked in publishing for 35 years. A Lebanese Australian, she lives on Gadigal land with her husband and two children. She hopes that one day all Palestinians will be free to return to their country and live there without fear. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Reflections: Conflict in the Home of Your Heart DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 09.30am-10.30am WITH: Antony Loewenstein 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.

3805e2eb-c416-487f-b478-8a042eafe585 Steve Cannane ABOUT < VIEW ALL HOSTS Steve Cannane Steve Cannane is a reporter with the ABC's Investigations Unit. From 2021-2024 he was the ABC's Europe Bureau Chief in London. He worked in the Investigations Unit from 2018-2021, and was Europe correspondent from 2016-2018. Prior to that, Steve was the host of The Drum and a reporter at Lateline. He is the author of Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia and First Tests: Great Australian Cricketers and the Backyards That Made Them. < 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.

Melinda Ham, Sahira al Younany Reflections: Transitions to a New Land BUY TICKETS 2025 PROGRAM < VIEW ALL PROGRAMS Reflections: Transitions to a New Land DATE: Friday 28th March LOCATION: Darley Smith Building COST: $22 What does it mean to start over in a new land? This session dives into the heart of the refugee experience, about how you navigate a world where you look different, talk differently, worship differently, and you effectively have no choice but to leave the land of your birth. Join us for a conversation about identity, belonging, and the powerful stories of those who share what transitioning to a new country means to ‘fit in.’ We speak with author Melinda Ham and Iraqi refugee Sahira al Younany about The Lucky Ones. Host: Antony Loewenstein 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.

19dca573-fe44-4354-a356-6dff979540d3 Brendan Morris ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Brendan Morris Brendan Morris has been a Senior English teacher for over 35 years having taught his passion to his students from Year 7 to Year 12 Extension. Among other responsibilities in the education sphere, he has been a Boarding Housemaster at his current school for 15 years. Brendan has always had a deep interest in sports, having also competed in and/or coached many since he was a boy, including but not limited to Rugby Union, Football, Basketball, Rowing, Cricket, Athletics, Golf, Surfing, Swimming and Running. The Naturali s Brendan’s first major work of literature co-authored with Stephan Wellink. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: The Natural: Richard 'Dick' Thornett's Sporting Life DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 4.10pm-5.10pm WITH: Tim Ayliffe 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.

c5303590-9708-4ccc-bb20-a92b70096f59 Geoff Raby ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Geoff Raby Geoff Raby AO was Australia’s ambassador to China (2007–11); ambassador to APEC (2003–05); and ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (1998–2001). Since leaving government service he has been a regular columnist on China and Eurasia for The Australian Financial Review, travel writer and a non-executive, independent company director. His last book was China’s Grand Strategy (MUP, 2020). Raby was awarded the Order of Australia in 2019 for services to Australia–China relations and international trade. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: Conversation Circle: Navigating the Shifting Global Order DATE: Saturday 29th March TIME: 4.10pm-5.45pm WITH: Geraldine Doogue 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.

44bbc598-4ad5-4218-930d-eb2a646166eb Liz Foster ABOUT < VIEW ALL AUTHORS Liz Foster Liz Foster was born and raised in England before arriving in Australia in 1991 on what turned out to be the longest gap year ever. After years doing all sorts of corporate writing she started making things up during a long convalescence. Somehow, the thought of going back to editing a fifty-page government report into dot points had lost its allure. Liz is passionate about smart and heartfelt book club fiction – creating character driven, page-turning, uplifting stories in quirky Australian settings, with big themes that resonate. She lives with her family in Sydney, peppering them endlessly with questions about plot scenarios in between listening to podcasts, reading out loud and boring the dog senseless. PROGRAM SESSIONS WHAT: New Voices in Fiction I DATE: Friday 28th March TIME: 12.40pm-1.40pm WITH: Liz Deep-Jones 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.