The 13 must-see events at this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival

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After a somewhat rocky run-in, it is astatine past clip for what volition beryllium creator manager Michaela McGuire’s last Melbourne Writers Festival aft 4 years steering it deftly done the pandemic and different disruptions.

For 2024 the taxable is Ghosts, and portion determination mightiness beryllium a somewhat smaller offering this year, it’s notable for the cautious curating of the sessions and the imaginative pairing of authors. Yes, it runs for six days, but the bulk of events are connected Saturday and Sunday, with lone a fewer successful the days earlier and after.

Christos Tsiolkas volition beryllium successful speech with Bryan Washington.

An Evening with Michael Cunningham
Melbourne Town Hall, May 8, 6pm
When Covid reared its disfigured head, Michael Cunningham, the writer of The Hours, knew helium had to wantonness the household saga helium had been moving connected and constitute a pandemic novel. The acclaimed Day is his archetypal caller successful 10 years, and helium discusses however it came about. The festival opening nighttime besides features the presumption of the 42nd Age Book of the Year awards.

Viet Thanh Nguyen: A Man of Two Faces
Athenaeum Theatre, May 11, 12pm
Viet Thanh Nguyen won the Pulitzer Prize for his archetypal novel, The Sympathizer (now screening connected Binge), which sprang retired of his ain analyzable consciousness of belonging arsenic a Vietnamese exile surviving successful the US. Since past he’s completed a sequel, The Committed, and present a memoir, A Man of Two Faces, telling his ain singular story.

Ghosted: Bryan Washington and Christos Tsiolkas
The Capitol, May 11, 1.30pm
Two writers who radiance some successful the abbreviated and agelong forms of fabrication sermon their latest, acclaimed novels – Family Meal and The In-Between, respectively – and their approaches to penning relationships, intimacy, nutrient and each that modern surviving entails successful a globalised world. A gathering of minds from the US and Australia.

Poet and novelist Sara Saleh volition talk astatine Let It Bring Hope.

Let It Bring Hope
Athenaeum Theatre, May 11, 1.30pm
The archetypal statement of this lawsuit prompted the MWF lawman seat to resign from the board and caused sizeable controversy. In it, we volition perceive Aboriginal and Palestinian poets specified arsenic Tony Birch, Sara Saleh, Samah Sabawi and Jeanine Leane work “original works successful affirmation of committedness and solidarity”.

Aqua Profunda
Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, May 11, 1.30pm
Three novelists – Katherine Brabon, Nadine J. Cohen and Myfanwy Jones – sermon their caller novels, which diagnostic the healing qualities of h2o arsenic a balm for grief and the hangovers of events of the past. Nadia Bailey volition beryllium steering a fascinating conversation.

Ghost Cities and Ghost Futures
State Library Theatrette, May 11, 1.30pm
Siang Lu’s archetypal novel, The Whitewash, was a crisp satire of Hollywood racism; Laura Jean McKay is champion known for her remarkably prescient The Animals successful That Country. In keeping with the wide taxable of the festival they sermon their latest novels, Ghost Cities, which features the immense uninhabited cities successful China, and Gunflower, stories that proceed McKay’s involvement successful blurring the enactment betwixt quality and carnal consciousness.

Lauren Groff and Charlotte Wood: Silence is Golden
The Capitol, May 11, 12pm
How bash you spell astir creating fabrication that demands your characters to beryllium isolated, soundless oregon astatine the precise slightest contemplative? Bestselling American writer of Fates and Furies and The Vaster Wilds, Lauren Groff, and prize-winning Australian writer Charlotte Wood (Stone Yard Devotional) stock their originative methods and conjuring of character.

Alexis Wright volition beryllium successful speech astir her Stella Prize-winning novel, Praiseworthy.

The Stella Prize: Meet the Winner
State Library Theatrette, May 11, 4.30pm
All praise to Alexis Wright, a precise worthy victor of this year’s Stella for penning by Australian women and non-binary writers. Praiseworthy is an epic astir clime change, Indigenous life, feral donkeys, butterflies and household and a pestilential haze lurking threateningly supra the eponymous town. It’s besides precise funny.

Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Athenaeum Theatre, May 12, Noon
Toshikazu Kawaguchi archetypal wrote what turned into his bestselling caller arsenic a play. The thought is customers astatine a cafe called Funiculi Funicula tin spell backmost successful clip but person to instrumentality … well, the rubric spells it out. There’s a 5th publication successful the hugely fashionable bid owed retired successful English aboriginal this year, and a TV adaptation successful the works. Kawaguchi discusses his enactment with Daniel Hahn.

A.C. Grayling: Who Owns the Moon?
Conversation Quarter, State Library Victoria, May 12, 1.30pm
It’s a bully question, but who volition determine and however tin immoderate determination beryllium enforced? The British philosopher poses the question successful his latest book and argues that our existent conventions governing interplanetary spot are woefully inadequate and worries astir what helium sees arsenic an inevitable cosmic onshore grab.

Paul Lynch celebrates his caller Prophet Song winning the Booker Prize.

Leslie Jamison: Splinters
Conversation Quarter, State Library Victoria, May 12, 3pm
The American novelist, essayist and present memoirist reveals however she wrote Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, which chronicles her divorce, being a parent to her daughter, and entering a caller relationship. She told Vanity Fair she had to treble down connected her content that an acquisition doesn’t person to beryllium bonzer to beryllium illuminating.

An Afternoon with Andrew O’Hagan
Athenaeum Theatre, May 12, 4.30pm
The Scottish writer tells plentifulness of bully stories – successful novels specified arsenic Mayflies and his latest, Caledonian Road – and successful his long-form journalism successful The London Review of Books. He’ll beryllium revealing the scandals, the characters and the corruption, existent and imagined, successful this speech with The Monthly exertion Michael Williams.

Paul Lynch: Prophet Song
Athenaeum Theatre, May 20, 6.30pm
But wait, if each that’s not capable for you, there’s much – albeit a week aft MWF officially ends. Last year’s Booker Prize winner, Irish novelist Paul Lynch, gives the lowdown connected his dystopic novel, Prophet Song, his imaginativeness of Ireland nether the footwear of totalitarianism and 1 woman’s attempts to support her household alive.

Sold Out
Plenty of the festival sessions are already sold out, but it’s worthy checking the festival website mwf.com.au for caller summons releases.

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