Too much Trent or not enough? It’s the BWF conundrum
Trent Dalton leads a constellation of literary stars at this year’s Brisbane Writers Festival, which turns over a new leaf in its new digs at Brisbane Powerhouse.
When it came to programming the 2025 Brisbane Writers Festival, artistic director Jackie Ryan and her team posed a question … to themselves.
“We asked, how much Trent Dalton is too much Trent Dalton?” she says. “What is the answer? We don’t have one yet.” Because, she agrees, too much Trent Dalton is still not enough.
The Brisbane writer who conquered the world with his first novel, Boy Swallows Universe, is one of the headline acts at this year’s Brisbane Writers Festival, which takes place from its new home at Brisbane Powerhouse from October 9 to 12. Ryan is enthusiastic about the move from the previous location, the State Library of Queensland.
“We’ve been trying to put the festive in festival, and Brisbane Powerhouse is a dedicated event space, so it will work well,” she says. “The State Library was great, but it has a whole other job to do as a working library.”
There are a couple of other things that clinched it for Ryan and her team. “They have great coffee … and a bar.” Yes, there is that, and the location is spectacular.
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As for Trent Dalton, well, the excitement about his new novel, Gravity Let Me Go, is ramping up, so if you want to see him at BWF, book now. Meanwhile, a satellite BWF event launching the book will happen at Brisbane Powerhouse on September 30 in the Powerhouse Theatre. You’d like to go to that, too? Sorry, Booked out. That’s the way it rolls.
Ryan says she’s grateful that Dalton, one of the “hometown heroes” at this year’s festival , agreed to appear. “Because he doesn’t have to,” she says. “But he’s been very good to us.”
Knowing Dalton’s generous nature, he would insist that BWF has been good to him, too.
Dalton is one of the stars in a veritable constellation of guests this year including author and TV presenter, rock star historian Bettany Hughes, who will be giving the centrepiece Marion Taylor Address at the four-day festival. This keynote address will ask: “Is it all just a little bit of history repeating?”
Hughes will also take readers on a fabulous sightseeing tour of antiquity as she discusses her book, The Seven Wonder of the Ancient World.
Ryan has a broad-brush approach to programming and her festivals are expansive and seem to cater to everyone, which is a neat trick in today’s world.
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Helen Garner
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Anita Heiss
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Bettany Hughes
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Fiona McIntosh
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Michael Robotham
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Andrea Goldsmith
While it’s a serious literary affair on the one hand, there are also populist authors on the bill and there’s even a bit of Hollywood glitz this year with Hollywood insider (and nephew of Joan Didion) Griffin Dunne and Ione Skye, who will both be discussing their star-studded upbringings and iconic film roles.
This year BWF celebrates several literary milestones: Charlotte Wood will celebrate the 10th anniversary of her Stella Prize-winning novel The Natural Way of Things; Anne Summers will discuss the legacy of 50 years of Damned Whores and God’s Police; while acclaimed Australian authors Helen Garner, Di Morrissey, Fiona McIntosh and Anita Heiss will all reflect on their incredible careers.
Romantasy fans will delight in meeting bestselling American author Callie Hart, plus there’ll be conversations with Australian romantasy writers Stacy McEwan, Jaymin Eve, Sarah A. Parker and Vanessa Len.
Australia’s traditional storytellers share culture and spark connections with panels and conversations featuring First Nations authors including Anita Heiss, Nardi Simpson and Debra Dank.
Love true stories of resilience, reinvention and finding purpose? Formula 1 engineer turned Lune Croissanterie founder Kate Reid, MasterChef host Melissa Leong, kickboxer John Wayne Parr, Pub Choir’s Astrid Jorgensen, Ottolenghi offsider Helen Goh and all-round legend Turia Pitt share their personal journeys.
Non-fiction readers have no shortage of options: economist and podcaster David McWilliams will be discussing money, Steve Vizard studies the Anzac myth, Michelle Bridges talks perimenopause, Maggie Jackson explores the benefits of uncertainty and The Atlantic critic Sophie Gilbert looks at pop culture and feminism in the ’90s and noughties.
Politics and the environment will be put under the microscope in sessions such as Turbulence: Australian Foreign Policy in the Trump Era; Bob Brown: Defiance; Human/Nature; and Tinkering with the Doomsday Clock. Among other subjects discussed there’ll be chatter about music, food history, football, architecture, vaccines and agriculture.
Can’t get enough of crime? They’ve got you covered with bestselling authors such as Michael Robotham, Mark Brandi and Jane Caro, as well as exciting new writers such as Angie Fay Martin, January Gilchrist and Sam Guthrie.
There are plenty of those hometown heroes, too. We’ve got plenty of Queensland favourites – Steve Minon, Laura Elvery, Kimberley Allsopp, Melanie Saward, Martine Kropkowski, Cheryl Leavy, Joanna Jenkins, Lauren Ford and Allison Rushby, to mention just a few. Do I hear a “Queenslander!” from you? Fair enough.