A powerful exchange of words: The new BWF is like a ‘less crowded Ekka’
It’s like the Ekka, but without the hordes and horse manure, just books of every genre, so there’s something for everyone at this year’s Brisbane Writers Festival.
It is the Ekka with books and authors. Although Brisbane Writers Festival will be a “less crowded Ekka”, according to festival artistic director Jackie Ryan.
She has that populist touch, does Jackie Ryan. It’s a bit daring to compare a writers’ festival with the Royal Queensland Show, but she makes a good point. She wants people to come and mill, Ekka like, at Brisbane Powerhouse from October 8 to 11.
It was the size of audiences that partly explains the festival’s move from the State Library of Queensland. Such problems.
“We have now doubled our venue size and our capacity,” Ryan explains. “People no longer need to leave the festival, because we have everything here. A bar, coffee, wonderful theatres and nooks and crannies in one of the most unique arts precincts in the country.
And as she makes clear, this is not a festival for literary snobs.
“Open the program and there might be more than you are expecting,” says Ryan. And since the program has launched, you can do just that.
You might like
“Some people think literary festivals are snobbish, but we actually have pretty much everything represented here. If you are interested in Formula 1, we have that, if it’s YA, we have that too. And we have high literature and poetry and everything in between.”
BWF’s 2026 program features more than 200 Australian and international artists across four lively days of conversations, ideas, performances and special events.
More than 110 events will explore everything from fiction, crime and romance to food, history, journalism, popular culture, politics, parenting, gardening, and wellbeing. Half of the participating artists are from Queensland, placing local voices at the heart of the festival.
Leading Australian authors and personalities Suzie Miller, Richard Flanagan, Pip Williams, Kate Grenville, Lisa Wilkinson and Shaun Micallef are among this year’s guests.
They will be joined by international names including acclaimed English author and London Review of Books Editor at Large, Andrew O’Hagan; American journalist and writer Susan Orlean; Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman; rising English star Josh Silver; New York Times bestseller and TikTok favourite Lyla Sage; and US speculative-fiction author Charlie Jane Anders.
Three First Nations guest curators – Bruce Pascoe, Bebe Oliver and Samantha Faulkner – will also help shape this year’s festival, alongside appearances from acclaimed First Nations writers including Melissa Lucashenko, Anita Heiss and Debra Dank.
Jackie Ryan said the program was created for passionate readers, curious minds and anyone looking for an entertaining day out.
Subscribe for updates
“The message this year is the same – do we have a story for you,” she says. “And to help make sure you can attend if you like what you see, we have kept ticket prices the same or lowered them and made 10 per cent of the program free. May I also recommend you buy a four-event bundle, or two or three, to get maximum bang for those bucks.”
The Queensland Literary Awards ceremony will be presented for the first time during the festival on October 8, with members of the public invited to attend. Festival-goers can also hear from a selection of award winners at a free event the following day.
International guest Andrew O’Hagan will deliver the Marion Taylor Address, reflecting on the literary 
relationships that have shaped his life. He will also appear in separate sessions exploring essay writing and his new book, On Friendship.
Fiction lovers and book clubs can hear from Frances Whiting, Debra Oswald, Anita Heiss, Sita Walker, Naima Brown and Monica McInerney, while Suzie Miller, Pip Williams, Kate Grenville and Holly Ringland return with new books. Rebecca Armitage will share the story behind becoming Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick.
Crime readers can get their pulses racing with Candice Fox, Dinuka McKenzie, Laura McCluskey and Amanda Hampson, while Young Adult readers can enjoy three consecutive Friday sessions featuring established favourites and rising voices from Australia and the UK.
For those whose reading tastes extend beyond fiction, the program offers an equally varied mix of ideas and personalities. Chris Kohler will make sense of personal finance; Megan Hess will step inside the world of Barbie; Susan Orlean will celebrate the craft of journalism; and psychologist Dr Lucy Hone will explore how we navigate upheaval.
History, politics and the big issues shaping our world will be examined by guests including George Megalogenis, Don Watson, Henry Reynolds, Marc Fennell and Jock Serong.
Elsewhere, Stephanie Alexander and Adam Liaw will talk food; Gardening Australia’s Hannah Moloney will explore why we garden; Dr Norman Swan will examine brain health; and Richard Glover will share his characteristically warm and witty take on parenting.
Queensland talent will be celebrated throughout the program, with local favourites including Sally Piper, Sita Walker, Frances Whiting, Mirandi Riwoe, Robin Bailey, Trent Dalton, Grantlee Kieza and Ian Kemish.
The festival’s program for schools also returns on October 8, with primary and secondary students invited to hear from authors including Morris Gleitzman, Sally Rippin, Gary Lonesborough, Jacqueline Harvey, Peter Carnavas and Dr Matt Agnew.
Three special events will bring the festival to a memorable close on October 11. Alice Oseman will discuss the global Heartstopper phenomenon; Luke Bateman will share his passion for reading and favourite books; and a mystery special guest will be revealed in late August. That guest will be in conversation with Trent Dalton, although the details are, amusingly, redacted in the program, just to add to the intrigue. Cute.
Brisbane Writers Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse, October 8-11.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
Free to share
This article may be shared online or in print under a Creative Commons licence