Melbourne Writers Festival brings writers and readers together to be inspired, challenged and thrilled by an intelligent, rousing and diverse program of books and ideas. Since 1986, the organisation has entertained hundreds of thousands of readers as Australia’s boldest literary festival. Based in Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature, the festival provides the inspiration and framework for vital, timely conversations.

From 8–11 September, immerse yourself in a thrilling exploration of ambition – denied, thwarted and achieved at the 2022 Melbourne Writers Festival. Catch Hardie Grant authors at the following sessions:

Friday 9 September

12.00pm @ The Wheeler Centre, Performance Space – Shelf Care

As readers, we all have that one book that has shaped us. It’s the well-thumbed favourite that is never too far from our bedside table, the life raft in a troubling time or the story that completely changed the course of our life. In this uplifting panel, some of our most voracious lovers of words share the books they hold closest to their hearts. Yangkaal poet and artist Maya Hodge, acclaimed poet Sarah Holland-Batt (The Jaguar), bestselling author Chloe Hooper (Bedtime Story), lauded English author Sarah Moss (The Fell) and Fulbright scholar and leading refugee advocate Abbas Nazari (After the Tampa) are joined in conversation by Kate Evans (The Bookshelf).

3.00pm @ State Library Victoria, Village Roadshow Theatrette – Family Matters

Internationally bestselling novelist Toni Jordan and highly acclaimed debut author Jackie Bailey have each penned new books that tackle family, love and loss with a deftly deployed sense of humour. They speak with Mimi Kwa (House of Kwa) about their sharply comic expressions of family relationships, the kindnesses and defensiveness exchanged by relatives, and the layers of love and caring that constitute a family. Jordan’s Dinner with the Schnabels is a biting comedy of love and marriage, praised as a ‘funny, warm [and] delightful novel’; by Liane Moriarty. Bailey’s The Eulogy is a propulsive work of autofiction about death and grief, lauded by Alice Pung as ‘brutal and funny and full of love’.

7.00pm @ Sam Merrifield Library, Moonee Ponds – Christos Tsiolkas and Clem Bastow: Between Friends

Award-winning authors Clem Bastow (Late Bloomer) and Christos Tsiolkas (Seven and a Half) share a special bond: as friends, fellow writers, and presenters of Triple R’s Superfluity, teaming up each week to discuss the music that moves them (along with trusty co-host Casey Bennetto). Join them for an intimate conversation with Cath Moore (Metal Fish, Falling Snow) about creative friendships, the role of pop culture in writing, and how their intergenerational relationship inspires and influences their work.

Saturday 10 September

10.30am @ State Library Victoria, Isabella Fraser Room – Dispatches from Hong Kong and Wuhan

Hear from award-winning Hong Kong journalist Louisa Lim and celebrated Chinese novelist Murong Xuecun as they discuss their captivating new books that illuminate moments of great political and historical significance obscured by the Chinese Communist Party and state media. Lim's Indelible City examines Hong Kong's recent protests through the lens of its colonial past to provide an up-close view of the city, its people and an untold history they are claiming just as it is being erased. Xuecun bravely travelled the locked-down city of Wuhan to interview people from all walks of life for Deadly Quiet City, a haunting account of COVID's ground zero that he had to leave China to publish. They share their stories with ABC Radio's Paul Barclay.

10.30am @ State Library Victoria, Conversation Quarter – Some of My Best Work

In the podcast Some Of My Best Work, music and culture journalist Jane Rocca invites some of Australia’s leading names to delve into their creative past and pinpoint a milestone moment in their careers. In a special MWF recording, Rocca chats with former ABC Radio Melbourne presenter Jon Faine (Apollo & Thelma) and singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sally Seltmann about the twists, turns and triumphs of their work and the ways in which they have pursued their ambitions.

1.30pm @ State Library, Roadshow Quarter – Food for Thought

Our national palate has rapidly evolved as native ingredients and dishes from across the globe go mainstream. But what has it been like for First Nations people and people of colour seeing food that was ignored and even ridiculed when they were younger find sudden cultural cache and sometimes clumsy appropriation? First Nations chef Nornie Bero (Mabu Mabu), Cantonese food writer Jess Ho (Raised by Wolves) and writer and food activist from Mollo, South Central Timor, Dicky Senda, discuss their experiences in the fast-changing world of food, with Hardie Grant food and lifestyle commissioning editor Rushani Epa.

3.00pm @ State Library Victoria, Conversation Quarter – Disinformed

From COVID conspiracy theories on social media to fake news during election campaigns, the influence of disinformation on public opinion and political debate is under increasing scrutiny. But how can we prevent its proliferation in Australia? Are voters wising up or should tech giants like Meta, Google and TikTok face greater regulation to stem the tide of misinformation? Communications expert Ed Coper (Facts and Other Lies), Crikey‘s political editor Bernard Keane (Lies and Falsehoods) and La Trobe University political scientist and Associate Professor Andrea Carson consider the challenge of separating fact from fiction, with Antoinette Lattouf (How to Lose Friends and Influence White People).

Sunday 11 September

1.30pm @ The Wheeler Centre, Performance Space – First Nations Poetry

Settle in for a special showcase of First Nations poetry as emerging writers, poets and lyricists deliver readings of their work. Carrying forward rich traditions of storytelling, their powerful poems explore themes of love, beauty, connection, resistance, resilience and knowing. Featuring Wergaia and Wemba Wemba writer Susie Anderson, Bundjalung-Gumbayngirr poet Dakota Feirer, poet and critic Declan Fry, Lardil and Yangkaal poet and artist Maya Hodge, Goorie writer Brooke Scobie, and Wergaia singer-songwriter Alice Skye with host, Koori and Lebanese writer, teacher, and This All Come Back Now editor Mykaela Saunders.

3.00pm @ State Library Victoria, Pauline Gandel Children’s Quarter – The First Scientists

How do the stars give us clues about what to eat? What medicine can be found in the plants around us? Kamilaroi author of The First Scientists Corey Tutt takes you on an exciting journey through time, sharing the ancient science and incredible feats of innovation achieved by the First Peoples of this land. Tutt reveals fun and fascinating facts that have been passed on for generations through stories, song and dance in the longest continuing culture on Earth.

3.00pm @ State Library Victoria, Conversation Quarter – New World Disorder

From the invasion of Ukraine and the curtailing of freedoms in China to the subjugation of women’s rights in the US and the dispossession of Palestinians, the global order is lurching into uncharted territory. Hear from a panel of experts as they discuss how world events are undermining stability, civil liberties and prosperity in Australia and abroad. Palestinian Egyptian Muslim activist Randa Abdel-Fattah (Coming of Age in the War on Terror), terrorism and extremism expert Lydia Khalil (Rise of the Extreme Right) and US history and politics expert Emma Shortis (Our Exceptional Friend) speak with interviewer and broadcaster Sally Warhaft.

For ticket purchases and more information, visit the Melbourne Writers Festival website here.