The 2023 Festival is an unmissable adventure from beginning to end with over 150 live events including author talks, panel discussions, workshops and all-new Literary Salons.

More than 60 Brisbane authors will feature alongside a star-studded line-up of national and international guests.

Australian headline authors include Stan Grant, Grace Tame, Tim Winton and Kate Morton while international highlights include Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka, Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh and US author Gabrielle Zevin.

BWF’s 2023 Country of Focus is South Korea and guest curator Sung-Ae Lee has developed a program examining the nuanced and coded approach of South Korean authors as they tackle topics still culturally taboo in their homeland.

Lee is joined by guest curators Daniel Browning (Aboriginal First Nations), Samantha Faulkner (Torres Strait Islander First Nations), Matthew Condon (Brisbane Stories), Megan Daley (Word Play) and Karen Lee (LoveYA).

BWF Artistic Director Jackie Ryan said her inaugural 2023 program would spin a rollicking tale of festive entertainment from blockbuster bestsellers to literary luminaries and everything in between.

“After a difficult time for many with fire, flood and plague, we’re looking to put the ‘festive’ in Festival,” Ryan said.

“Festive means different things to different people, of course, so we’ve prepared a literary feast to suit all tastes: we’ve got spies, romance, politics, science, history, poetry, comedy, crime, philosophy, self-help, technology, social issues, monsters, performance, conflict and food – and that’s just the entrée!

“Your literary dishes will be served by some of the most acclaimed writers and emerging talents in their fields. Dig in.”

Irvine Welsh returns to BWF to talk about his latest release, The Long Knives, as well as reflects on his grungy modern classic, Trainspotting, 30 years after its release. He also lends insight to the Blockbuster Crime panel alongside crime fiction luminaries Tracey Lien, Candice Fox and Garry Disher.

Australia’s traditional storytellers share culture and spark connections with panels and conversations featuring First Nations authors including Lionel Fogarty, Brooke Blurton, Alexis Wright and Lystra Rose.

New Zealand duo Matt and Sarah Brown reveal how their heart-rending book, She is Not Your Rehab, sparked a global movement to break the cycle of intergenerational abuse.

Sharing insight, innovation and inspiration for BWF’s 2023 Country of Focus is a diverse line-up of South Korean authors including Bora Chung, Park Sang Young, Krys Lee and Kim Min Jeong.

From page to stage, Regurgitator’s Ben Ely reflects on the 30th anniversary of the iconic Brisbane band while writer and music aficionado Tony Wellington heads down memory lane with Brisbane rock scholar Andrew Stafford.

A Fine Romance rewrites love stories for a new era and diehard romantics Trent Dalton and Samuel Johnson will sweep Lovers of Love off their feet with affairs of the heart.

Social structures are considered in sessions such as Class, Rich People’s Problems and Green, Teals and Ideals, and politics is assessed in What’s Democracy, Anyway?

Matthew Condon infuses the program with placemaking stories told by Brisbane’s local legends including Walter Sofronoff, Hedley Thomas, Frances Whiting and Susan Johnson.

Stepping on set, Bryan Brown talks about his noir-ish novel Sweet Jimmy, and joins Trent Dalton, Holly Ringland and Witi Ihimaera to discuss adapting books for the screen.

Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty, Inga Simpson and Aaron Fa’aoso examine the inextricable links between national identity and sport in Australia in This Sporting Life.

The five-day festival sees the return of the internationally renowned Literary Death Match as well as an elegant Mother’s Day High Tea at Customs House with special guest Holly Wainwright interviewed by Frances Whiting.

Word Play, BWF’s program for students from Prep to Year 12, returns as well as Love YA, presented in partnership with Brisbane City Council Libraries.

BWF runs from 10 to 14 May 2023 with most events held in the Festival hub at the State Library of Queensland in the South Bank Cultural Precinct.

With a diverse program of author panels, speeches and performances, BWF has a story for everyone. Tickets are on sale from Wednesday 29 March 2023.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bwf.org.au or download the app at bwf.org.au/app.

Brisbane Writers Festival 2023
10 to 14 May 2023
State Library of Queensland
www.bwf.org.au

Entwined: plants and people explores our intrinsic relationship with plants through photography, illustrations, immersive projections, and historical objects.

In this evocative State Library of Queensland exhibition, Entwined displays the transformative works of award-winning creatives as they document and reinterpret plant life in modern Australia.

Entwined also digs into State Library’s rare and beautiful botanical collections, exploring our day-to-day connection with plants, unfurling fascinating historical and contemporary stories in the process.

See how our lives are experienced and, at times, defined through our interactions with plants across social, emotional, scientific, and creative endeavours.

Highlights include:

• Joseph Banks’ Florilegium and the works of Ferdinand Bauer
• Man & Wah’s immersive videography and Donna Davis’ creative plant displacements
• The rare and unique  Queensland Nineteenth Century Fern Album 1883-1884
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional knowledge of plants as technology in Bicornual baskets, Wujal Wujal mullet spear making and Kowanyama basket making
• Enjoy in-person tours of the exhibition to deepen your connection to plants.
• Join a workshop or talking event to continue the broader conversation of plants and people.

Entwined: plants and people Exhibition
12 June – 14 November 2021
State Library of Queensland Gallery, Level 2
www.slq.qld.gov.au

In recognition of the UN Year of Indigenous Languages, this year the Festival will explore the powerful ways in which Australia’s traditional custodians convey story, both now and in the past.

“The written word hasn’t always been the primary way to tell a story,” said Festival CEO and Artistic Director Zoe Pollock, “Indigenous Australians have been yarning, weaving, painting, singing and dancing the stories of this land for thousands of years and right up into our present day. At Brisbane Writers Festival this year we are privileged to present some of our most compelling and evocative writers and storytellers from our First Nations including Tony Birch, Melissa Lucashenko and Claire G. Coleman. Acknowledging difference and understanding how we can use stories to connect to one another is at the heart of this year’s program.”

“Our local reading and writing communities are engaged with what’s happening in the world. We live in challenging times and are facing big issues in both our inner and outer worlds. There are so many movements and forces that are reshaping the world at a rapid pace. We’re bringing these conversations to the Festival and inviting open dialogues around how to connect when the conversation is constantly changing.”

The 2019 Brisbane Writers Festival kicks off with a huge celebration at State Library of Queensland headed by Danzal Baker aka Baker Boy. The Indigenous Australian rapper, dancer, actor and visual was named the 2019 Young Australian of the Year and is an advocate for Indigenous Australian communities. Joining Baker Boy is writer, actor and comedian Steven Oliver (A Chance Affair), Omar Sakr (The Lost Arabs), Australian slam poetry championships winner Solli Raphael and Indigenous slam queen Melanie Mununggurr-Williams.

International guests include Jasper Fforde famed for the hugely popular Thursday Next series, best-selling historical fiction author Ann Weisgarber (The Glovemaker), Joanne Ramos, whose dystopian debut novelThe Farm has drawn comparisons with The Handmaid’s Tale, New York Times bestselling author Karen Thompson Walker, Gemma Hartley (Fed Up), and poet, sociologist and author, Eve L. Ewing. Ewing’s work has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post and The New Republic.

The Festival is also proud to showcase the work of local and Australian authors, including audience favourites Benjamin Law (The Family Law), Clementine Ford (Boys Will be Boys), Melissa Lucashenko(Too Much Lip), Ashley Hay (One Hundred Small Lessons), John Marsden (So Much to Tell You and Tomorrow, When The War Began), Jane Caro (Accidental Feminists), Richard Glover (The Land Before Avocado) and Rosalie Ham (The Dressmaker).

In 2019, Brisbane Writers Festival is bringing new ways to experience literature to State Library of Queensland. Angel’s Palace, an immersive literary experience inspired by the Alexis Wright’smonumental work Carpentaria, will return to Maiwar Green featuring performances created by Indigenous playwright and theatre maker Alethea Beetson, for all ages, as well as panel discussions and author talks. First featured at Brisbane Writers Festival in 2017, Angel’s Palace is a 7.5 metre dome decorated with original artwork by acclaimed Brisbane artist Gordon Hookey.

“I’m also very excited to announce a collaboration with Anna Spiro inspired by Jessica Anderson’s Miles Franklin award-winning novel Tirra Lirra by the River. We’re inviting Festival goers to experienceAnderson’s work through the lens of Brisbane’s most iconic designer. Spiro is known for her residential and commercial work – including interior of Mr Percival’s as part of the Howard Smith Wharves development.Tirra Lira by the River will be a special space to catch up with friends, read and soak up the Festival’s atmosphere. We have also planned free events in the installation, including workshops open mic sessions.”

For those aspiring and established writers there is also plenty on offer. Learn the art of historical fiction and archival research with Ann Weisgarber, craft a daring and genre breaking novel with Jasper Fforde, create compelling YA characters with Lili Wilkinson and much more.

Love YA is also back in 2019, bringing a full day of free YA programming to Brisbane Square Library on Saturday 7 September.

“Love YA is a day to celebrate everything that makes Young Adult fiction so compelling. This year we’re shifting focus to look at community and responsibility & the universality of love with some of Australia’s best LGBTQ+ writers including Claire G. Coleman, Alison Evans, Benjamin Law, Jax Jacki Brown andMichael Earp.”

Other Festival highlights include:

• A special event with Ann Weisgarber examining how we can find our compassion through books and writing.
• A session with Walkley Award winning journalist Hedley Thomas of Teacher’s Pet fame.
• Asking for a Friend, a public forum event where attendees can put a problem to a panel of Agony Aunts including Clementine Ford, Benjamin Law, Cal Wilson and Bec Mac.
• Closing night address with Jasper Fforde exploring the what could happen when we dare to imagine.
• Meet the Author book club style events with international and Australian authors.
• A conversation with former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
• Big conversations with leading Australian commentators and contributors to public life including Tim Costello, Bob Brown, Gillian Triggs, Kerry O’Brien, Chloe Hooper, Matt Condon, Richard Cooke and Richard Denniss.
• Forward thinking feminist conversations with Clare Press, Jane Caro, Gemma Hartley and Jess Hill.
• The very best in Australian fiction including A.S. Patrić, Steven Carroll, Lucy Treloar, Rosalie Ham, Melina Marchetta and Kristina Olsson.
• Crime fiction and the #metoo movement with Meera Atkinson, Caroline de Costa and M. J. Tija.
• Indigenous Language Revival with Des Crump, Sandra Delaney and Rory O’Connor.
• Free family programming including sessions with international best seller Jessica Townsend, John Marsden and many more.
• A spoken word showcase including Zenobia Frost, Pascalle Burton and Maxine Beneba Clarke

“It’s an enormous privilege to bring such a diverse program of thinkers and writers to Brisbane each year. I hope that our local reading and writing communities will come out in force to be part of the big conversations on offer and support a culture embracing literacy and difference in our state,” Pollock said.

“This is an incredible opportunity to hear from the people with nuanced insight into the fast-changing world that we all share. I invite you to join us and have your say.”

The 2019 Brisbane Writers Festival goes on sale from 21 June. Visit bwf.org.au for tickets and more information.

2019 Brisbane Writers Festival
5 – 8 September 2019
State Library of Queensland and QAGOMA
www.bwf.org.au

During the 1960s and 70s, Frank and Eunice roamed the suburbs photographing houses in South-East Queensland. Fifty years on, the legacy of their efforts is an extensive collection of images that indiscriminately capture Queensland housing stock – from the architectural to the ramshackle.

Learn more about the interesting stories behind the photographs that have been embraced by a community infatuated with Frank and Eunice Corley’s work.

Through an immersive virtual reality streetscape, art installations, incredible untold stories and rarely-seen photographs, peer through the Corleys’ viewfinder to see just a glimpse of their extraordinary obsession.

Home: a suburban obsession Exhibition
7 December 2018 – 14 July 2019
State Library of Queensland – Stanley Place, South Brisbane
www.slq.qld.gov.au