Brisbane Writers Festival 2025

Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF) unveils an exciting new chapter in 2025 with a star-studded program of events, held for the first time at the Brisbane Powerhouse, from October 9-12.

The program is packed with literary A-listers across more than 100 live events including author talks, conversations, panel discussions and special events. Two hundred artists, half of them from Queensland, form part of the blockbuster line-up of national and international guests.

Australian headline authors include Helen Garner, Trent Dalton, Sally Hepworth, Michael Robotham, Di Morrissey, Anita Heiss, David Stratton and Pub Choir’s Astrid Jorgensen, while international highlights include English historian, broadcaster and author Bettany Hughes, Hollywood insider (and nephew of Joan Didion) Griffin Dunne, Irish economist David McWilliams, romantasy star Callie Hart, American cultural critic Sophie Gilbert, and New York Times bestseller Eric Puchner.

Hollywood will be coming to Brisbane with Griffin Dunne and Ione Skye discussing their star-studded upbringings and iconic film roles.

This year BWF will be joined by guest curators Sharlene Allsop (Aboriginal First Nations) and Jillian Bowie (Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander).

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. 

The four-day festival also sees the return of the Marion Taylor Address with esteemed English historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes delivering the keynote: ‘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 Wonders of the Ancient World.

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. 

Love true stories of resilience, reinvention and finding purpose? F1 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 nineties and noughties.

There will be 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.

There'll be plenty of Queensland favourites, too. Get in quick for locals including Steve Minon, Laura Elvery, Kimberley Allsopp, Melanie Saward, Martine Kropkowski, Cheryl Leavy, Joanna Jenkins, Lauren Ford and Allison Rushby.

Looking for tips for book clubs? Clare Stephens, Naima Brown, Kimberley Allsopp and Suzanne Do will dissect life's messy patches, Jana Wendt shares her first work of fiction, and Holly Wainwright, Sally Hepworth, Meg Bignell, Heather Rose and Debra Oswald will discuss their latest books. BWF is also running a competition for one lucky Brisbane book club to win a day at the Festival!

Can’t get enough of crime? You'll be covered with bestselling authors like Michael Robotham, Mark Brandi and Jane Caro as well as exciting new writers such as Angie Fay Martin, January Gilchrist and Sam Guthrie.

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. Topics also include music, food history, football, architecture, vaccines, agriculture and much more.

With a diverse program of author panels, speeches and performances, BWF has a story for everyone!

Good to know - For info on venue accessibility, see the Brisbane Powerhouse website. 

Brisbane Writers Festival is a valued partner of Must Do Brisbane.com