Santilla Chingaipe (Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped Australia), Sita Sargeant (She Shapes History) and Steve Vizard (Nation, Memory, Myth: Gallipoli and the Australian Imaginary) come together to bring to light misunderstood, mythologised or lesser-known dimensions of Australian history.

From the global slave trade and Gallipoli to the women who shaped our country but were omitted from the history books, this discussion addresses how the stories we choose to tell – and those that are left out – shape our national identity.

Hosted by ABC Radio National's Natasha Mitchell. 

Supported by ARA.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

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Hannah Kent has won legions of fans with works like Burial Rights, The Good People and Devotion. Now, she presents her debut work of non-fiction – a tender, diaristic love letter to her muse, Iceland.

Always Home, Always Homesick is both a memoir of Kent’s experiences of living in Iceland, and a wider consideration of how literature forms the heart of the nation's culture and identity.

Speaking with ABC Radio National’s Richard Fidler, Kent explores distance and belonging, writing place and the self, and how Iceland has shaped the person she is today.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

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When an artist does something that appals us – politically, legally or ethically – does that mean we should turn our backs on their art? Is it ever possible to separate the art from the artist? And more pressingly – is it right to?

Journalist Osman Faruqi, philosopher A. C. Grayling and cultural critic Tara Kenny debate one of the most divisive issues of our time: how we should respond to great artists who do bad things.

Listen to this lively debate with three sharp thinkers as they consider legacy, celebrity, transgression and accountability, with host Beejay Silcox.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

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Award-winning author and musician Jimmy Barnes recounts the twists and turns of his larger-than-life adventures live on stage. With his trademark candour, humour, and distinctive voice, Barnes shares anecdotes, lessons, and cracking good yarns: from unearthing shattering family secrets in Glasgow to encountering charismatic and not-so-endearing superstars, to confronting his own mortality.

Featuring humorous tangents, wild characters, and the occasional tall tale, hear from the beloved star and maverick as he celebrates heritage, family, friends, music and the adventure of a grand life with host Brian Nankervis.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

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The extraordinary writers and editors behind Someone Like Me: An Anthology of Non-fiction by Autistic Writers come together for this panel discussion exploring identity, creativity and culture.

This expansive anthology of creative non-fiction, memoir, graphic storytelling and more features a stellar line-up of Autistic gender-diverse and women writers, exploring topics such as sex, religion and the natural world.

Co-editors Jo Case and Clem Bastow, and contributors Jess Ho, Marlee Jane Ward and Caitlin McGregor appear in conversation. Enjoy their wide-ranging discussion on belonging, connection, social interaction, meaning and joy.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

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Samantha Harvey discusses her 2024 Booker Prize-winning novel, Orbital – a profound meditation on deep space, our environment, the meaning of life and the nature of humanity itself.

Taking place over a single day – with sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets – Orbital tells the story of six astronauts as they observe the planet Earth from the vantage point of the International Space Station. The fragility of human life fills their conversations, their fears, their dreams. They are there to do vital work, but slowly they begin to wonder: what is life without Earth? What is Earth without humanity?

Hosted by Kate Mildenhall.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

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What does it mean for a writer to bear witness? How do writers reject or subvert the constraints of traditional structures and institutions, such as media and academia, to depict the stories of their families, their communities and themselves with autonomy and integrity?

With host Evelyn Araluen, authors Hasib Hourani (rock flight), Amy McQuire (Black Witness: The Power of Indigenous Media) and Micaela Sahhar (Find me at the Jaffa Gate: An encyclopaedia of a Palestinian family) consider these questions through the lens of their recent books of essays, memoir and poetry.

This event was presented in partnership with Overland and supported by City of Melbourne.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival. 

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Writer Kaliane Bradley discusses her debut novel, The Ministry of Time, a propulsive tale of time travel, spies and the potential for love to change it all.  
 
In the near future, a jaded civil servant is offered a job in a mysterious government ministry gathering ‘expats’ from across history to test the limits of time-travel. Tasked to work as a 'bridge’ assisting and monitoring Commander Graham Gore—a dangerously handsome Arctic explorer from the 1840s—she soon finds herself entangled in more than just history.
 
Bradley is joined by host Claire Nichols to discuss the literary and historical sources that inspired her novel, writing sexy sex scenes and throwing out the rulebook for genre fiction.

This event was supported by ARA Group.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival.

Support MWF: https://mwf.com.au/donate/

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Rumaan Alam's latest novel, Entitlement, follows a 33-year-old Black woman named Brooke Orr, who lands a job as a program manager at 83-year-old white billionaire Asher Jaffee’s charitable foundation and quickly becomes his protégé.

What follows is a searing portrait of need and worth, race and privilege, and the seductive, corrupting lure of extreme wealth. Alam sits down with ABC Radio National's Claire Nichols to discuss class, desire and what happens when we are driven by want rather than need.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival

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Hear internationally bestselling author Jessica Townsend discuss the latest book in her phenomenally popular Nevermoor series, Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow, with host Rachael King. 

Townsend’s book is an enchanting, page-turning adventure that takes readers deeper into the world of Nevermoor, where Morrigan Crow must untangle the mystery of who she is, uncover the secrets of her destiny and align herself with someone very dangerous to learn more of the Wundrous Arts.

You’ll learn all about the magic of Nevermoor, the importance of identity and chosen families, and the world of creative writing.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival

Support MWF: https://mwf.com.au/donate/

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