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

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Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama takes a deep dive into the state of poetry for the annual Peter Steele Conversation. He explores poetry’s power across mediums and provides a taste of his Poetry Unbound podcast. With host Izzy Roberts-Orr and an introduction by University of Melbourne Poet in Residence Maxine Beneba Clarke. 

Supported by the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne

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Is adversity the key to making great art? Must we sink to rock bottom to write the perfect break-up album or a life-changing guidebook to recovery? Can hostile political conditions be a fulcrum for progressive social change? Is conservatism the kryptonite we need to stoke the fire in our bellies?

In this special session curated and hosted by MWF First Nations Curator Daniel Browning, writers and thinkers Brook Garru Andrew, Nayuka Gorrie and Bebe Oliver come together to look at the intersections of art and adversity, and consider whether personal, political and social ruptures offer the necessary impetus to the creation of great works of art.

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Writers, friends and co-authors Jamila Rizvi and Rosie Waterland discuss brain health – the physical and the mental – through their intertwined experiences.

Together with host Clare Bowditch, they consider illness, resilience and friendship in this raw and insightful conversation on their new book, Broken Brains.

Supported by Readings.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2025.

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Argentine author Mariana Enríquez joins partners in writing and life Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta to discuss queer horror, monstrous femmes and the themes that haunt their writing.

With host Maeve Marsden they unpack their works of fiction, delving into the macabre, the uncanny and the deeply political, exploring queerness, violence and horror.

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How do we live meaningfully in an era of unprecedented social, political and environmental collapse?

Sarah Wilson discusses finding meaning, beauty and humanity amid global crises, with host Carody Culver.

Having spent the past four years interviewing leading global thinkers on crisis and transformation, Wilson gives a brave, nuanced and ultimately hopeful guide for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the state of the world.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2025.

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Dutch author Yael van der Wouden unpacks her Booker Prize-shortlisted debut novel The Safekeep.

Van der Wouden sits down to discuss her masterful, genre-defying work with Tali Lavi. 

Supported by ARA.

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2025.

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Booker Prize-winning novelist Paul Lynch discusses his propulsive and lyrically rendered cautionary fable with Michael Williams.  

Prophet Song is a fearless portrait of Irish society on the brink of tyranny and a mother’s battle to save her family. Throwing into sharp relief the social and political anxieties of our times, it has been hailed as ‘a literary manifesto for empathy for those in need and a brilliant, haunting novel that should be placed into the hands of policymakers everywhere’ (Observer).  
 
Supported by the Embassy of Ireland. 

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2024.  

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Bri Lee and Liam Pieper discuss their scathingly funny novels that reveal the tensions of money, power and love in the arts, with Sarah L’Estrange.  

Lee's debut novel, The Work, delves into the volatile world of modern art, exposing it as a bedfellow to high finance. Pieper’s Appreciation is an outrageous satire that sets its sights on questions of authenticity in a time when image trumps talent and narcissism rules.  

Supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and in partnership with ABC RN. 

Recorded live at Melbourne Writers Festival 2024.  

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