In this session, which was recorded at the 2023 festival, acclaimed poets Andy Jackson, Kerri Shying and Gaele Sobott discuss Raging Grace, an anthology of collaborative poems and essays on disability.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to support the valuable work of Newcastle Writers Festival, which fosters a culture of reading and writing, please consider a tax-deductible donation. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this session, which was recorded at the 2023 festival, Norman Swan explores the science, myths and mistruths that surround ageing. Hosted by Cassie McCullagh.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to contribute to the valuable work of Newcastle Writers Festival in fostering a culture of reading and writing, please consider a tax-deductible donation.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this session recorded at the 2023 festival, Tim Baker and Chloe Hooper share their perspectives on the role that hope can play in helping us cope with life’s darkest moments. Hosted by Ailsa Piper.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to contribute to the valuable work of Newcastle Writers Festival in supporting a culture of reading and writing, please consider a tax-deductible donation.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Literary critic Declan Fry has described Chris Flynn as ‘a restless experimenter, a fabulist’. In his compelling new collection of short stories, Here Be Leviathans, Chris gives a voice to the world around us, with narrators including a bear, a river, a platypus and a hotel room. 

At the 2023 festival, he spoke to Kate Mildenhall about embracing the absurd, breaking rules, and finding your voice as a writer.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to support the valuable work of Newcastle Writers Festival, which fosters a culture of reading and writing, please consider a tax-deductible donation. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the 2023 festival, Anna Downes spoke to three writers about their critically acclaimed debut crime books. 

Shelley Burr was awarded the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger for Wake, which explores how the unsolved disappearance of a girl continues to haunt a small town. James McKenzie Watson’s Denizen won the 2021 Penguin Literary Prize and is informed by his upbringing in regional NSW. Matthew Spencer’s Black River sees a serial killer preying on victims along the banks of the Parramatta River.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to contribute to the valuable work of the festival in fostering a culture of reading and writing, please consider a donation.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this session recorded at the 2023 festival, investigative journalist Paddy Manning turns his attention to Lachlan Murdoch, one of the world’s most influential  – and enigmatic  – people. 

In his compelling biography The Successor, Manning explores Murdoch’s upbringing and political beliefs. He shares with host Antony Loewenstein what he has learnt about the head of Fox Corporation and how power and politics continue to shape him.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to contribute to the valuable work of Newcastle Writers Festival in fostering a culture of reading and writing, please consider a tax-deductible donation.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In their recent books, Robbie Arnott, Bronwyn Birdsall, and Holly Ringland create vivid settings that transport readers to locations in Australia and across the globe – to a bygone era in Tasmania’s north,  myth-laden Denmark and Faroe Islands, and a Balkan city recovering from war. At the 2023 festival, they spoke to Geordie Williamson about the places and liminal spaces at the pulsing heart of their compelling novels.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to contribute to the important work of Newcastle Writers Festival, which connect writers and readers from across the Hunter region and beyond, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the 2023 festival, we introduced a new series called I'd Like You to Meet and invited  established writers to shine the spotlight on an emerging writer whose work they admire. Craig Silvey introduces you to Cadance Bell, whose coming-of-gender memoir, The All of It: A Bogan Rhapsody, was published in 2022.

The Stories to You Series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to individually support the vital work of Newcastle Writers Festival please consider a tax-deductible donation. 

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With the support of Robert Adamson's wife Juno Gemes, Newcastle Writers Festival was honoured to host a commemoration of the late poet’s life and work at the 2023 festival. This special event includes readings by Judith Beveridge, Robbie Coburn, Keri Glastonbury, Sarah Holland-Batt, and Mark Mordue. The host is Michele Seminara.

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. If you would like to contribute to the festival's important work of fostering a culture of reading and writing, please consider a tax-deductible donation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the Taliban arrived at the gates of Kabul in August 2021, Andrew Quilty had been living and working there for eight years. He was one of only a handful of Western journalists remaining. In this conversation, which was recorded at the 2023 festival, Andrew discusses his book August in Kabul, which explores the humanitarian cost of the 20-year war. The conversation is hosted by Antony Loewenstein. 

The Stories to You podcast series is supported by Create NSW. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.