Member Events at the Newcastle Writers Festival!
We may be biased, but the most exciting literary festival in Australia happens in our own backyard – Newcastle Writers Festival. In 22025, it is jam-packed with amazing speakers, panels and events including a swathe of events by Hunter Writers Centre team and members!
We’ve compiled a list, so you don’t have to of all the members events at the festival. Come to the Newcastle Writers Festival and support your crew.
All tickets available on the NWF website.
EVENT - Lit Trivia Night
Wednesday 2 April 2025
7pm
Customs House, 1 Bond St, Newcastle
Tickets: $20
Members! Email director@hunterwriterscentre.org to join the Hunter Writers’ Centre Lit Triv team!
READING- Reading the Waters
Thursday 3 April 2025
5:30 pm
Port Stephens Artisan Collective
Free
Join member Dael Allison and other writers for a reading celebrating the enduring influence of water. Learn more.
TALK - Uncovering Your Family History
Saturday 5 April 2025
11:30 am
UoN NuSpace X320
$25
Member Julie McIntyre hosts an author conversation with Cassie Gilmartin, Shaun Gilmartin and Andra Putnis about digging into the past. Learn more.
TALK - For Life: Ailsa Piper in Conversation
Saturday 5 April 2025
1 pm
UoN NuSpace X321
Free
Member Magdalena Ball hosts an author conversation with author Ailsa Piper about love, loss and her memoir, ‘For Life.’ Learn more.
TALK - Stories Shaped by Culture
Saturday 5 April 2025
1 pm
UoN NuSpace X207
Free
Member Natasha Rai in conversation with host Elfy Scott about family, community and identity in fiction. Learn more.
Zine Market, Panel & Workshop *STAFF PICK*
Saturday 5 April 2025
2 – 4:30 pm
Newcastle Library
Free
Staff member and zine maker Bastian Fox joins Vanessa Berry and Nina Katzmarski in a zine market, panel and workshop. Learn more.
LAUNCH: 'The Alibi' by Nikki Lee Taylor
Saturday 5 April 2025
2 pm
Press Book House
Free
Member Nikki Lee Taylor launches ‘The Alibi’, a new crime novel based on a real-life Stockton story. Learn more.
EVENT: Nerds & Music
Saturday 5 April 2025
2 pm
UoN NuSpace Courtyard
Free
Member Clark Gormley and Wayne Thompson perform their most ‘literate’ songs. Learn more.
PANEL: Close to Home, Colonial Violence
Saturday 5 April 2025
3 pm
UoN NuSpace #301
$25 – SOLD OUT
Member Julie McIntyre hosts an author panel about encountering the dark side of family history. Learn more.
LAUNCH: Flying Islands Press *STAFF PICK*
Saturday 5 April 2025
3 pm
Watt Space Gallery
Free
Member Magdalena Ball hosts a launch of six new books from Flying Islands Press. Learn more.
READING: Poetry Salon @ The Press
Saturday 5 April 2025
5:30 pm
Press Book House
$20
Member poet Gillian Swain hosts a poetry salon of Australian and international artists. Learn more.
EVENT: Kink in the Tale *STAFF PICK*
Saturday 5 April 2025
6 pm
Civic Playhouse
$30
Board member Helen Hopcroft joins five other storytellers for an evening of sex-positive storytelling for grown-ups. Learn more.
FAMILY: The Tiny Forest
Sunday 6 April 2025
10 am
Newcastle Museum Theaterette
$Gold coin donation
Member and children’s book author Odette Tonkin dives into tiny forest magic with readings and kids’ activities. Learn more.
LAUNCH: 'The Fuschia Sari'
Sunday 6 April 2025
11:30 am
Press Book House
Free
Member Karen Eastwood hosts the launch of local author Meryl Dunton-Rose’s new novel ‘The Fuchsia Sari.’ Learn more.
EVENT: Newcastle Short Story Award Ceremony & Anthology Launch
Sunday 6 April 2025
1 pm
Foghorn Brewery
Free
Celebrate the 2024 Newcastle Short Story Award! Hosted by Hunter Writers’ Centre, this event features the announcement of this year’s winners and the launch of the Newcastle Short Story Award Anthology.
PANEL: Complicated Characters
Sunday 6 April 2025
1 pm
UoN NuSpace X301
$15
Member author Lisa Kenway joins Nicola Moriarty and Hayley Scrivenor to discuss characters who are multi-faceted, morally ambiguous, and not altogether likeable. Learn more.
LAUNCH: 'To Speak of Grasses'
Sunday 6 April 2025
2:30 pm
Watt Space Gallery
Free
Member Jean Kent launches local author Kathryn Fry’s new poetry book To Speak of Grasses. Learn more.
PANEL: Date with a Debut
Sunday 6 April 2025
4 pm
UoN NuSpace X301
Free
Member Lisa Kenway joins Zahid Gamieldien and Natasha Rai to spill secrets myth-bust debut author life. Learn more.
PANEL: Dangerous Desires
Sunday 6 April 2025
4 pm
UoN NuSpace X321
$25
Member C.A.Wright joins Kate Forsyth and Emily Maguire to explore the duality and dangers of womanhood. Learn more.