Catch Magabala creators, Daniel Browning, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, Julie Janson and Bebe Oliver at the 2025 Blue Mountains Writers Festival. 

Daniel Browning Sessions:

OPENING GALA

October 31
6:00 pm 7:30 pm
The Grand Dining Room; The Carrington Hotel

Join four of Australia’s greatest minds, capable of vast imagination and deep enquiry, as they consider their personal paths to wonder at our inaugural Opening Gala. With bestselling authors Hannah Kent, Daniel Browning, James Bradley and Maxine Beneba Clarke, and performances by genre-defying soprano Ali McGregor.

A BODY OF WORK: Ali Cobby Eckermann and Daniel Browning

October 1
2:00 pm 3:00 pm
Ballroom; The Carrington Hotel

With vast wisdom and precise wit, two legends of First Nations storytelling meet in conversation, discussing the breadth of their craft, the fierceness of their politics and the depth of their understanding.

WORDS TO SING THE WORLD ALIVE: Daniel Browning, Merinda Dutton and Jasmin McGaughey

November 2
10:00 am 11:00 am
The Baroque Room; The Carrington Hotel (map)

Three of the contributors from Words to Sing the World Alive, an exquisite celebration of First Nations languages, honour languages from across the continent, each penning an homage to their favourite and most significant words.

Ali Cobby Eckermann Sessions:

CROSS-CULTURE CONNECTIONS: FIRST PEOPLES INDIA-AUSTRALIA EXCHANGE

November 1
11:30 am 12:30 pm
The Baroque Room; The Carrington Hotel

Explore (de)colonisation, language preservation and revitalisation, oral storytelling traditions in this dynamic conversation between two Adivasi writers from India and two of our own First Nations writers, as part of Varuna the National Writers’ House First Peoples Exchange.

A BODY OF WORK: Ali Cobby Eckermann and Daniel Browning

November 1
2:00 pm 3:00 pm
Ballroom; The Carrington Hotel

With vast wisdom and precise wit, two legends of First Nations storytelling meet in conversation, discussing the breadth of their craft, the fierceness of their politics and the depth of their understanding.

RIVERS FLOW: The Songs of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter | Ali Cobby-Eckermann, Julie Janson, Graham Akhurst and Bebe Oliver

November 2
2:00 pm 3:00 pm
The Baroque Room; The Carrington Hotel 

Honour the profound musical and cultural legacy of Archie Roach – a Gunditjmara, Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung and Bundjalung man – and Ruby Hunter – a Ngarrindjeri, Kokatha and Pitjantjatjara woman, with stories, personal reflections, musical performances and poems by four powerful Indigenous voices.

Charmaine Ledden-Lewis Sessions:

BLUE MOUNTAINS ELDERS STORIES FROM OUR HEARTS | Free Event

November 1
12:45 pm 1:45 pm
Tibbi Whalan Hall

In this free lunchtime event, meet five of the Elders featured in Elders Stories from Our Hearts, as they share their own stories, connecting visitors to this place, and celebrating our local stories and community heroes.

NAYNAY AND THE MERMAID WITH TASMA WALTON & CHARMAINE LEDDEN-LEWIS

November 1
2:45 pm 3:30 pm
Katoomba Library; The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre

Author and actor Tasma Walton and illustrator Charmaine Ledden-Lewis bring the ocean to the mountains for this magical event for children that draws on the stories of the Boonwurrung people of coastal Melbourne.

Julie Janson Sessions:

WRITING AWARD-WINNING BOOKS WITH JULIE JANSON

November 1
9:30 am 12:30 pm
Workshop Room; The Blue Mountains Cultural Centre

Explore fresh techniques for sparking new ideas with Miles Franklin shortlisted author Julie Janson. With an extensive career spanning poetry, crime fiction, historical fiction, playwriting and visual art, Julie has developed a vast toolkit to help writers develop original concepts for new work.

conversation with Merinda Dutton

November 1
5:00 pm 6:00 pm
The Ballroom; The Carrington Hotel

Accomplished authors Julie Janson and Tasma Walton offer counter narratives to the dominant colonial histories too often taught, and share the wealth of their knowledges with Blakfulla Bookclub’s Merinda Dutton.

RIVERS FLOW: The Songs of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter | Ali Cobby-Eckermann, Julie Janson, Graham Akhurst and Bebe Oliver

November 2
2:00 pm 3:00 pm
The Baroque Room; The Carrington Hotel

Honour the profound musical and cultural legacy of Archie Roach – a Gunditjmara, Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung and Bundjalung man – and Ruby Hunter – a Ngarrindjeri, Kokatha and Pitjantjatjara woman, with stories, personal reflections, musical performances and poems by four powerful Indigenous voices.

Bebe Oliver Sessions:

REAL MEN WRITE POETRY: Dominic Hoey, Hasib Hourani, Bebe Oliver, David Stavanger and Sean Wai Keung

November 1
5:00 pm 6:00 pm
The Baroque Room; The Carrington Hotel

Listen to five brilliant poets at the top of their game read work from their latest collections, traversing love, migration, food, fatherhood, desire, identity, mental health, masculinity and revolution.

WRITERS IN THE SKY: ANCESTORS CALLING

November 1
6:30 pm 7:15 pm
Scenic Skyway, Scenic World

To stand on the shoulders of one’s ancestors is to carry both responsibility and legacy. Join poet Anne-Marie Te Whiu, playwright S. Shakthidharan, and author-mathematician JM Field as they discuss their incredible new books, and the living relationship they feel with their past.

BETTER OFF SAID: EULOGIES FOR THE LIVING AND DEAD

November 1
7:30 pm 9:00 pm
Grand Dining Room; The Carrington Hotel 

Celebrating words, stories, and human experiences, Better Off Said is an evening of words it’s time to air, thoughts and reflections for the living and dead. Hosted by Emilie Zoey Baker and Marieke Hardy with Osher Günsberg, Vijay Khurana, Cadance Bell, Bebe Oliver, Sara M Saleh and Tasma Walton.

RIVERS FLOW: The Songs of Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter | Ali Cobby-Eckermann, Julie Janson, Graham Akhurst and Bebe Oliver

November 2
2:00 pm 3:00 pm
The Baroque Room; The Carrington Hotel 

Honour the profound musical and cultural legacy of Archie Roach – a Gunditjmara, Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung and Bundjalung man – and Ruby Hunter – a Ngarrindjeri, Kokatha and Pitjantjatjara woman, with stories, personal reflections, musical performances and poems by four powerful Indigenous voices.

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