The Canberra Writers Festival Returns
16–20 August 2023

In the spirit of our passion for words and ideas, we are delighted to announce that the 2023 Canberra Writers Festival will be staged from Wednesday 16 August through to Sunday 20 August, with Artistic Director, Beejay Silcox at the helm.

As is the Canberra Writers Festival tradition, the driving theme is ‘Power Politics Passion’. It is a theme that begs big questions: What do we value? Whose stories are heard? How do we reckon with the past and imagine the future? It is our hope that CWF will provide a space to explore these questions, and to celebrate the heft and craft of Australian storytellers — a joyful collision of art-makers, big thinkers, big dreamers and readers.

OPENING NIGHT

KITCHEN ROYALTY

She is undisputed kitchen royalty – the “Empress of Chinatown” – and at 92 she is still going strong. Join national treasure, Elizabeth Chong, for a night of delectable storytelling.

SPECIAL EVENT

BHUTAN TO BLACKTOWN

I lost my possessions, my salary, my status, my career, my country. And in that fall, I gained everything.

LEADERSHIP MASTERCLASS

HEAD AND HEART

In a CWF exclusive, Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM will be conducting her acclaimed leadership masterclass for the price of a festival ticket.