Sydney Writers’ Festival 2019

Commentator and ABC Radio host Richard Glover talks about The Land Before Avocado, his hugely entertaining, anti-nostalgic take on Australia in the 60s and 70s.

Sydney’s best young wordsmiths battle to become Australian Poetry Slam Youth – Sydney Champion. No props or music – just young writers sharing their truth. Performers must be 12 to 18 years old.

Set in a dystopian future, this spoken word theatre show sees four young Western Sydney poets embark on a multifaceted journey to detangle reality from fallacy. With Ali Al Haj, Aishah Ali, Pola Fanous and Rameen Hayat.

Youth Curator Sina Aghamofid speaks three acclaimed authors who have brilliantly given voice to the struggles and successes of characters from backgrounds that are usually pushed to the margins. Featuring Meet Me at the Intersection editors Rebecca Lim and Ambelin Kwaymullina and contributor Rafeif Ismail.

Dhonielle Clayton, Mackenzi Lee and Jenna Guillaume recount the lies (and hard truths) about love and relationships that YA fiction taught them and how it has influenced the way they write romance now, with Sarah Ayoub.

Youth Curator Hope Lee discusses the state of the YA community with with some of the most active members of the Australian YA community including Alison Elzayed and Rebecca Tinoco from the YA Chronicles, blogger Sofia Casanova and booktuber Cat Feeney.

Hosted by Will Kostakis and Gabrielle Tozer, TeenCon 2019 offers the inside scoop on the most exciting YA releases direct from publishers, along with book giveaways, impromptu competitions and audience participation.

Dhonielle Clayton, Jax Jacki Brown and Jenna Guillaume speak with Jordi Kerr about the enduring myth of the perfect body, how they’ve written inclusive stories for young adults, and the #OwnVoices movement.

Authors share heartfelt and humorous love letters to fandoms they have been a part of. Host Maria Lewis is joined by Dhonielle Clayton, Mackenzi Lee, Jenna Guillaume, Alison Evans, Michael Earp and Ambelin Kwaymullina.