Newcastle Writers Festival and publisher Spineless Wonders are excited to announce the launch of the 2025 joanne burns Microlit Award. Melbourne writer and academic Cassandra Atherton and Canberra-based poet and…
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One early Wednesday morning, 55 excited children gathered outside Newcastle Museum, ready to flex their writing skills, meet new friends, and dive a little deeper into history. Ranging in age…
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A severe weather system is expected to generate heavy rain in Newcastle until Sunday but we won’t let that dampen your festival experience. There will be plenty of space to…
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Need assistance buying tickets for the festival? Maybe you prefer to buy them in person, or you have accessibility requirements? Our ticketing manager Melissa Chandler will be available to assist…
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The artwork for the 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival program was designed by Caelli Jo Brooker, a Newcastle artist and designer with cultural ties to Wangaaypuwan and Kawambarai Country in Central…
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Three Hunter region residents are among the six writers shortlisted for the 2023 Fresh Ink Prize. This is the third year Newcastle Writers Festival has offered the prize, which is…
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Newcastle Writers Festival has launched its third annual Fresh Ink Emerging Writer Prize for those living in regional New South Wales. The winner will receive $5000 prize money provided by…
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Love to write but find it hard to find the time? Why not try microlit?! This workshop will help you write, edit and then submit a microlit piece (200 words…
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Join Newcastle Writers Festival on 28 August for our first live Schools Program in four years! The program is part of this year’s Book Week celebrations and draws on the…
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The Newcastle Writers Festival is thrilled to be presenting its first live Schools Program in four years. We can’t wait to welcome primary students back in August! Special guests include…
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Volunteer registration is now open for the 2023 festival. We’ve been very fortunate to have wonderful volunteers since the inaugural festival in 2013, and every year we welcome both reliable…
Read moreAward-winning and much-loved Australian writers Craig Silvey (pictured) and Pip Williams, as well as debut authors Mawunyo Gbogbo, Andrew Quilty, and Amy Thunig, are among 100 artists participating in the…
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Newcastle Writers Festival launched Story Hunter, a new creative writing program for Hunter region primary school students, on Thursday, 17 November, at Mayfield West Demonstration School. Story Hunter is a…
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Join us on Tuesday 22 November for a wide-ranging discussion between former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the ABC’s Matt Bevan about geopolitics, media, and the health of democracy. As…
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Blue Mountains writer Alejandra Martinez has been awarded the 2022 Fresh Emerging Writers Ink Prize and receives $5000 for professional development and a week-long residency at Varuna. “I have been…
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Judges Magdalena Ball, Winnie Dunn, and Andrew Pippos have selected five writers for the 2022 Fresh Ink Emerging Writer Prize shortlist. “These shortlisted writers are connected through their strong themes,…
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Newcastle Writers Festival is inviting emerging writers living in regional NSW to submit to the 2022 Fresh Ink Emerging Writers Prize. The prize seeks to elevate marginalised voices and is…
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The new position of Youth Creative Writing Program Coordinator will be pivotal in helping Newcastle Writers Festival establish Story Hunter, an exciting new program for primary school students. The program…
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Festival book donation drive We will be holding a book drive during the festival weekend on April 2 and 3 to help flood-affected libraries in northern NSW rebuild their collections….
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The Newcastle Writers Festival launched its ninth program on Thursday night, March 3, with a special event at Newcastle City Hall featuring much-loved gardening identity Costa Georgiadis and hosted by Paul West.
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Fresh Ink Emerging Writers Prize Shortlist Congratulations to Alex Chalwell, Rebecca Chaney, Lorina Mason and Nate McCarthy who have been shortlisted from 80 emerging regional NSW writers for the inaugural…
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Due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, we have decided to postpone our September event until 2022. While we are not in lockdown in Newcastle, there…
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UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT Newcastle Writers Festival and City of Newcastle present Julia Gillard: Women and Leadership 6pm-7pm Sat 13 February, The Arena NEX Tickets $30 (plus fees…
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NWF is thrilled to have received Create NSW funding to appoint three guest curators in 2021: First Nations Curator; Poetry Curator; and an Emerging Curator. There is scope for the…
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The 2021 joanne burns Microlit Award is now open. Entries of 200 words should be inspired by the theme ‘pulped fiction’. The award is a collaboration between Newcastle Writers Festival…
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The Newcastle Writers Festival has lost one of its most treasured supporters. Much-loved ABC Newcastle presenter Jill Emberson died last night surrounded by her loved ones after a determined struggle…
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Invitation to a Joint Book Launch You are invited to attend a joint launch of D. H. Lawrence‘s The Poems, Volume III: Uncollected Poems and Early Versions, edited by Christopher…
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Wow! What a festival. It is hard to believe that just over a week ago we were in the midst of the Schools Program and getting ready for the opening…
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We are thrilled to announce the first of 120 guests for the 2019 festival, which will be held from April 5 to 7 in the Civic Precinct. The full program will be…
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The finalists in the 2018 NWF/joanne burns MicroLit Award have now been announced. Two of these finalists will go on to win the joanne burns Microlit Award for the National…
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Respected journalist, editor, policy maker and feminist Anne Summers will visit Newcastle on 4 November to discuss her new memoir Unfettered and Alive. Anne has influenced and often shaped the…
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Join us for a very special event at the University of Newcastle’s Conservatorium of Music featuring Professor of Philosophy Emrys Westacott and award-winning British journalist and best-selling author Christina Lamb….
Read moreEveryone involved with the Newcastle Writers Festival is deeply saddened by the death of Mark Colvin. His brilliant journalism, ideas and insight have helped shape healthy debate about a number…
Read moreNewcastle Writers Festival director Rosemarie Milsom outlines some of this year’s program highlights. Thanks to our major sponsor Newcastle City Council. Watch the video!
Read morePoetry at the Pub – a wonderful Newcastle institution – will hold a special session on 10 April to wrap up NWF17, with Festival guest poets John Foulcher and Melinda…
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NBN news interviewed the NWF Director, Rosemarie Milsom, about Newcastle Writers Festival’s 2017 spectacular line-up. Watch the video here!
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The launch of the 2017 Newcastle Writers Festival program was held at Newcastle Region Library. Festival director Rosemarie Milsom thanked sponsors, including Arts NSW, Newcastle City Council, The University of…
Read moreIn the December 2016 NWF newsletter, Rosemarie Milsom announces, I have finalised the program for next year’s Festival and am thrilled to announce that Nick Earls and Tara Moss are…
Read moreThe Newcastle Writers Festival is proud to be presenting a school program in 2017 in partnership with Newcastle Region Library. Bookings open 6 February 2017, via Ticketek. DOWNLOAD THE 2017…
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The 2017 Newcastle Short Story Award, which is organised by the Hunter Writers Centre, is now open for entries of up to 2000 words. Submission are open to all Australians…
Read moreThe NWF email system was down for maintenance on Thursday 27 October 2016. We apologise for any inconvenience. During maintenance any emails sent to NWF email addresses may either have…
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Congratulations to the Newcastle category finalists: Dael Allison for Breakwall and Amanda Berry for As We That Are Left. Congratulations also to the national category long-list finalists: After the Storm,…
Read moreUPDATE: ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST We are very excited to announce that the 2016 Joanne Burns Award for Microlit will be jointly sponsored by the…
Read moreNo need to stress if you missed seeing Richard Glover and Rosie Waterland talking to Meredith Jaffe at the 2016 Newcastle Writers Festival about balancing family obligation and the urge…
Read moreDon’t despair if you missed the fantastic session with Stan Grant and Jill Emberson at NWF16 in April 2016 – we have footage!
Read moreNewcastle Writers Festival would like to acknowledge the Awabakal and Worimi peoples, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the festival takes place, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and extend this respect to all First Nations people attending our festival.
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