Big Ideas

She's the little girl in some of her father's most famous paintings, but life as the eldest child of artists John Brack and Helen Maudsley wasn't always easy. Clara Brack explores her childhood — and her parents' complex lives and relationship — in her new book The Secret Landscapes on not [pleasing your mother, which took her 20 years to write.
This event was recorded at the Willy Lit Fest on 13 June 2026.
Speakers:
Clara BrackAuthor, The Secret Landscapes — on not pleasing your mother
Gabriella CoslovichAward-winning freelance arts journalist (formerly of The Age), author, Whiteley on Trial

Philosopher Roman Krznaric, author of History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity, The Good Ancestor, and founder of the Empathy Museum has been looking backwards to help us all find a way forward. What he discovered in the global history of human solidarity and social movements was a wellspring of brilliant solutions to current challenges — democracy, fossil fuels, hyper-consumerism, water, AI, racism, even rage bait on social media, and more.  Join Roman with Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell at the 2026 Byron Writers Festival to challenge the 'tyranny of the now' with an exciting view of history as a source of radical hope.  
Speaker
Dr Roman KrznaricAuthor, History for Tomorrow (2024), The Good Ancestor (2020), What the Rich Don't Tell The Poor (2022), The Wonder Box (2011), Empathy (2014), How to Find Fulfilling Work (2012)Senior Research Fellow, Oxford University’s Centre for Eudaimonia and Human FlourishingResearch Fellow, Long Now FoundationMember, Club of RomeFounder, world’s first Empathy Museum.
Thanks to Jessica Alice, artistic director and CEO of the Byron Writers Festival, and the festival team.

From their earliest days as blues-obsessed kids living in freezing squalor, to the first taste of fame and the day they landed in the US and went stratospheric — and all the grit, glamour and gore in between. There are myriad revisions to the conventional narrative which underscore just how in control of their narrative the band has been up to now. But Bob Spitz got unique access to the group's friends and family. And he's sharing the details and examines a creative force whose power shows no signs of fading, over sixty years on.
Presented at the Free Library of Philadelphia
Speakers
Bob SpitzAmerican journalist and author of Rolling Stones, The Biography
Dan DeLucaPop music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer

Since 1996, The Cooks Companion has been a bible for Australian kitchens, a reliable friend who can tell you how to boil an egg, bake some bread, roast a chook, whip up a lemon delicious pudding — and much, much more. What is it about this book that's made it such an enduring go-to for household cooks for generations?
This event was recorded live at the Sydney Writers' Festival at Carriageworks on 21 May 2026.
Vote now in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books.
Speakers:
Stephanie AlexanderAuthor of 18 books including The Cooks CompanionFounder of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden FoundationChef
Adam Liaw (host)Author of Two Asian Kitchens, Asian After Work: Simple Food for Every Day, Adam's Big Pot series, and moreHost, The Cook Up with Adam Liaw (SBS)Recipe writer — The Good WeekendWinner, Masterchef (2010)

When a book becomes a hit TV series, or a play becomes a Hollywood film, what makes it a great adaptation? Meet the creators of these international smash hits as they take you behind the scenes, into the writers' rooms, and inside their creative minds. Suzie Miller's award-winning play Prima Facie has just become a Hollywood film starring Cynthia Erivo, while the sixth season of television's Slow Horses, based on Mick Herron's bestselling spy novels, starts next month. 
This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers' Festival at Carriageworks.
Speakers:
Mick HerronAuthor, Slough House series, Down Cemetary Road series and more
Suzie MillerPlaywright, novelist and screen writer, Prima Facie, Interalia, Strong is the New Pretty and more
Benjamin Law (host)Journalist, columnist, TV screenwriter and author of The Family Law, Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East and Quarterly Essay 67: Moral Panic 101Creator and co-writer of award-winning SBS TV series The Family Law