Bendigo Writers Festival Timeline
Every edition of the Bendigo Writers Festival has been different, reflecting local realities through diverse programming.
2023 – “SUCH IS LIFE”
4 – 7 May 2023. A bird emerging from its egg. A butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. A baby taking its first breath, reaching with new-born wonder for the light. Such is life!
Highlights of the 2023 program included: Alice Zaslavsky, Louisa Lim, Tom Keneally, Victor Kelleher, Claire G Coleman, Peter Doherty, Aunty Kella Robinson, Anna Walker, Craig Silvey, Phil Cleary, George Monbiot, Nick Hornby, Jess Ho, Kate Auty, Megan Davis and more.
2022 – “Time to flourish”
12- 15 May 2022. We prepared the ground, planted the seeds of ideas, nurtured the healthy growth and now was the time to bloom.
The best thinking is found in books, so that’s where we started – books that are best-sellers, surprising books, bold books, and comforting books. Who better to talk about these wonderful books than those who wrote them? In 2022, we gathered a brilliant cast of writers for an absolutely packed program about everything from politics to friendship, from what makes us vulnerable to the optimism that is fueling new ways to live.
Highlights of the 2022 program included: Gourmet farmer Matthew Evans, Jon Faine, Eliza Hull, Hanna Moloney, Norman Swan, John Bell, Simon Tedeschi, Mimi Kwa, Cath Moore, Stephanie Alexander, Elizabeth Gilbert and more.
2021 – “Strewth!”
May 6 – 9 2021. What a year. What a world. What a time to be alive and thinking. From a conversation about secrecy to a discussion about tyrants, from soul searching to truth seeking, from filling in the gaps to opening-up the vistas, BWF 2021 was a shout-out to the best words for the very best thoughts, a hearty exclamation that cleansed the body and cleared the mind.
The festival changed its dates to May for this edition and took place at the Capital and Ulumbarra, plus several events at Bendigo Library. All venues were COVID safe enabling social distancing for audiences. Some sessions were delivered virtually.
Highlights of the 2021 program included: Steven Greenblatt, Nicholson Baker, Amitav Ghosh, Peter Van Den Ende, Wenfei Tong, David Rothkopf and Brian Nankervis among many others.
2020 – Suspended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
There was no physical festival in 2020 but we “pivoted’ like the rest of the world and moved online with over 30 free interviews and discussions held throughout the year to keep people connected. Authors and speakers involved in our online program, Backstory, in 2020 (April to Dec) included: Garth Nix, Thomas Mayo, Louise Milligan, Richard Fidler, Clive Hamilton, Judith Brett, Imbi Neeme, Meredith Lake, Derryn Hinch, Kate Forsyth and many more.
You can watch the online interviews on YouTube in this link.
2019 – “All that glitters”
9- 11 August 2019. We invited you to find the shine again in 2019, joining a dazzling line-up of writers for brilliant discussions and sparkling events. In the eighth edition of the festival, the Bendigo Bowls Club was added as a festival venue.
Highlights of the 2019 program included: Maeve O’Meara, Jill Dupleix, Tery Durack, Paul Davies, Dominic Smith, Munjed Al Muderis, Anthoy Lawrence, Tishani Doshi, Stephen J Pyne, Sue McPherson, Bri Lee, John Marsden, Jennifer Clement, Julia Shaw, Kate Forsyth, Jessica Rowe and more.
2018 - “Let’s get curious”
10- 12 August 2018. We got curious about what it means to be human, about where we’ve been and where we would like to head now, about why stories capture our imagination and who we should listen to, what we need to preserve and what to change.
The 2018 festival introduced five themes this year: Good Country: Celebrating our indigenous history, culture, and the environment. Good Life: Food, home and garden, health and wellbeing, life stories. Hear This: Spoken word, performance, podcasting, community discussions and a festival debate. Writing Wrongs: Crime stories, ethics in society, courage, and hope for change. Youth-friendly: Talking about words by and for young people.
Highlights of 2018 included: Tom Griffiths, Rosalie Triolo, Lindy Burns, David Astle, Marcus Westbury, Jacqueline Millner, Benjamin Law, Lindy Burns, Lemn Sissay and Kitty Flannagan among many others.
2017 – “Where we’re at”
11- 13 August 2017. Where we were at, in 2017? Social justice, global politics, the environment, how to live, how to die, who to believe, what to eat, where to live, why we are who we are, who would we like to be?
Also in this edition, food fossickers enjoyed the delicious Good Taste Tram journey with Chef Nick Anthony, and the Ulumbarra theatre foyer was transformed into a Good Life zone, with a full day of gastronomy events.
Highlights of 2017 program included: Kenan Malik, Dava Sobel, David George Haskell, Elizabeth Kostova, Robert Forster, Judith Lucy and Denise Scott, Sonia and Nick Anthony, a performance of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival and much more.
2016 – “Much ado about everything”
12- 14 August 2016. This year at Bendigo Writers Festival we were making “much ado about everything”. 2016 was our fifth birthday and it also marked 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare. If we needed reasons to celebrate, there were two right there. Also, one of Bendigo’s heritage trams turned into a book cubby on rails – Sam the Story tram - taking children on a fun ride with conductor storyteller Narelle Stone.
Highlights of 2016 program included: Julian Assange, Mick Thomas and the Roving Commission, Cheryl Strayed, David Astle, Noemi Nadelmann, Hannie Rayson, Helen Garner, Peters Singer, Di Morrissey, Stephanie Dowrick, Renata Singer, Victor del Arbol and Stephanie Alexander.
2015 – “The Good Life. Surprising, Eclectic, Inspiring”
7- 9 August 2015. We invited audiences to live many lives all at once at Festival 2015 by sharing experiences with writers and readers, and hearing stories from memory and from the heart. The opening of Ulumbarra theatre was a significant milestone for the city, and it provided the festival with another glorious venue.
Highlights of 2015 program included: Bob Brown, Matthew Evans, Tariq Ali, Robert Manne, John Clarke, John Wolseley, Latika Bourke, Geraldine Quinn, Alice Pung and many more.
2014 –
8- 10 August 2014. In its third year, Bendigo Writers Festival was established as one of many enticing cultural events that make this city the perfect destination for a warm and friendly winter weekend. We celebrated the brilliant careers of some of the most admired and controversial writers in Australia.
Highlights of the 2014 program included: Blanche d’Alpuget, Les Murray, Robert Kenny, Micheal Robotham, David Astle, Joan Beaumont, Leslie Cannold, Patricia Edgar, Raimond Gaita, Sonya Hartnett, Robert Manne, Gabrielle Wang, Jackie French, Claire Wright, Liz Stringer and many more.
2013 –
9 – 11 August 2013. This year, the Festival kicked off with a program especially designed for young audiences called “Texts Mark the Spot”. Schools from across the region headed to View Street and The Capital entertainment precinct on View Street to meet and hear from a star-studded line-up of writers - Robin de Crespigny, Kate Forsyth, Christine Harris, Robert Hillman, Najaf Mazari, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Lorraine Marwood, Glenda Millar, and Dianne Wolfer and Shane Howard.
Other highlights of the 2013 program included: Shane Maloney, Lisa Mccune, Denise Scott, Graeme Simsion, Angela Savage, Tony Wilson and more.
2012 –
10 – 12 August 2012. Bendigo Writers Festival was launched in the National Year of Reading and celebrated all kinds of writing for all kinds of readers. With more than 50 events over three days BWF 2012 included panel sessions, poetry slams, storytelling, book launches and workshops.
Highlights of the 2012 program included: Ita Buttrose, Leigh Hobbs, Ian Jones, Margo Lanagan, Alex Miller, Katherine Thomson, Don Watson and Alexis Wright, among others.
