Sunday 24 May 2026 is the last day of SWF2026.
Here's how I spent my day.
Whitlam and Howard: Leaders of Consequence
Bramston has written a biography about Whitlam and talked about how he had a bold reform agenda, was future focussed and achieved a lot in his short time in office. But he had a chaotic leadership style and had not secured a stable cabinet. Despite warnings that his government was in danger, he did not change and his time as leader ended with the controversial dismissal. Bramston argues that Whitlam was a leader of consequence as he put Australia on the map internationally, had a vision of the nation's future, and embarked reforms including medicare, women's rights, Aboriginal land rights, free tuition, promotion of the arts and much more.
Remeikis has written a book which details the case against John Howard. He is often hailed in conservative circles, but in retrospect many of his reforms have caused problems today. She spoke about how he was the opposite of Whitlam. Howard was not bold, he was backward looking and wanted to keep Australia exactly as it was decades earlier, by turning against multiculturalism and First Nations rights, implementing Work Choices and other reforms that maintained the status quo. Remeikis argues that many of today's problems - housing crisis, increased disparity between rich and poor, anti-immigrant sentiment, the rise of One Nation, and many more - is directly related to Howard's time in government.
This was a robust and fascinating discussion. While I may not read either book, I was glad I attended the session.
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| Fran Kelly, Troy Bramston, Amy Remeikis |
Where Dunnit?
As readers of this blog will know, I love a good crime thriller. So I was keen to attend this session with crime writers Michael Bennett, S.A. Cosby and Chris Hammer discussing the importance of place, in conversation with Hayley Scrivenor.Michael Bennett is a Maori writer who has written the Hana Westerman crime series set in Auckland (Better the Blood). He spoke about how the series draws on Maori heritage and the impact of colonialism on the setting. Westerman is an intriguing single mum detective who has to balance her culture and the mainstream police force. I have not read Bennett's books but after hearing him speak, I want to track them down.
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| Chris Hammer and me |
SA Cosby is an American crime writer from Virginia who draws heavily on place for his novels. He spoke about setting and how his work is based on where he grew up and continues to live. He talked about his career and how he comes up with his stories. After the session I chatted with him when he signed copies of Razorblade Tears and All the Sinners Bleed for me. I told him I had not read his work and asked him to recommend where to start. We discussed my reading preferences and he suggested I start with All the Sinners Bleed, so I will take him up on the recommendation. He was very personable and I think I will enjoy his books.
After the session I also spoke with Hayley Scrivenor. As I knew she was facilitating this session, I brought in a copy of Dirt Town for signing. We had a great conversation about the first time she was at SWF back in 2022 when she was on a panel with Dinuka McKenzie and Garry Disher. I told her how my festival friend and I bought rush tickets to that session without any knowledge of the writers. I said I had read her two novels and we spoke about our mutual admiration of Disher. She said she is working on a new book which is set in and around circus performers.
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| Hayley Scrivenor, Michael Bennett, SA Cosby, Chris Hammer |
Mick Herron in Conversation
While I had already seen Mick Herron earlier in the festival talking about adaptations, I was keen to attend this session to hear him talk about his latest novel in the Slough House series, with one of my favourite facilitators Michael Williams (seriously, I think Williams is one of the best interviewers around).
This was an interesting discussion as the spoke about Herron's career. I did not realise he was a poet, but Williams and he spoke about how poetry has influenced his writing. Herron described how he came up with character River Cartwright's name - he had already chosen Cartwright as it sounded like an established British surname, and he knew he wanted a two syllable first name. On a commute to Oxford the train was paused at a river, and he suddenly thought 'River Cartwright' and when he landed on that, he immediately came up with a back story about River's upbringing.
They spoke about Slough House and Herron said he used to get out at Barbican station for work and passed a building every day and so he was very familiar with what it looked like. Williams asked him about how he comes up with his unique ways of introducing readers to Slough House (for example, following a stray cat through the building). Herron said that is one of the aspects he most enjoys writing, coming up with humorous and innovative ways to do this each time.
Williams asked him about how he suddenly kills off characters and whether he knows how the series will end. Herron said he does know how but he doesn't know when it will end. For the moment he is enjoying writing the series and has a few more in him.
After the session I met Herron again and he signed a couple more books in my series (I didn't feel I could bring all eight books in the box set!).
Closing Address: A Braver Australia
Since I had attended the opening night gala, I thought I would go to the closing address as well. The ones I had attended previously were single author addresses (e.g. Jennifer Egan in 2018), but this year there were six people each giving a ten minute address on the topic of 'a braver Australia'. Host Sisonke Msimang introduced the speaker.
Amy Remeikis began, dressed up in an emerald green gown. She spoke about the need to be brave and get loud about injustice. Tony Birch reminisced about his friend, the late actor Jack Charles, who had been removed from his family as a child as part of the Stolen Generations, became a drug addict and was incarcerated, but never let his trauma impact his humanity.
Dr Amy Thunig-McGregor spoke about everyday bravery and the need to teach her children ways to be brave. Jack Toohey recalled the recent protests in Sydney against Israel's President Issac Hertzog, the overreach by police and the biased reporting by the media. He argued that Australians need to be brave and speak out against genocide.
Shankar Chandran admitted she often does not feel brave and suggested that bravery can begin with small acts of personal courage. Artist Ben Quilty was the last speaker. He talked about a regional arts centre he has been involved with and the need to support the arts.
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| Sisonke Msimang, Jack Toohey, Amy Thunig-McGregor, Amy Remeikis, Shankari Chandran, Ben Quilty and Anne Mossop |
So that's a wrap on my time at SWF2026. I thoroughly enjoyed each of the 23 sessions I attended. I missed attending with my festival friend this year, but I loved catching up with friends between sessions and meeting fellow book lovers throughout the festival.
One of the things I love about SWF is how accessible and friendly it is. It is great fun to mingle with writers, publishers, and fellow book nerds.
While I was exhausted after four full days at the festival, I came home with my mind buzzing and my to-be-read shelf heaving. Cannot wait to explore all the new books I purchased.
Finally, after the session it was announced that Creative Director Anne Mossop is leaving after four years at the helm. She has done an incredible job with this festival and will be missed.
Book Signings
Books signed by authors today:
- S A Cosby - Razorblade Tears and All the Sinners Bleed
SA Cosby - Chris Hammer - Legacy
- Mick Herron - Dead Lions, Real Tigers, and Spook Street
- Hayley Scrivener - Dirt Town
My SWF2026 Experience
Read more about my time at SWF2026 here:
- Early Sessions - Lorena Allam, Robbie Arnott, Avani Dias, Lyse Doucet, Anton Enus, Nikita Gill, Lily King, Kate McClymont, Michael Pedersen, and Patrick Radden Keefe.
- Day One - Robbie Arnott, Nick Bryant, Barrie Cassidy, Rosalind Dixon, AC Grayling, Tayari Jones, Yann Martel, Amy Remeikis, Niki Savva, David Szalay, Tasma Walton
- Day Two - Michael Mohammed Ahmed, Matt Alt, Jacinda Ardern, Rebecca Armitage, Susan Choi, Bora Chung, Roddy Doyle, Mariana Enriquez, Kate Evans, Mick Herron, Sarah Krasnostein, Yann Martel, Charlotte McConaghy, Suzie Miller, David Szalay, and Charlotte Wood.
- Day Three - Randa Abdel-Fattah, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Roddy Doyle, Kate Evans, Jan Fran, Lev Grossman, RF Kuang, Antoinette Lattouf, Dervla McTiernan, Garth Nix, Hayley Scrivenor.
- Day Four - Michael Bennett, Tony Birch, Troy Bramston, Shankar Chandran, SA Crosby, Chris Hammer, Mick Herron, Fran Kelly, Sisonke Msimang, Ben Quilty, Amy Remeikis, Hayley Scrivenor, Amy Thunig-McGregor, Jack Toohey, Michael Williams.