Sydney Writers' Festival - Day Three

 After two full days at SWF, and four late nights, I took it easy on Saturday 23 May 2026. 

Dervla McTiernan - Three Reasons for Revenge

Internationally bestselling author Dervla McTiernan has written some excellent crime thrillers, including her Cormac Reilly series (The Ruin, The Scholar, The Good Turn and The Unquiet Grave). Last month she published her latest thriller, Three Reasons for Revenge (2026). She spoke with Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town and Girl Falling.

McTiernan spoke about her career. She was working as a lawyer in Ireland, trying to raise a family, and desperate to write. With a recession in Ireland, and the family never able to get ahead, they moved to Perth. Working part-time, she began to write. Her first novel, The Ruin, was published in 2018 to great acclaim, winning many book prizes. This was the first in her Cormac Reilly series and set her off on her career. With the success of her writing, she was able to quit her job and become a full-time writer and stay-at-home mother. 

Dervla McTiernan and me

They spoke about her latest book, Three Reasons for Revenge, which is the first set in Australia. McTiernan said she had been wary about setting a crime story in Australia as there are so many gifted crime writers (Chris Hammer, Jane Harper etc) who are known for depicting the landscape so well. She was worried she couldn't do the landscape justice. This is a standalone thriller featuring Detective Sergeant Judith Lee, who has to investigate three parcels sent to three seemingly disconnected people. I can't wait to read it!

I really liked McTiernan. She was humble, approachable and authentic. After the session I met McTiernan and she signed a copy of Three Reasons for Revenge for me. We also took a selfie together! 

Hayley Scrivenor and Dervla McTiernan

Silenced

This sold out session featured Palestinian-Australian Randa Abdel-Fattah, and Lebanese-Australians Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Antoinette Lattouf in conversation with journalist Jan Fran. I was keen to attend this session as I have been unnerved by the attempts to silence Abdel-Fattah at other writers' festivals. The whole point of book festivals is to explore ideas, even those one finds disagreeable. I was also interested to hear from Lattouf after her legal battle with the ABC and novelist Michael Mohammed Ahmad. 

Antoinette Lattouf was vibrant, smart and funny. She spoke about her book Women Who Win -  which showcases women who shattered legal and cultural barriers, defying norms and expectations. Some of the women profiled are now well known, but others would have faded into history. Included in the book is Lattouf's own story of how she took on the ABC in an unfair dismissal case and won. She has now joined forces with Jan Fran to create Ette Media, a company aimed at promoting media literacy skills.

Randa Abdel-Fattah

Randa Abdel-Fattah spoke about her career as a lawyer and her work as an academic studying Islamophobia. She is passionate about the war in Gaza and calling out the Israeli government's relentless campaign. She spoke about dispossession and genocide and how the media tries to be 'balanced' but questions how you can be balanced when there is a genocide underway. She spoke about her award winning novel Discipline, which explores the different way of silencing people. 

Michael Mohammed Ahmad spoke about his novel Bugger which is about child abuse within a Lebanese-Australian family. He spoke about how silence happens within families and the struggles faced by victims in this context. Some of what he had to say I had heard the day before in the Dark Materials session, but it was a good reinforcement of his message. 

After the session I met Randa Abdel-Fattah and she signed a copy of her book for me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it, but after hearing her speak about it I am intrigued. I would have got the Lattouf book as well, but I felt I have enough on my To-Be-Read stack at the moment and need to clear some before I read that.

Jan Fran, Michael Mohammed Ahmed, Randa Abdel-Fattah and Antoinette Lattouf

Fantastical Worlds

My next session was on fantasy novels featuring international bestselling writers Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang and Garth Nix in conversation with Carody Culver. I chose this session because I do not read fantasy novels and am not really familiar with the genre, so wanted to expand my reading horizons. 

Garth Nix spoke about his career. He is the author of the Old Kingdom series, the Keys to the Kingdom series and many others. He spoke about how he choses his fantasy elements - necromancy, magic, immortality - and the freedom it gives him as a writer. He also spoke about the books and writers that influenced him.

Lev Grossman is best known for his The Magicians series and his newest book The Bright Sword which re-imagines the King Arthur legend. He spoke about the television adaptation of The Magicians.

Rebecca Kuang spoke about her The Poppy War series which launched her career. She then spoke about fantasy elements in Babel and her latest novel Katabasis. Kuang is well versed in the genre and it was great to see the three authors riffing on their favourite fantasy works in childhood and young adulthood. 

I am not sure I am a convert to the genre, but I am intrigued. After the session I passed by the book signing where Nix and Grossman has massive queues of devotees with stacks of their novels. Kuang was not present as she had to race off to one of her sold out Town Hall sessions.

Carody Culver, Garth Nix, Lev Grossman, RF Kuang

Roddy Doyle in Conversation

While I had heard Irish author Roddy Doyle speak as part of the Booker Prize panel the day before, I was keen to attend this session to hear more about  his life’s work and latest novel, The Women Behind the Door. He spoke with Kate Evans (ABC Radio National).

Doyle spoke about his upbringing in Dublin and his early career as a teacher. His first published novels were the Barrytown Trilogy - The Commitments (1987), The Snapper (1990) and The Van (1991). He spoke about self-publishing and then having success as these were made into films. 

He spoke about the Paula Spencer series which began thirty years ago with The Woman Who Walked Into Doors (1996) and features in his latest novel The Women Behind the Door (2024). Spencer is a woman experiencing domestic violence, and Doyle's novels shone a light into this difficult subject.

Doyle described his writing style as prioritising dialogue, which makes it ripe for adaptation to stage and screen. He spoke about his family and his upbringing. 

Doyle is absolutely delightful, He was humble, funny and authentic. I really enjoyed this session. As I had books signed by Doyle the day before, I did not attend the book signing and made my way home to rest up for the final day.

Kate Evans and Roddy Doyle

Book Signings

Books signed by authors today:

• Randa Abdel-Fattah - Discipline
• Dervla McTiernan - Three Reasons for Revenge 

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, 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.