Sydney Writers' Festival 2026 - Day Two

 Back again for another full day at SWF2026 on Friday 22 May 2026.

Found in Translation

I have been fascinated about the art of translation ever since reading Linda Jaivin's remarkable Quarterly Essay Found In Translation: In Praise of a Plural World (2013). I do not read nearly enough translated works, but I am seeking to rectify this. So I booked this session with video game translator Matt Alt, and authors Mariana Enriquez (The Dangers of Smoking in Bed) and Bora Chung (The Midnight Timetable) in conversation with translator Daniel Hanh, without knowing their work in an effort to learn more. 

This was a wonderful discussion about the challenges of language: poetic vs traditional; gendered words; high and low culture; nuance and slang. Each of the authors are also translators and spoke about how they approach translation. I particularly enjoyed Enriquez' description of her approach to translations of her work where she views the translation as the problem of whomever has been tasked to undertake that work. 

After the session I met Enriquez and she signed a copy of her The Dangers of Smoking in Bed for me.

Daniel Hanh, Matt Alt, Mariana Enriquez Bora Chung

In the Club

Next up I went to a free session to see Charlotte McConaghy (Wild Dark Shore) and Rebecca Armitage (The Heir Apparent) talk about being selected for Reese's Book Club. 

Armitage is a journalist with the ABC who was working on the royal beat. She had an idea for a book in which a scandal means the British crown is passed on down the line of succession to a woman who has been out of the royal orbit, happily living and working in Australia, when she suddenly finds herself next in line to become Queen. Armitage spoke about the rejection her book had from publishers before she learned how to pitch, and how being selected for Reese's book club suddenly opened up her world. 

McConaghy is an established writer who has been quietly beavering away with moderate success. Her novel Wild Dark Shore was unexpectedly chosen by Witherspoon and has given her a much wider audience. She spoke about how this has given her earlier books a new audience as well. 

Armitage says that the Reese's Book Club is like a seal of approval. Readers don't know or trust the author, but they do trust Reese. Apparently Witherspoon's team gets novels in advance and they read and cull before recommending them to her. She then reads and decides whether it will be part of her selection. Witherspoon is an extraordinary business woman who knows her audience. Her production company, Hello Sunshine, also buys the rights for books with female appeal to make into television series. 

I have read and enjoyed McConaghy's work but was not familiar with Armitage's book. While The Heir Apparent is not the sort of book I normally read, it sounds like a great holiday read. So perhaps....

Holly Wainwright, Rebecca Armitage and Charlotte McConaghy

Dark Materials 

In this session, novelists Michael Mohammed Ahmed (Bugger) and David Szalay (Flesh), and non-fiction author Sarah Krasnostein (The Trauma Cleaner) talk about how they write about trauma and abuse. It was facilitated by journalist and author Jacqueline Maley (The Truth About Her). I had booked this session because it included Florence Knapp (The Names), but she unfortunately had to pull out and be replaced by Krasnostein. While disappointed I would not see Knapp, I always enjoy hearing Krasnostein speak about her work.

The authors discussed trauma and how to write about it. Szalay was clear he was not telling readers whether or not his characters were abused or traumatised, he left that open to interpretation. Krasnostein has written about the mushroom murder trial, Malka Leifer, and other challenging topics. Ahmed was extremely impressive talking about his book in which he writes about child abuse in the Australian Lebanese community where such a subject is taboo and perpetrators may be protected. He spoke about the use of language, the origins of words and how important it is to shed light on dark corners. An interesting, albeit challenging session

Jacqueline Maley, David Szalay, Sarah Krasnostein, Michael Mohammed Ahmed

Great Adaptations

In this session, authors Mick Herron (Slow Horses) and Suzie Miller (Prima Facie) talked with Benjamin Law about having their works adapted for stage and screen. 

Miller signing
Prima Facie

Miller is a former lawyer turned playwright who has had great success with her plays Prima Facie and Inter Alia. She spoke about how her first play was performed in the Griffin Theatre in Sydney, a tiny intimate space and then ended up in London's West End and on Broadway, winning Olivier and Tony Awards. She spoke about the economy of writing for stage and how there was more she wanted to say, so she adapted Prima Facie into a novel and has now adapted it into a screenplay for a forthcoming film starring Cynthia Erivo. She also talked about the intimacy of plays and the solitary nature of being a writer shifts when writing plays as you need to engage with the actors and are confined by space.

Herron's Slow Horses novels were picked up by Apple TV with Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Jonathan Price and many more. Herron spoke about the adaptation of his work and how he sat in on the writers' room like an oracle answering questions about characters. He said that there are many aspects of his books which are unfilmable and how the writing team have done an incredible job to bring it to the screen. His Zoë Boehm series, Down Cemetery Road, has also been adapted for TV starring Emma Thompson. Herron shared some behind-the-scenes tales and clearly delights in the way his work has been adapted.

After the session I spoke to Herron at the book signing and had a photo taken with him. I also was able to get my copy of Prima Facie signed by Suzie Miller.

Benjamin Law, Suzie Miller, Mick Herron

Jacinta Ardern

I had to rush from Carriageworks into Sydney Town Hall for my next session. Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke about her memoir, A Different Kind of Power,  in conversation with Holly Wainright. I recently read this memoir so was thrilled to hear her speak about it. 

Ardern is humble, warm and personable - completely authentic. Wainright asked her to recount various stories from the book such as how she found it she was pregnant, an incident when she worked at a fish and chip shop, seeing her father encounter some bikers, and many more. They talked about the challenges of political life and some of the hard things she had to lead the country through - like COVID, a terrorist attack and the Whaakari (White Island) disaster. 

Ardern is now happily living on Sydney's Northern Beaches and continuing to use her skills and experience for causes she cares about. She runs a leadership program, works on eradicating violent extremism and on efforts to reduce the impact of climate change.

I was thoroughly impressed by Jacinda Arden and appreciated being able to see her in Sydney's beautiful Town Hall. I highly recommend her memoir.

Holly Wainright and Jacinda Ardern

State of the Art - Booker Prize

Raced back to Carriageworks for my final session of the day. This panel featured authors that had been shortlisted for or won the prestigious Booker Prize. ABC Radio National’s Kate Evans moderated the session featuring Susan Choi (Flashlight), Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha), Yann Martel (Life of Pi), David Szalay (Flesh), Charlotte Wood (Stone Yard Devotional).

David Szalay, Charlotte Wood, Susan Choi

The panel spoke about whether prizes matter and the general consensus is that they do. For each of these writers, the Booker Prize was instrumental in their careers as it brought them prominence, sold their books and gave them freedom to write. 

Szalay, the current winner, spoke about the camaraderie of the longlist and how enjoyable it is to be going through the Booker season with other writers. He said that since he won he has had little time to write as he has been on perpetual tour. Martel and Doyle concurred with this experience and said they had writing gaps after winning the Booker. 

Yann Martel, Roddy Doyle, Kate Evans

Doyle was working as a teacher when his novel won the Booker and as the first Irish author to win he was lauded at home. He joked that the year he won there was also an Irish horse that won the Melbourne Cup and how a newspaper wanted to get Doyle and the horse in a photo together for a story on Ireland's global success. Doyle said that the Booker allowed him to become a full time writer. Doyle also spoke about being a judge for the Booker.

Martel had a similar story of success. He had been writing for years and had been rejected by many publishers. He was about to give up writing when he found a small UK imprint to publish his novel. Once it won the Booker, he was an 'overnight success', invited to parties and travelled the world. 

Wood spoke about how she was called the 'drought-breaker' as her novel Stone Yard Devotional was the first Australian to be longlisted since Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North a decade earlier. For Wood the Booker brought her backlist to a new audience and gave her a huge exposure.

Choi spoke about how the Booker is seen in America as like the Holy Grail. American authors have only been eligible since 2014 and have fared well in the longlist ever since, including wins for Paul Beatty (The  Sellout, 2016) and George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo, 2017).

The panel discussed the expectations on shortlisters and winners. They also talked about whether there is such a thing as a 'Booker' book - an obvious contender. They rejected this notion as the judges change each year. 

After the session I was able to get books signed by Charlotte Wood and Roddy Doyle to add to my Booker collection.

Szalay, Wood, Choi, Martel, Doyle, Evans

That ends my big day out at the Sydney Writer's Festival and I am now past the halfway point. Off to bed and back again tomorrow.

Roddy Doyle

Book Signings

Books signed by authors today:

• Roddy Doyle - Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha (for my Booker collection)
• Mariana Enriquez - The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
• Mick Herron - Slow Horses
• Suzie Miller - Prima Facie
• Charlotte Wood - Stone Yard Devotional and The Weekend

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.