By Christine Yunn-Yu Sun
Renowned American author Stephen King once said: “Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
A similar note comes from Veronica Sullivan, director of the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival, who explains why books possess a special kind of magic: “They transform our understanding of ourselves and others. They animate divergent ways of seeing. They immerse us in fantastic worlds that blur the line between the real and the imagined, and offer pathways towards new possible futures.”
More importantly: “Reading equips us to navigate the world with empathy, curiosity and imagination – to dream big and take a leap of faith. Storytelling is a transformative force – a way to not only understand the world but to change it, one story at a time.”
To celebrate magical thinking – the power of imagination and connection through storytelling and reading – this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival (8-11 May) invites some of Australia’s and the world’s most brilliant writers and thinkers to tackle issues spanning literature, politics, philosophy, history and psychology.
Some of the international highlights include Kaliane Bradley (The Ministry of Time), Colm Tóibín (Long Island), Asako Yuzuki (Butter), and Bora Chung (Your Utopia).
Irish novelist Marian Keyes will converse with our own bestselling author Jane Harper, while Argentine author Mariana Enriquez will discuss her latest collection of short stories A Sunny Place for Shady People.
Equally eye-catching are American author Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a reimagining of the King Arthur legend, and Dutch author Yael van der Wouden’s The Safekeep, which was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize.
Meanwhile, some of the local highlights include Kate Grenville (Unsettled), Emily Maguire (Rapture), Josephine Rowe (Little World), Jimmy Barnes (Highways and Byways), and Hannah Kent (Always Home, Always Homesick).
Particularly noteworthy is the event “Cultural Vultures”, whose panelists will consider “digital versus real-world artistic spaces, the hyperreality of the information age, and making art in the age of algorithms”.
For serious thinkers, the panel “Drawing the Line” will explore how comics and graphic art can “drive change, amplify urgent voices and challenge injustice”.
Then the panel “The Writer as Witness” will investigate writing as an act of witnessing, “challenging institutions, reclaiming narratives, and shaping identity through essays, memoir and poetry”.
Also notable is the panel “The Past is a Foreign Country”, where authors and historians Santilla Chingaipe, Sita Sargeant and Steve Vizard will discuss some of the “misunderstood, mythologised or lesser-known dimensions of Australian history”.
Finally, for children and young adult readers (and those young at heart), Jessica Townsend will introduce Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow, the latest book in her Nevermoor series.
Further, Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner will highlight their new YA novel Lady’s Knight, described as a “medieval romp and a sapphic love story” and set in a world of “dragons, witches and excellent snacks”.
More details and ticketing information about these and other events can be found at the Melbourne Writers Festival website: mwf.com.au
