To kick off the 2018 Emerging Writers’ Festival, some of today and tomorrow’s most exciting and celebrated voices will examine our histories and imagine the stories of the future.

Hachette Australia, along with the Richell family, is honoured to launch The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers for 2018, in partnership with The Guardian Australia and The Emerging Writers’ Festival. The Prize is once again open to unpublished writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction.

The lines between truth and fiction can be slender indeed, but nonetheless the world seems to have a ravenous appetite for non-fiction writing. This jam-packed program across a full day covers life-writing, memoir, literary journalism and experimental approaches to non-fiction.

A crash course in writing for performance. Whether you’re coming across from another storytelling discipline, or brushing up on your basics, this day is a great place to meet other creatives and get your work ready for the stage.

At Speakeasy, no subject is off the menu. Defy decorum and delve into delicious ideas, discussions and debates. Join us for dinner and drinks, with an entree of keynote speakers followed by an (actual) main course, and roundtable discussions between dinner guests and artists.

Really want some of that one-on-one writer attention? Book yourself into one of our intimate Writers’ Night Schools. In these limited capacity workshops, let the experts impart their wisdom as you spend the night learning the tips and tricks to refine your work–whatever your specialty.

We’ve brought together professional writers and industry insiders to make all the boring bits fun, taking the hard work out of the grunt work in sustaining a writing career. This masterclass will provide all the useful, practical information you need to know to be able to do what you love, pay the bills, and avoid burnout.