Melbourne Writers Festival 2026: MPHI Suggests
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Melbourne Writers Festival, Readers and Audiences are invited to consider the Visions & Revisions of their past, present, and future, with a line-up of writers and speakers reflecting on the lessons of history, and the stories that will shape tomorrow.
MPHI Creative Producer Seth Robinson has our top-picks for a festival that plays with the old and new, and takes on the big challenges.
Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe: Big Sky
Wednesday 6 May, 7pm – Melbourne Planetarium and Science Works
& Saturday 9 May, 4.30pm – The Capitol
This year, we’re kicking our festival experience off at the observatory, rather than the auditorium.
Ray Norris and Bruce Pascoe are presenting not one, but two, events at MWF, centred on their new book Big Sky: When Emu Left the Earth. On Wednesday night, hear the pair in conversation with ABC Radio’s Natasha Mitchell, before Dr Tanya Hill leads a virtual tour of the night sky in the planetarium Theatre.
This event is part of an incredible initiative to bring the festival into Melbourne’s suburbs, to explore new spaces, and connect with new communities. For festival regulars, this new ‘space’ (pun intended) takes on even more meaning, as we explore the intersection of modern astronomy, and First Nations Knowledges. It’s a rare chance to consider our place in the universe, and how our understanding of that place, is defined by story. For the MPHI regulars, this event is a perfect example of how science, storytelling, and the humanities come together to enrich our understanding, and expand the boundaries of knowledge.
Jacinda Ardern: A Different Kind of Power
Friday 8 May, 8.30pm
Former Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, joins Virginia Trioli in conversation for an event that will consider questions of politics, power, motherhood, and public scrutiny.
In a time when it seems a few powerful men have set the world on fire, I’m eager to hear from another kind of leader. Whether or not your aligned with her politics, Ardern broke the mould for what it means to be a leader on the global stage, showing how to lead through compassion, and redefining strength in times of crisis. As we consider the challenges faced by society today, what should we expect of our leaders? And what might we ask them to do differently?
Festival of Indigenous Stories
Sat 9 May, 10.30am, 2.30pm, & 6.30pm
Presented by the First Nations Curators, the Festival of Indigenous Stories, brings together Indigenous writers from Canada and Australia in conversation. Curated by Evelyn Araluen and Jessica Johns, this collaboration offers a unique opportunity for artists to showcase storytelling traditions from both sides of the Pacific, stretching back tens of thousands of years, and for audiences to consider the legacy of what it means to engage with art and literature in countries shaped by their colonial history. This event is the perfect foundation for a festival that considers the power of storytelling, and where we go from here.
Hear from writers whose work spans genre and form, including Mykaela Saunders, Bebe Oliver, Jasmin McGaughey, Alicia Elliott, Chelsea Vowel and Jesse Wente.
Wilder Shores: Writing the Changing Planet
Sat 9 May, 10.30am
For so long climate change has been viewed as a problem for the hard sciences. But humanity remains the driver of this crisis, and as David Attenborough noted, it has become a communications problem. This, is where the talents of writers offer a unique opportunity.
Hear from three of the best, Romy Ash, Bri Lee, and Ana Svetel, about how they’re approaching climate change in their work, the role of literature in creating societal change, and how their addressing a crisis of not only climate, but creativity and critical thinking.
Secret Histories: Tales of Dark Academia
Sat 9 May, 2.30pm
What is it about the hallowed, sandstone halls of the university that makes it so easy for us to believe they may lead into … Hell?
Channelling the Donna Tartt classic, this panel brings together speculative heavy-hitter R.F. Kuang (who you can also see speak about her 2026 knockout, Katabsis) with Tigest Girma and Lili Wilkinson as they discuss their work and reimagining of the academy. Hosted by Amie Kaufman, this event is sure to be fascinating, and perhaps, might ask us to face some of the darker, more unpleasant realities of university life.
Whose Poet Laureate is it anyway?
Sunday 10 May, 1.30pm
Here at the MPHI, we love poetry. Whether it’s on a billboard, bound in the ages of a book, or spoken aloud, it has the capacity to move something within us. It channels feeling into words, and creates moments of connection, beauty, and consideration.
As we prepare for the announcement of Australia’s inaugural Poet Laureate, now seems the perfect time to reflect, and consider the importance of roles like this, and poetry itself within Australian society.
Join Maxine Beneba Clarke, Michael Pedersen, Chris Tse and host Andy Jackson, as they consider the politics and craft of poetry in Australia.
Tony Birch on The Ethical Imagination
Sunday 10 May, 6.30pm – The Capitol
MWF2026 closes with writer, activist, historian, and Boisbouvier Chair of Australian Literature, Tony Birch, in conversation with Michael Williams.
For the first time, Birch brings his Ethical Imagination project to the stage, considering what it means to be an ethical reader, writer, and citizen. How might we imagine courageously, and approach literature with generosity, and a willingness to connect.
Adapted from a program he developed for high school students, Birch will discuss the Ethical Imagination by engaging with the work of First Nations writers and poets. It’s the perfect closing to an incredible festival line up, with a great friend of the Public Humanities.
You can see Seth Robinson interview Benjamin Stevenson on his new crime caper, Everyone in this Bank is a Thief, as part of the MWF in the suburbs series.
Thursday, 7 May, 6pm at Melton Library.