9:45 – 10am
Introduction & Welcome to Country

10 – 11am

CONVICTS, REBELS & THIEVES

Meg Keneally & David Hunt.

Join us for a rousing gallivant through Australia’s early history with our two esteemed writers, Meg Keneally and David Hunt. Whether it’s the fast-paced historical Monsarrat Series penned with father Tom Keneally, or more recent epic tales of escape and highway robbery charted in Fled, The Wreck and now Free, Meg has found storytelling diamonds in the rough of Colonial Australia. Meanwhile in Girt, True Girt and Girt Nation, David Hunt manages to deliver a history lesson peering ‘under the dirty rug’ of Australia with a satisfying dollop of humour. What better way to start your Sunday?

Due to health concerns, regrettably Robyn Davidson can no longer join us for Words on the Waves 2024. Her session ‘Unfinished Woman’ has been replaced by the session above. Existing ticket holders will be notified and may retain their booking for this venue or move to the other venue.

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11.30am – 12.30pm
FARM LIFE

Bruce Pascoe, Lyn Harwood, Graham Creed. Moderator: Fiona MacDonald

We connect with land and the beating heart of the natural world in this conversation led by Bruce Pascoe and Lyn Harwood (Black Duck: A Year at Yumburra) alongside former ABC weatherman, Graham Creed (Weatherman Goes Bush). Both books dig deep into the reality of life on the farm, its seasons, its moments of poetry and hardship. And both grapple with the changes we see sweeping across Australia, heralded by bushfires, floods, droughts and more.

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9:45 – 10am
Introduction & Welcome to Country

10 – 11am
YOUR TIME STARTS NOW

Julie Goodwin. Moderator: Rob Carlton

From winning the first-ever MasterChef Australia to blitzing bestseller lists and fending off deadly reptiles in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! it seemed like Julie Goodwin was living the dream. But success masked a dark reality of depression, anxiety and addiction. In Your Time Starts Now, we cheer on as this Central Coast local shares her brutally honest story: of clawing back a life full of good food, astonishing people and most importantly, a sense of purpose.

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11.30am – 12.30pm
AI THINK THEREFORE AI AM?

Toby Walsh, Carla Wilshire. Moderator: Stephanie Wood

With Taylor Swift deepfakes, Lou Reed chatbots, Photoshop fails and robodebts blitzing headlines, it’s clear we are already in the wild west of Artificial Intelligence and big tech algorithms. Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading researchers in AI and in Faking It he breezily charts its chequered history and impact today. In Carla Wilshire’s groundbreaking treatise Time to Reboot she cannily unpacks the reality of feminism and human rights in the Algorithm Age. Don’t miss this startlingly relevant discussion about AI and how it affects us all.

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1:30 – 2:30pm
TEACHER TEACHER

Suzanne Leal, Gabbie Stroud, Alice Pung. Moderator: Christine Hatton

Schoolyard memories bring either a smile or a grimace and they are a rich source of material for writers. Gabbie Stroud (The Things that Matter Most) takes us into the ecosystem of a school to follow the overworked staff faced with a looming crisis. Suzanne Leal follows two teachers and the fallout when one of them is accused of something terrible (The Watchful Wife). And Alice Pung (Laurinda) invites us into an exclusive school to see the power wielded by a trio of girls over staff and students alike.

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3 – 4pm
A FINE & BURNING LINE

Tony Birch, Jeanine Leane, Nam Le. Moderator: Pip Smith

In Nam Le’s first book in 16 years, 36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem, he pushes against identity, representation and the violence of assumptions. In Jeanine Leane’s Gawimarra, she muses on Country, culture and kinship. In a far-ranging body of work, Tony Birch values poetry that constantly shifts in meaning. End your Sunday with a powerful session of spoken word and conversation. Please note: This panel is dedicated to showcasing contemporary Australian poetry. From 2024 Words on the Waves commits to an annual poetry-focused panel to honour the memory of late local poet Robert Adamson.

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1:30 – 2:30pm
BACK FROM THE ABYSS

Ben McKelvey, Craig Semple, Gregory P Smith. Moderator: Ashley Kalagian Blunt

Each of these speakers has hit rock bottom, but managed to build something positive from the rubble. For former ‘forest recluse’ Gregory P. Smith, a lightbulb moment on a park bench transformed a life of homelessness and addiction into academia and contentment. For career policeman Craig Semple, a severe episode of PTSD triggered a turn to mental health advocacy. And for Ben McKelvey, it took a stroke and a heart attack to force him to assess his trauma and ‘remake’ himself. Together we consider trauma, masculinity, and the chance to start over.

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3 – 4pm
BEAUTY & THE BEASTS

Melissa Ashley, Kate Forsyth, Lauren Chater. Moderator: Sue Williams

Join us as we delve into the world of myth, beauty and art with three accomplished authors who have taken inspiration from history. Kate Forsyth delves into Greek mythology to give powerful voice to Psykhe; Melissa Ashley’s Naturalist of Amsterdam travels from the art world of Amsterdam to the jungles of South America at the turn of the 18th century and Lauren Chater exposes a woman wielding her beauty as a weapon in the court of King Charles II in The Beauties.

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