Sydney Writers’ Festival 2026: Live and Local Maitland
Overview
A Big Literary Night Out in Maitland
Sydney Writers’ Festival Live & Local brings the energy of one of Australia’s biggest literary festivals right here to Maitland.
Not just a livestream. A full afternoon with acclaimed authors, bestselling books, bold ideas, grazing plates, literary trivia and conversations worth having.
Your Saturday at Live & Local
From 3pm to 9pm, Maitland Town Hall will become a gathering place for stories, debate and discovery.
You’ll experience:
- Emma Grey live in person, discussing her latest novel Start at the End
- Livestreamed Sydney Writers’ Festival sessions featuring major local and international authors
- Grazing plates served between sessions, giving you time to pause, chat and enjoy the evening
- Literary trivia covering classic novels, famous authors, festival books and the Sydney Writers’ Festival lineup
- Big conversations about love, loss, fantasy, power, memory, literary fame, awards, and the books everyone is talking about
This is an event for readers, book clubs, big thinkers, fantasy fans, fiction lovers, trivia buffs and anyone who has ever finished a book and immediately needed to talk about it.
Because let’s be honest – half the fun of a great book is deciding whether it deserves the hype.
What to Expect
Emma Grey Live: Start at the End
Award-winning author Emma Grey joins us live in person to discuss Start at the End, her latest heartfelt novel about grief, friendship, healing and hope.
From the bestselling author of The Last Love Note and Pictures of You, this is warm, honest storytelling that stays with you long after the final page.
Is the most powerful kind of fiction the kind that breaks your heart or the kind that helps put it back together?
Fantastical Worlds: Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang and Garth Nix
Fantasy is fiction at its most imaginative, ambitious and gloriously escapist.
In this must-see session, three major voices in fantasy and speculative fiction – Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang and Garth Nix – explore the myths, magic and masterful world-building that keep readers hooked.
Lev Grossman, bestselling author of The Magicians trilogy and The Bright Sword, is known for bringing literary depth to fantasy worlds. R.F. Kuang, award-winning and internationally bestselling author of The Poppy War trilogy, Babel, Yellowface and Katabasis, has become one of the most talked-about writers of her generation. Garth Nix, beloved author of the Old Kingdom series and The Sinister Booksellers of Bath, has sold millions of books worldwide and shaped the imaginations of fantasy readers for decades.
This session is for anyone who has ever defended fantasy as “serious literature” at a dinner party.
Is fantasy pure escape, or does it tell us more about the real world than realism ever could?
Roddy Doyle: The Women Behind the Door
Booker Prize-winning author Roddy Doyle reflects on his celebrated career and latest novel, The Women Behind the Door.
Known for his sharp humour, emotional honesty and unforgettable portraits of ordinary lives, Doyle has long been one of the great chroniclers of family, class, identity and human messiness.
The Women Behind the Door continues his exploration of relationships, resilience and the complicated lives people carry behind closed doors. It is powerful, intimate and full of the kind of truth that makes readers lean in.
Does literary greatness come from big, dramatic plots or from making ordinary lives feel extraordinary?
New York Times bestselling author Lily King joins the festival to discuss Heart the Lover, a novel exploring love, desire, forgiveness and loss.
Known for emotionally intelligent, beautifully observed fiction, she writes about relationships with the kind of precision that makes readers recognise themselves sometimes comfortably, sometimes not.
Heart the Lover is a story about first love, longing and the relationships that shape us long after they end. It asks what we remember, what we rewrite and whether we ever really leave certain people behind.
Is first love powerful because it was real or because memory turns it into something bigger than it ever was?
Why come to Live & Local?
It is a chance to hear the ideas behind the books, then immediately talk about them with the people around you. To discover a new author. To defend your favourite book. To quietly disagree with a literary prize. To decide whether a bestseller really deserves the buzz.
It is an afternoon and evening for people who love stories and for people who love talking about stories even more. Plus includes grazing plates, trivia and a full festival program from 3pm to 9pm.
Grazing plates between sessions
Between sessions, guests will enjoy grazing plates served throughout the evening.
These breaks are designed to give you time to relax, talk, compare notes, debate the sessions and decide which book is being added to your reading list next.
Come for the authors. Stay for the conversations. Yes, there will be food.
Literary Trivia: Test your bookish knowledge
Throughout the event, enjoy literary trivia inspired by classic novels, famous authors, and the books and writers featured in Sydney Writers’ Festival.
Expect questions for seasoned readers, casual book lovers and anyone who confidently says, “I definitely read that in school,” while remembering almost none of it.
Gather your friends, brush up on your classics and prepare to find out who in your group has been quietly storing useless literary facts for years.
Start the conversation before you arrive….
- Before you arrive, here are a few questions to think about:
- Which featured book do you think deserves the hype?
- Are literary awards always a sign of greatness, or just good timing?
- Is fantasy the most imaginative form of fiction or the most misunderstood?
- Does a bestselling author’s new book have more to prove?
- Can a novel about grief still be uplifting?
- Are some books better because they divide opinion?
- Which author are you most curious to hear from?
These are the kinds of conversations Live & Local is made for.
Sydney Writers’ Festival Live & Local comes to Maitland Town Hall on Saturday 23 May for one unforgettable afternoon and evening of books, ideas, food, trivia and conversation.
With Emma Grey live in person and a stellar livestreamed lineup featuring Roddy Doyle, Lily King, Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang and Garth Nix, this is a must-see event for readers across Maitland and the Hunter.
Saturday 23 May
3pm – 9pm
Maitland Town Hall
Tickets $40 per person
Tickets are selling now. Secure your seat before they’re gone.