Spend Saturday at the Festival for Under $100

When there are so many things to see at Sydney Writers' Festival, it can be challenging to budget your tickets and your time. But attending the Festival doesn't need to break the bank. Over the next few weeks, we have put together a series of suggested event itineraries to help you plan how to attend the Festival on a budget.

This week, how to spend the Saturday at the Festival for under $100.

Whether you have a full day to spare or only an evening, you can attend the Festival and hear from writers and thinkers from near and far.

11am | Samantha Shannon on The Roots of Chaos Series

Start the day with a bang and hear international bestselling fantasy novelist Samantha Shannon discuss her sensational Roots of Chaos series. She'll be in conversation with fellow queer fantasy novelist Shelley Parker-Chan, so expect this session to be full of dragon fire.

12pm | Dicey Topics

Benjamin Law's weekly Sydney Morning Herald article comes alive on the Sydney Writers' Festival stage! His special guest this time around is journalist David Marr who will face Benjamin's dice and their corresponding confronting questions.

10am–4pm | Poetry Prescriptions

During your lunch break, head on over to the Poetry Prescription booth to get a solution to your problems, pressing or poetical, from the writers of Story Factory Sydney. A poem a day keeps the doctor away!

2.30pm | Matilda Boseley on The Year I Met My Brain

You might recognise Matilda Boseley from The Guardian's TikTok account where she demonstrates her skill at breaking down big, complicated topics into easily digestible explainers. Matilda has written a definitive guide to navigating ADHD in adulthood because it's what she wishes she'd had when she received her diagnosis in her 20s. Hear her demystify the opaque realm of adult ADHD in her free Curiosity Lecture.

4.30pm | Ahona Guha on Life Skills for a Broken World

Clinical and forensic psychologist Ahona Guha answers your life-long questions: How can I soothe heartbreak? How do I cope with death? How can I learn to manage anxiety and have hope? In this free Curiosity Lecture, Ahona will distil her practical guide to life down into a useful talk.

5.30pm | Sad Girl? Bad Girl? Mad Girl?

Chances are you've heard of the literary trend of the 'sad girl novel' that has blown up in recent years. In this panel discussion, three debut Australian novelists, Nadine J. Cohen, Madeleine Gray and Jessie Stephens, discuss their work and how accurate that 'sad girl' label really is.

7.30pm | Africa Now

For a new and novel way to spend your Saturday evening, try this panel discussion with a broad range of writers and thinkers from the African diaspora reflecting on a continent they once called home. Nobel Prize–winning novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah and comedian Oliver Twist speak with writer Sisonke Msimang.

What a way to spend a weekend! A whole day of seven events with at least a dozen writers for a ticket price of $95. Then, with our multipack discount, you'll save 10%, bringing your total well under $100.

Participating in art and culture doesn't always need to break your budget. But you don't have to take our word for it. These are only a selection of the events available each day of the Festival so there are plenty more to consider, including dozens of free events.