Spend Thursday at the Festival for $50

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 Thursday at the Festival for only $50.

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.

10am | Brigitta Olubas and Susan Wyndham on Writing Letters

Begin your day by jumping straight into a free event with academic Brigitta Olubas and journalist Susan Wyndham as they discuss the art of letter writing upon the publication of Hazzard and Harrower: The Letters, their co-edited anthology of letters between the great Australian writers Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower.

12pm | Hidden Heroines

Move from one pair of historical women to another with this discussion between Lauren Groff and Francesca de Tores about the heroines at the centre of their two historical novels. From the wilderness of the early Americas to the wide expanse of the seven seas, Lauren and Francesca depict these ordinary women doing extraordinary things.

2.15pm | Lech Blaine on Peter Dutton

After a lunch break, ease back into the Festival with Lech Blaine's free Curiosity Lecture about "the Pied Piper of outer suburbia". Listen as Lech situates the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian suburbs his campaign targets and examines Dutton's political tactics.

3pm | The First Time LIVE

One of the best parts of the Festival is being able to hear from a mix of both old favourite authors and new (or new-to-you) writers. In this live recording of Kate Mildenhall's The First Time podcast, she sits down with first time novelists James Colley and Melanie Saward, as well as the beloved Charlotte Wood, to discuss the novelist's life from two ends.

4.30pm | Singapore Storytellers

It wouldn't be a full Festival without an opportunity to hear writers reading their own work. In this free performance, this collective of Singaporean writers reflect on connection to place in their work, spanning poetry, novels, plays and more. Hear from six writers including Amanda Chong, Shivram Gopinath, Joshua Ip, Balli Kaur Jaswal, Daryl Lim Wei Jie and Daryl Qilin Yam.

6.30pm | Firetalk

Round out your day at the Festival with this very special event: a reading by firelight from a group of acclaimed First Nations writers. With host Jazz Money, Tony Birch, Hannah Donnelly, Laniyuk, Enoch Mailangi and Melanie Saward gather under the stars and around the fire to spin yarns and read stories that will make you laugh, cry and shiver in fright.

That's a full itinerary! An entire day at the Festival seeing six events and over 20 writers for a grand total of $50. 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. If you wanted to add more ticketed events to this itinerary, you could take advantage of our multipack discount and save on tickets to three or more events.