Spend Saturday at the Festival for Under $100

One of the hardest parts of attending the Festival is narrowing down the events to attend. With so many to choose from, the program can be overwhelming so we've prepared some example itineraries to help you make the most of your time and budget.

This week, how to spend the entire Saturday at the Festival for less than $100.

Whether you've got a whole day or only an evening to spare, if you like reading the news or the newest rom-com, there is something for you at the Festival.

8.30am | Coffee and Headlines with The Saturday Paper

Founding Editor of The Saturday Paper and Editor in Chief of Schwartz Media Erik Jensen is joined by Louisa Lim and Kate McClymont to discuss the latest headlines over an early morning coffee.

10am | Bakers' Delight

Before this delightfully delicious conversation between bakers extraordinaire Nadine Ingram, Natalie Paull and Kate Reid, pop on over to the Carriageworks Farmers Markets to visit Flour and Stone's stall for a sweet treat.

12pm | Dicey Topics

Festival favourite Benjamin Law returns in 2025 with this live version of his Dicey Topics column. He'll be joined by international bestselling writing Torrey Peters to dive deep into taboo topics.

10am–4pm | The Giving Shop

In between events (and browsing the Festival food and Gleebooks pop-up) be sure to swing by Story Factory's The Giving Shop where you can request a personalised poem as the perfect gift for a loved one (or yourself).

2pm | Pen Pals

Most of us imagine writing as a single person toiling away at their desk but best friends Michelle Brasier, Virginia Gay and Chloe Elisabeth Wilson are reimagining the creative process to include the close support of friends.

3.30pm | STEMMinist Book Club

Women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, medicine and maths) has been a hot-button topic for years but these women are going above-and-beyond with their dual careers as doctors and writers. Hear from Sarah Sasson and recent Stella Prize shortlistees Jumaana Abdu and Melanie Cheng in conversation with Caroline Ford.

5.30pm | Guardian Australia's Are You Game Show

Who doesn't love a quiz? What about a special literary themed one featuring two teams of writers? That's a recipe for a raucous good time. Matilda Boseley and Lucy Clark will lead Daniel Browning, Steph Harmon, Rick Morton and Lucinda Price through their paces to the amusement of us all.

7.30pm | The Best Medicine

We already know these Festival participants are great writers but what other talents do they have? Michelle Brasier rounds up the funniest Festival guests including Virginia Gay, Tanya Hennessy, Tim Lancaster, Benjamin Law and Maeve Marsden to entertain us in this celebration of life in all its joy, mess and brevity.

This Saturday itinerary is a doozy with seven events and over 20 writers coming in at $95. Starting early and finishing late, this range of events will have you laughing your way through friendships, taboo questions and the latest headlines.

But this is really 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 four or more events.