Explore the 2026 Program

Spend Saturday at the Festival for $80

Attending Sydney Writers' Festival is a whole experience with plenty to do, see and enjoy while at the Festival Precinct at Carriageworks or at any of the satellite events around Sydney. In this series of blog posts, we break down what's on offer, from ticketed events to free events to activities and beyond, with a budget in mind because everyone is welcome to come down to the Festival and revel in the book-loving atmosphere.

This week, we've got a specially curated itinerary for spending your Saturday at the Festival for $80 and getting the most out of your experience.

8.30am | Coffee and Headlines with The Saturday Paper

It's an institution at the Festival, starting your day at the Precinct with the latest news from some of our most esteemed journalists and writers. On Saturday, the founding editor of The Saturday Paper Erik Jensen is joined by journalists Brigid Delaney and Sean Kelly.

9.30am | Carriageworks Farmers Market

After you've gotten your daily dose of news, you can head on over to the Blacksmith's Workshop for the Carriageworks Farmers Market, the beloved weekly event bringing local and regional artisans and farmers and their wares to Eveleigh. Grab a coffee and a delectable pastry before heading back inside for more Festival events.

11am | The Good Weekend Quiz

This wildly popular event is in its third year at the Festival with teams of friends and strangers banding together to take on the special writerly themed edition of the Good Weekend Saturday Quiz, hosted by the quiz master himself Brian Yatman and Benjamin Law. There are real prizes to be won so get your thinking caps on and caffeinate beforehand!

12pm | Lunch break

When the Festival is in full swing, we bring more than just writers down to Carriageworks. We also bring a whole host of food and drink vendors including cafes, bars, food trucks and stalls. In between sessions, grab yourself a gozleme or some nachos or a cheeky crepe. You can browse the full selection of food and drink on offer here.

1pm | FEAST: Food Fights

Speaking of food, while you're chowing down on lunch, pop on into the Bay 24 free stage to see a special edition of comedian Jennifer Wong's FEAST, featuring Festival guests Durkhanai Ayubi, Natalia Figueroa Barroso, Shirley Le, Daniel Nour, Deborah Oswald and Michael Shaikh as they share personal stories of food and frivolity.

2pm | Theatre Kids

In this session, theatre-makers discuss their debut book publications and how they brought the drama and glamour of the stage to their page writing. Hear from multi-award-winning playwright S. Shakthidharan, actor Zoe Terakes and playwright George Kemp in conversation with Victoria Falconer.

3pm | Story Factory: Plant-a-Poem

A firm favourite at the Festival Precinct in Carriageworks is the pop-up stall from Story Factory. This year, student writers from Story Factory will be providing free personalised poems to foster your hopes for the year and a packet of seeds to see your hopes bloom.

4pm | Bookshop browsing

In the Carriageworks foyer every year, our good friends from Gleebooks build our very own pop-up bookshop, open to all to browse and snap up that book you just heard about that you absolutely have to read. This is a great time to get a book ready for the author signing queue and be sure to get your book stamped to commemorate your trip to the 2026 Festival.

If the sheer number of books on offer overwhelms you, head over to Bay 21 first and browse the Take One, Leave One book recommendations activation where everyone is invited to share their favourite books and get a recommendation in return.

5pm | Dicey Topics

Good Weekend's Dicey Topics column comes alive on stage with writer Benjamin Law diving into the taboo subjects we're told to avoid with a special Festival guest, writer Lally Katz.

6pm and 7pm | Fireside: Sky Stories and Spooky Stories

As the sun sets and the night cools, head on over to the Blacksmith's Workshop for two special free events featuring real fire! In Sky Stories, co-authors of Big Sky: When the Emu Left the Earth Bruce Pascoe and Ray Norris share stories about the stars from astrophysics and First Nations' perspectives. Afterwards, spooky story aficionados Mariana Enriquez, Shaun Micallef and Bora Chung gather around the fire to tell you spine-tingling tales of things that go bump in the night.

8pm | Maria Reva: Endling

If you're still going on this marathon day, nothing will top off your Festival experience like this discussion with Booker Prize–longlisted writer Maria Reva on her unexpected and moving novel Endling, set on a road trip through Ukraine on the brink of war.

For the price of $80 and a full day of your time, this itinerary takes you through eight events, three activities and 19 writers. Now, we understand that this is a pretty packed schedule but whether you take it all on or pick and choose your events, there is so much to do at the Festival Precinct at Carriageworks.

Be sure to pop it in the calendar, 17–24 May, and we'll see you down there!