Explore the 2024 Program
Ahead of the release of his latest book, Lola in the Mirror, dive into past conversations with beloved author Trent Dalton at Sydney Writers' Festival.
See Trent Dalton talking with Indira Naidoo on 10 October at City Recital Hall.
Trent Dalton: Boy Swallows Universe
Listen to Trent's debut event at Sydney Writers' Festival where he talks about the multi-award-winning Boy Swallows Universe – a coming-of-age story about love, crime, magic and fate. On the violent fringes of 1980s Brisbane lives Eli, a 12-year-old boy with a mute brother, lost father, imprisoned mother and heroin-dealing stepdad. Trent chats with Matthew Condon about Eli’s search for love and friendship as they discuss this novel’s exhilarating fusion of originality, pathos, humour and charm.
Trent Dalton: All Our Shimmering Skies
Trent Dalton's novel, All Our Shimmering Skies, is an exhilarating tale of love, friendship and gifts that fall from the sky. Set in the Northern Territory during World War II, it’s filled with Trent’s typically acute observations, larger-than-life characters and moments of both pure joy and heartbreaking sadness. In conversation with Annabel Crabb, Trent discusses his extraordinary rise to literary acclaim, the much-loved international phenomenon, Boy Swallows Universe, and the new book he calls a love letter to Australia.
SWF Within Reach Gala: Trent Dalton
At the 2021 Festival, an all-star line-up of guests came together to deliver a speech on the Festival theme, Within Reach. Speakers celebrated the power of writing to generate empathy, imagination and action. In this special highlight, bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies Trent Dalton delivers one undeniable truth wrought by the pandemic: that he quite likes to wrap his arms around people. Enjoy this humorous and hopeful homage to the hug.
Brendan Cowell & Trent Dalton
Brendan Cowell and Trent Dalton have both written heartfelt and moving books. Brendan chats about Plum, his raucous novel of a fast-living former NRL player who is unexpectedly plunged into a quest for self-care and self-discovery. Trent shares how he hit the streets to speak with strangers when collating Love Stories, a collection of slice-of-life vignettes about love in its many forms. In an event sure to lift your spirits, the duo appear in conversation with Catherine Milne.