The NT Writers Festival is an annual celebration of stories, language, culture and ideas shaped by place that alternates each year between Mparntwe/Alice Springs and Garramilla/Darwin.
In 2024, NTWF returned to Larrakia country, Darwin. The NT Writers Festival was centred around the theme Reverberations, discussing the effects of our past, present and future as we think about the consequences of our actions.
NT Writers Festival brings readers, writers and lovers of stories together to listen deeply – to each other, and to a diverse line-up of writers from across the country who shared truths, invited us to listen to the land, and helped us imagine a different future.
These 10 podcasts are recordings of curated panel discussions that were part of the 2024 festival program.
Theme music composed by Vito Lucarelli. Photo credit Paz Tassone.
Stone Yard Devotional – Charlotte Wood
The author of seven novels and three books of nonfiction, many of which have won prestigious awards, Charlotte Wood is one of the country’s most critically acclaimed writers.
Her latest novel, Stone Yard Devotional, was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, making her the first Australian to be shortlisted since 2014. The novel is a moving and meditative exploration of grief, and the possibility of solace in a time of looming climate catastrophe. Masterful and restrained, Stone Yard Devotional grapples with questions of morality, forgiveness and whether we can ever fully mourn what has been lost.
Tune in to hear Charlotte Wood discuss the inspiration for her most personal work yet with writer, scholar and critic, Nicholas Jose.
Murli la – Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group
In the remote Tiwi Islands, a 20-strong group of female Elders have been coming together to sing for decades, composing and performing songs that hold cultural, genealogical, geographical and spiritual knowledge passed down through thousands of years.
A joint project by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) and Hardie Grant, Murli-la is a beautifully designed book that shares these many lifetimes of sung knowledge.
In this unforgettable book talk, members of the Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group – Elaine Tiparui, Jacinta Tipungwuit and Mary Elizabeth Moreen – are joined by their musical collaborator and co-author, Genevieve Campbell, and ILF’s Tictac Moore to discuss Tiwi culture and the process of creating this richly layered book.
The Juggle Is Real
Sleepless nights, teething problems, school runs, nappies. Juggling the demands and responsibilities of caring for children with creative pursuits is no mean feat! So how, amidst the pressures of parenthood, does one maintain an artistic practice? How to carve out space for solitude creativity, while being available for you kids? Join five inspiring artists for a candid discussion about the joys and challenges of parenting while pursuing a career in the arts.
This panel was curated by Melanie Mununggurr, is facilitated by Jess Ong, and features Ciella Williams, Emcille, Hope One, Juran Adams, and Melanie Mununggurr.
Living With The Past
In a world where there are fewer shared rituals of mourning and we are frequently exposed to images of destruction online, how do we begin to properly grieve? How does personal loss become intertwined with public or communal loss? And how does the past continue to make itself felt in the present?
This panel features Charlotte Wood, Debra Dank, Izzy Roberts-Orr, and Jacinta Halloran, and is facilitated by Rita Horanyi.
Aftermaths – The Ethics of True Crime
How do you pick up the threads of an unsolved mystery and weave them into a compelling story? How do you navigate the trauma and emotions of those living in the aftermath of terrible crimes? What are the ethics involved in telling other peoples stories, especially when they are no longer around to speak for themselves? And to what degree do you become an advocate in cases of injustice?
Join Walkley award-winning journalists, Caroline Graham, Dan Box, and Kylie Stevenson, for a deep dive into what it takes to write ethically considered true crime.
This panel is facilitated by Jennifer Pinkerton.
After The Storm
Cyclone Tracey was a cataclysmic event that destroyed 80 percent of Darwin and killed 66 people. The disaster changed the city irrevocably and, nearly 50 years on, its reverberations continue to be felt.
In Tracy – 50 Years, 50 Stories, historians Derek Pugh OAM and Richard Creswick meticulously gather together 50 stories from those who were in Darwin when the cyclone hit. Featuring previously unheard testimonies, this compelling new oral history offers insights into the experiences of ordinary people under harrowing circumstances.
Derek and Richard are joined Curator of Territory History at MAGNT, Jared Archibald, for a wide-ranging discussion about remembering Cyclone Tracy and its lingering impacts. This panel is facilitated by Kylie Stevenson.
Queering The Narrative
How are contemporary queer writers finding new ways to voice their experiences? How do they build on the rich history of queer writing before them, and how do they subvert different styles and genres? What still needs to be done to ensure better representation of the diversity of LGBTQIA+ experience in literature and publishing?
Join three writers from the LGBTQIA+ community working across a range of forms for a broad-ranging discussion about how queer narratives are changing, and how they work to shift dominant cultural perspectives.
This panel features Benjamin Law, Clare Bizley, and Sam Elkin, and is facilitated by Cj Fraser-Bell.
The Future of Storytelling
With the rise of AI, the popularity of audiobooks and podcasts, and the overwhelming amount of online content being produced, what constitutes ‘literature’ is changing. How are new technologies reshaping storytelling? What new forms are emerging?
Join four panellists working in a broad range of genres and forms as they discuss what they think the future has in store for storytelling, canvassing everything from AI to animation.
This panel features Barry Jonsberg, Caroline Graham, Kate Mildenhall, and Timothy Parish, and is facilitated by Laura Lewis.
The Shadows Of History
Join Burruberongal novelist of the Darug Aboriginal Nation, Julie Janson, and historian of the colonial frontier, Robyn Smith, for a discussion about uncovering forgotten events, and the long shadows cast by history.
Julie Janson’s latest novel, Compassion, is the dramatised life story of one of her ancestors, who was put on trial for stealing livestock. It is a rollicking and violent tale of anti-colonial revenge that depicts the dangerous lives Aboriginal women were forced to lead in 1800s Australia.
Robyn Smith’s recently published history, License to Kill: Massacre Men of Australia’s North, is a long overdue reckoning with the widespread violence of the NT frontier. It chronicles events that were wilfully forgotten, and reveals how they were part of a broader pattern of violence and dispossession that was repeated across the continent.
Together, these authors discuss how the past has been memorialised and (mis)remembered, and the urgent need for truthtelling if our country is to move forward from its troubled history. This panel is facilitated by Meredith Lake.
Content warning: this conversation refers to historical events that some may find distressing, especially those who identify as First Nations.
Taking a Joke
Taking a joke and running with it can be harder work than you think. So how do writers go about being amusing? Is it something you’re born with or can it be learnt? How do you keep a room in stitches, and how do you introduce levity into heavier subjects?
Join four funny storytellers as they spill the beans on what it takes to make people laugh, and why they use humour to share their message with audiences.
This panel features Amy Hetherington, Barry Jonsberg, and Sean Guy, and is facilitated by Marieke Hardy.