Crowds flock to festival to meet star storytellers | Photos

The 17th annual Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival (MRRWF25) returned last weekend with a bumper program of talks, writers’ workshops, and standout events that brought the region to life.

Embracing the theme ‘The Universe is Made of Stories’, the festival reminded us that stories aren’t just entertainment-they help us make sense of the world.

Amid the backdrop of a Federal Election, MRRWF25 offered a refreshing and inspiring counterpoint, drawing audiences together for a powerful celebration of ideas, imagination, and community. Over one extraordinary weekend, the festival presented 57 events across the region, including six sold-out sessions in Margaret River, a fully booked dinner and breakfast in Busselton, and appearances by a lineup of local and international literary talent.

Highlights included bestselling author Marian Keyes; 2024 Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey; philosopher Professor A.C. Grayling; journalist and memoirist Peter Godwin; and Australian authors Charlotte Wood and Hannah Kent, who launched her deeply personal new memoir Always Home, Always Homesick.

Stan Grant moved audiences with a powerful discussion of his new book Murriyang: Song of the Earth, leaving many visibly emotional. Professor A.C. Grayling opened the main stage on Sunday with an insightful talk on his latest work, Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars, tackling the complexities of cancel culture and wokeism.

Dr Anita Heiss and Tasma Walton shared the stage to discuss their new historical fiction novels – Dirrayawadha and I Am Narnertgarrook – exploring themes of identity, truth-telling, and cultural resilience. Markus Zusak marked the 20th anniversary of The Book Thief while launching his first non-fiction book, a memoir Three Wild Dogs.

Jane Caro also returned to launch her gripping new crime thriller Lyrebird, enthusiastically declaring MRRWF “my favourite literary festival.”

Australia’s #1 TikTok medium, Cael O’Donnell, also drew a captivated crowd with Three Minutes with Spirit – an evening of insight, connection, and soulful conversation that offered a unique and moving perspective on spiritual storytelling.

The weekend also featured a program of 15 writers’ workshops – eight of which sold out.

Despite going head-to-head with the election, the Festival of Triathlon, and a weekend of wild weather, MRRWF25 drew record-breaking crowds, reaffirming the enduring power of live literary events to connect, inspire, and provoke.