Sydney Writers Festival Unveils Massive 2015 Program

The annual Sydney Writers' Festival returns to the city from 18-24 May, and this year's iteration is expected to be one of the biggest yet, with more than 400 Australian and 45 international writers lined up to rub shoulders with more than 60,000 punters over the event's duration.

This year's theme is How To Live? — not an easy question to answer by any stretch, but among those who will be attempting to do so are novelist/essayist Mohsin Hamid and H Is For Hawk author Helen Macdonald, who will respectively present the festival's opening and closing addresses, as well as actors-turned-writers such as Alan Cumming and David Walliams; James Patterson, the world's best-selling author for more than a decade; mortician Caitlin Doughty; Douglas Coupland, the man credited with coining the term 'Generation X'; plus veteran authors such as Amy Bloom, Michael Frayn, Ben Okri, David Mitchell, Anthony Horowitz, Emily St John Mandel and Jonathan Lethem, as well as fresh faces like Zia Haider Rahman and Mitchell S Jackson.

Speaking of this year's event at last night's program launch, incumbent Artistic Director Jemma Birrell said: "In its 18th year, the 2015 Sydney Writers' Festival explores How To Live? — Where do we find a sense of purpose and how should we best live our lives? It's a subject I've seen in all levels of cultural life and running through the books people are particularly connecting with at the moment.

"In this year's program, over 400 writers will help us make sense of the world, exploring ideas of happiness, grief, spirituality, ageing and mortality."

Also in attendance will be crime writer Michael Connolly; investigative journalist Nick Davies; war correspondents Christina Lamb & Asne Seierstad; celebrity critic David Mendelsohn; 'happiness expert' Paul Dolan and 'happiness advocate' Leigh Ann Henion.

In addition, there's a strong complement of local scribes destined for the festival, including 2014 Man Booker Prize winner Richard Flanagan, Miles Franklin Award winner Evie Wyld, Kate Grenville, David Malouf, Liane Moriarty, Graeme Simsion, Helen Garner, Robert Dessaix, Joan London, Steve Toltz, Sonya Hartnett, Nick Earls, Don Watson and Brooke Davis. Ex-PMs Julia Gillard and John Howard, with former QLD premier Anna Bligh, will also join separate events during the festival.

If you thought we were done, you can keep dreaming — there will be talks from celebrity foodies Rick Stein, Adam Liaw, Paul West and Margaret Pomeranz, branching out a bit, while featured children's authors include Andrew Daddo, Anna & Barbara Fienberg, Tony Flowers, Gus Gordon, Jacqueline Harvey, Leigh Hobbs, Will Kostakis, Melina Marchetta, Garth Nix, Ted Prior, Oliver Phommavanh, A.L. Tait and Matt Stanton.

This year sees the introduction of the Live & Local digital streaming progect, bringing Festival sessions to regional centres across the state — Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Byron Bay, Port Macquarie, Taree, Tamworth and Wollongong. The interactive events will allow regional audiences to ask questions of the guest authors based in Sydney via the wonders of technology.

For literary enthusiasts with a little litter of literati of their own, Family Day also returns this year, taking place at The Big Backyard, Pier 2/3, on Sunday, 24 May. There will be book readings at the Enid Blyton Storytime Clubhouse, Lulu Bell's Magic Word Garden, Minecraft story-building workshops, face-painting, treasure hunts, chalk-art and all manner of other attractions among a full line-up of events going down on the Big Backyard Stage throughout the day. Generally disaffected teens may find some semblance of joy at the inaugural TeenCon 2015, which provides a sneak peek at the most eagerly awaited upcoming YA releases.

There's an exhausting amount of entertainment and intellectual stimulation on offer throughout the duration of the Sydney Writers' Festival — for more information on any of the individuals or events above, head to the SWF website.