Blak & Bright Writers Festival 2026 | Australian Arts Review

Australia’s largest and only gathering of First Nations writers and storytellers, Blak & Bright Writers Festival, returns for its fifth instalment. The festival, held in Naarm over four days from 3 – 6 September 2026, will create a space for all Australians to engage with the richness, complexity and power of First Nations storytelling.

“This year’s program features the voices of some of the country’s most influential First Nations commentators. From up-and-comers you may never have heard of to the biggest names in the Australian literary scene, we can’t wait to share in the ideas, conversations and workshops which will shape culture, identity, storytelling and social issues moving forward,” said Bebe Oliver, Artistic Director and CEO at Blak & Bright.

“Storytelling has never been exclusive, so we’ve worked hard to ensure that our festival is as accessible as possible. We can’t wait for Melbournians, visitors and those living regionally to experience the diversity and creative expression our festival helps to cultivate.”

Blak & Bright Writers Festival will formally launch with Gathering – a night of story and collective presence at the Capitol Theatre. The evening welcomes audiences into the festival through celebration, reflection and a featured performance by Luke Currie-Richardson.

Blak & Bright Writers Festival closes at Camp Sovereignty beneath the open sky with an unforgettable evening of poetry, music and live storytelling. Gathering some of the most powerful First Nations voices today, the event looks toward the future through stories carried in love, survival and collective memory.

Blak & Bright Writers Festival program highlights include:

Evelyn Araluen, Melissa Lucashenko, Chelsea Watego, Tony Armstrong and Rudi Bremer will come together at The Wheeler Centre to discuss who gets to speak freely, and who is punished for telling the truth, in The Right to Offend. The urgent conversation examines censorship, resistance and the politics of public voice, asking why First Nations truth-telling continues to provoke discomfort across institutions and media.
A celebration of Blak women’s voices across literature and storytelling in a free panel discussion between Jasmin McGaughey, Samantha Faulkner, Chelsea Watego, Julie Janson and Kirli Saunders. It will explore power, resistance, creativity and the transformative force of First Nations women shaping moments.
Tasma Walton, Jared Thomas, Melissa Lucashenko, Bruce Pascoe and Rob Waters will come together to reflect on legacy and the enduring force of words passed between generations in a free panel discussion at The Wheeler Centre.
Queer Blak storytelling will take centre stage in a vibrant conversation between Jake Gablonski, Ellen van Neerven, Luke Patterson and Elijah Money, as they discuss identity, community and creative expression.
Acclaimed First Nations writers Brooke Blurton, Zac James, Julie Janson and Claire G. Coleman will feature on a panel exploring identity, memory and the ways story continues to shape how we live in the present.
A free workshop hosted by fiction writer Tony Birch which guides participants through exercises in voice, place and character.
Dungeons & Dragons & Damper will invite festival-goers to roll the D20, share some damper and settle in for a live Dungeons & Dragons experience shaped by Blak imagination, built around an original story by Claire G. Coleman.
Several spoken word performances showcasing writers including Ziggy Ramo, Kirli Saunders, Dakota Feirer and more.
A creative program for children and young people hosted by Iluka Sax-Williams and Maree Clarke, which explores Blaktivism, art and storytelling through collaborative workshops and hands-on making.
Researcher and editor Evelyn Araluen will join Dr Tiriki Onus for a keynote and conversation at The Wheeler Centre about what happens when the stories a nation tells about itself begin to unravel.