For a few special days every year, Sydney comes alive with writers, journalists, public intellectuals and book lovers – who gather for the Emerald City’s long-standing celebration of literature, reading and ideas: the Sydney Writers' Festival. This year marks the 27th anniversary of our city’s most beloved celebration of words, and the festival’s 2024 theme is Take Me Away – a theme that reflects our universal affinity for escapism, a role that literature has always played in society. Comprising 223 free and ticketed events, this year’s program is a pretty impressive one. The urban corner of Sydney that’s home to the spectacular space that is Carriageworks will act as the hub for this year’s festival, but events will be popping up across the city: including at Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall and The State Library of NSW, as well as at smaller venues across Greater Sydney and the nation through the Live & Local streaming program. Keen to get involved? Read on.For the 2024 program, almost 300 writers from all over Australia and the world will come together to share stories and interrogate ideas, all around the central theme of Take Me Away. A celebration of Australian thought-leaders, 263 of the speakers on this year’s program are Australian, with 35 international speakers joining them on stages across the city. Highlights from this year’s program will include a live podcast recording with London-based author and podcaster Katy Hessell, a behind-the-scenes look into the m
This weekend is set to be a sparkly one: with Vivid Sydney launching on Friday, lighting up the city with immersive light displays, creative foodie pop-ups and an amazing events program. Plus, there’s a celebration of liquid sparkle popping up in Circular Quay, an annual festival of words taking over venues acorss Sydney, and a two-month celebration of music, food and creativity at one of the city’s sexiest sky-high bars. If you’re keen to get out into nature this weekend, try one of these epic bushwalks in the Blue Mountains – a stunning way to spend a day, regardless of the weather. Want to head further afield? These are our favourite winter getaways in NSW. Scroll on for our full list of everything you can get up to in Sydney this weekend.