Last year’s Booker prizewinner Eleanor Catton will be a big presence at this year’s Writers’ Festivals.
Big issues dominated writers’ festivals last year. The Federal election and Labor’s woes loomed large over major programs, second only to perhaps gender politics, in literature and life, thanks partly to Anna Krien’s Night Games, the inaugural Stella Prizewinner, and partly to the record-breaking number of female authors short-listed for the Miles Franklin award.