This September, Naarm belongs to its storytellers. Blak & Bright Writers Festival, the country’s largest and only gathering dedicated to First Nations writers and storytellers, returns for its fifth instalment from 3–6 September 2026, bringing together some of the sharpest and most soulful voices in Australian letters for four days of conversation, performance and craft.
What began in 2016 as a single flagship event has grown into a year-round cultural force – and this year’s program is its most expansive yet, spanning keynotes, panels, workshops, spoken word and performance across venues throughout the city.
At its heart, the festival is an invitation: for all Australians to engage with the richness, complexity and sovereignty of First Nations storytelling, told on its own terms.
“This year’s program features the voices of some of the country’s most influential First Nations commentators,” says Bebe Oliver, Artistic Director and CEO of Blak & Bright. “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.”
It’s a program built on generosity in a practical sense too – the majority of events are free, with ticketed sessions capped at just $25, ensuring that access to this scale of talent and thought is never the barrier.
The Names to Know
Evelyn Araluen, Melissa Lucashenko, Chelsea Watego, Bruce Pascoe, Tony Birch, Anita Heiss, Ellen van Neerven, Ziggy Ramo, Claire G. Coleman and Jared Thomas are just a handful of the acclaimed writers, poets and thinkers taking the stage this year — alongside a rising generation, including moirra., Lay Maloney, Jade Sendek and Dakota Feirer, whose work is already shaping where First Nations literature goes next.
The Right to Offend – a headline conversation at The Wheeler Centre featuring Evelyn Araluen, Melissa Lucashenko, Chelsea Watego, Tony Armstrong and Rudi Bremer – turns a clear eye on censorship and the politics of public voice, asking why truth-telling continues to unsettle institutions built to resist it.
Meanwhile, Her Story Now gathers Jasmin McGaughey, Samantha Faulkner, Chelsea Watego, Julie Janson and Kirli Saunders for a celebration of Blak women’s voices – an exploration of power, resistance and the creative force reshaping the literary landscape from within.
Similarly, legacy runs through the program too. In What is Left Will Stay, festival heavyweights Tasma Walton, Jared Thomas, Melissa Lucashenko, Bruce Pascoe and Rob Waters reflect on the words passed between generations, echoed later in Life in Full, where Melissa Lucashenko, Nardi Simpson, Jeanine Leane, Bruce Pascoe and Melanie Saward consider the paths forged for those who follow.
Finally, queerness and identity get joyful, open airtime too. Jake Gablonski, Ellen van Neerven, Luke Patterson and Elijah Money bring Queer Blak storytelling to centre stage, a conversation that continues into the evening at Bard’s Apothecary with Not Straight but Sovereign, an intimate night of spoken word celebrating queer Blak voices.
Beyond the Panel: Play, Poetry and People
Blak & Bright has never confined itself to the panel format, and this year’s program leans further into experience. Dungeons & Dragons & Damper invites festival-goers to roll the dice on a live tabletop adventure shaped by Blak imagination, built around an original story by Claire G. Coleman. For younger audiences, Iluka Sax-Williams and Maree Clarke host Future Maker, a hands-on creative program exploring Blaktivism and storytelling for children and young people.
The festival’s poets take the stage across multiple sessions – Ziggy Ramo, Kirli Saunders, Dakota Feirer, Luke Patterson and Laurie May among the voices bringing Spokenground and Mouth Country to life with spoken word that moves between grief, joy and defiance.
The festival opens with Gathering, a free evening of story and collective presence at the Capitol Theatre featuring a performance by Luke Currie-Richardson, and closes beneath the open sky at Camp Sovereignty with a night of poetry, music and live storytelling.
The Details
2026 Blak & Bright Writers Festival
Dates: 3–6 September 2026
Location: Various venues across Naarm, including The Wheeler Centre, State Library Victoria, narrm ngarrgu Library and Camp Sovereignty
Tickets: Free and ticketed events (up to $25), on sale now at blakandbright.com.au
Registration: Essential for all free events
For the full program and to book tickets, visit blakandbright.com.au.
