Arts & Culture
16 June, 2026
Bryan Brown confirmed for festival
Acclaimed Australian actor and author Bryan Brown AM will be one of the big names attending the 15th annual Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival next month.
Acclaimed Australian actor and author Bryan Brown AM will be one of the big names attending the 15th annual Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival next month.
The July 23-26 festival will bring together some of the nation’s most acclaimed writers, journalists, historians and thinkers.
Brown has been confirmed for the festival's new Literary Dinner and will join 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Siang Lu for an unforgettable opening night at Berkelouw's iconic Book Barn at Bendooley Estate, Berrima.
The festival’s director Michaela Bolzan said the 2026 program celebrated both the festival's rich history and the future of literary culture in the region.
"Fifteen years ago we set out to create a writers' festival that would bring outstanding Australian voices to the Southern Highlands,” Ms Bolzan said.
“Today, the festival is one of the region's most loved cultural events and continues to attract audiences from across NSW and the ACT."
Ms Bolzan said the black-tie Literary Dinner on Thursday, July 23 would be a “wonderful” way to open the festival and would create an intimate experience that brings readers and writers together.
She said guests would enjoy fine food and local wines while hearing from Brown about his remarkable career and latest novel, The Hidden and from Siang Lu, whose novel Ghost Cities won Australia's most prestigious literary prize in 2025.
The festival's main program will then take place from Friday, July 24 to Sunday, July 26 July at Empire Cinemas in Bowral.
Friday's program will explore memoir, literature, history and social change, beginning with acclaimed author Alice Pung OAM, whose celebrated memoir ‘Unpolished Gem’ marks its 20th anniversary this year.
Audiences will also hear from award-winning novelist Yumna Kassab; historian and creator of the viral Hot History platform Ainslie Harvey; journalist and gender equity advocate Virginia Haussegger AM and writer and former Sydney Theatre Company co-Artistic Director Andrew Upton, who will join the festival live from London to discuss his debut novel Krank Fuss.
Saturday's program features internationally acclaimed novelist Gail Jones, bestselling author Bri Lee and Pub Choir founder Astrid Jorgensen OAM, before concluding with a special Saturday Night Live event exploring artificial intelligence through a world-premiere performance and conversation with leading AI expert Professor Toby Walsh, returning for the second year in a row.
Sunday's closing program welcomes former diplomat and historian Lachlan Strahan and journalist and author Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks, whose latest work examines the influential chiefs of staff working behind some of the world's most powerful leaders.
The anniversary celebrations will come just weeks after the Southern Highlands hosts its first Australian Poetry Slam heat at the Bowral Memorial Hall.
Presented by Word Travels and hosted by Hani Abdile, the July 3 event will give local poets the opportunity to compete for a place in the NSW Finals and ultimately the National Final at the Sydney Opera House.
"What excites me most about this year's program is its diversity," Ms Bolzan said.
"Across July we will celebrate storytelling in all its forms - from award-winning novels and memoirs to live spoken-word performance.
“Together, the Writers' Festival and the Australian Poetry Slam will showcase the incredible depth of literary culture emerging in the Southern Highlands."
· The Southern Highlands Writers' Festival runs from July 23–26 at Berkelouw Book Barn, Bendooley Estate, Berrima and Empire Cinemas, Bowral. For more information visit www.shwf.com.au
The Southern Highlands heat of the Australian Poetry Slam will be held on July 3 at the Bowral Memorial Hall. For more information visit https://events.humanitix.com/australian-poetry-slam-southern-highlands-heat
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