Live & Local 2024

Live & Local 2024

After the wild success of Live & Local in 2023 ,Sydney Writers' Festival returns to Mudgee to bring the best of the Festival direct to you.

One of Australia’s most loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will live-stream its headline events from Sydney to Kildallon Education Centre (70 Court Street, Mudgee) on Thursday 23, Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May.

Prepare to be invigorated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions featuring some of the world’s finest writers and thinkers.

Audiences can also participate in live Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions straight to the Sydney stage.

Join us for Live & Local 2024, streamed live by Sydney Writers’ Festival and delivered locally to Mudgee, with the assistance of volunteers from Mudgee Readers' Festival and U3A Mudgee.

What is the cost?

A gold coin upon entry. Tea, coffee & soft drinks will be available.

Where is the event held?

Kildallon Education Centre, U3A room (70 Court Street, Mudgee).

***Click HERE for the full session info or see below for the one-pager***

Readers + Writers @ Clay Gulgong

19th - 20th April 2024 • Prince of Wales Opera House, Gulgong NSW

READERS + WRITERS @ CLAY GULGONG interviews are FREE OF CHARGE.

For more information visit: www.mansfieldceramics.com

Co-ordinated by Catherine du Peloux Menagé

To download a PDF of the program, click here.

All Your Very Important 2023 Readers' Fest FAQs!

It’s festival time, baby, and we’re ready and raring to go! Now, before we kick off all the exciting events, we’re covering all the important bases to make sure your wonderful weekend goes swimmingly.

So if you’ve got questions, we've got answers. Scroll on down for all your must-know details for a fabulous, fuss-free festival.

Can I still buy tickets?

Absolutely - but be quick. You can purchase tickets online here or visit The Book Nest stall / or the Church St store over the weekend. If the event involves food - there are a limited number of tickets left to make sure everyone's meals are accounted for, so don't miss out!

Can I buy tickets at the door?

No, unfortunately not at the venue. For last minute sales, book online to get your ticket confirmation or drop into the Book Nest / stall to see if tickets are still available for purchase. For free events, you can just show up without a ticket, however it's better if you register your name online just to make sure your spot is reserved.

Who can help me at events?

Someone from Team MRF will be at every event to check you in at the door and answer any questions/solve global crises (within reason!) They'll be sporting snazzy green lanyards so look out for them if you need anything - including info on how to volunteer next year!

I don't know where my event venue is?

To find out which venue your event is being held at, check the MRF program online here or at the Mudgee library.

I have a dietary requirement for an event but forgot to mention it...

If you're attending an event that involves a meal but didn't mention a dietary requirement, please email info@mudgeereaders.com ASAP. We will do our best to accommodate and let our fabulous venues know for you.

Will I get to meet the authors/get my book signed?

But of course! All authors speaking at Town Hall, Kildallon or the library will be signing books at the Mudgee Library after their events.

How do I tag MRF on social media?

We're so glad you asked! To tag us on Instagram or Facebook, use the tag @MudgeeReaders and #mudrf23. Your pics might just reshared on our pages ;)

Do the events cater for people with accessibility difficulties?

Mudgee Readers' Festival strives to make every event as accessible as possible. Festival venues are wheelchair accessible, except for MIH Wellness Studio. The main Festival venue, the Town Hall Theatre, is fitted with a hearing loop system. 

Companion Card holders qualify for a complimentary ticket for their companion. Please contact the Mudgee Readers' Festival directly via info@mudgeereaders.com for assistance with your booking.

Please contact the Festival with any accessibility requirements: info@mudgeereaders.com or 0422 227 539.

What’s the deal with ticket exchanges and refunds?

Mudgee Readers' Festival can provide full refunds up to 72 hours before an event, however, unfortunately this window has now closed. Exchanges are still permitted to another session during the festival by request. Please email info@mudgeereaders.com to request an exchange.

Mudgee Readers' Festival will email a record of your ticket purchases but in the interest of minimising the Festival's impact on the environment you will not receive physical tickets. Your name will appear on the door list at each event if you have purchased a ticket, so it is not necessary for you to print the confirmation. 

Being late affects the participants and the rest of the audience. Mudgee Readers' Festival reserves the right  to admit latecomers only during a suitable break in the proceedings. Check the session times and plan ahead. Mudgee Readers' Festival regrets it is not possible to refund a missed event.

For more information on the program or specific events, check out the festival program.

Sydney Writers' Festival - Live & Local in Mudgee 2023

After the wild success of Live & Local in 2022, Sydney Writers’ Festival returns to Mudgee in 2023 to bring the best of the Festival direct to you.

One of Australia’s most loved forums for literature, ideas and storytelling, Sydney Writers’ Festival will live-stream its headline events from Sydney to Kildallon Education Centre (70 Court Street, Mudgee) on Thursday 25, Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 May.

Prepare to be invigorated and engaged by conversations, debates and discussions featuring some of the world’s finest writers and thinkers.

Audiences can also participate in live Q&A sessions at each event, sending questions straight to the Sydney stage. Join us for Live & Local 2023, streamed live by Sydney Writers’ Festival and delivered locally to Mudgee, with the assistance of volunteers from Mudgee Readers' Festival and U3A Mudgee.

What is the cost?

A gold coin upon entry. Tea & coffee will be available.

Where is the event held?

Kildallon Education Centre, U3A room (70 Court Street, Mudgee).

***Click here for the full session info or see below for the one-pager***

Mudgee Readers' mini Festival

We are delighted to announce a Mudgee Readers’ mini Festival, with a series of events held on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 August. In celebration of regional writing, we are presenting a program of sessions featuring writers writing in or about regional NSW, with a particular focus on the Central West.

Friday 26 August, 6pm
Book Launch: A Daisy in a Jar
The Book Nest Mudgee, free to attend
Join Jorie Ryan for a celebration of her latest poetry collection. Described as ‘a hopeful book,’ A Daisy in a Jaris Jorie’s fourth volume of poetry. 

---

Saturday 27 August, 10-11am
Homegrown Stories
Town Hall Theatre, included in ticket price
Writers from the Mudgee region share their work, talk about their creative practice and their writing, with host Kim Kelly. 

12-1pm
Kate Kelly Meets The Rat Catcher
Town Hall Theatre, included in ticket price
Kim Kelly’s latest novel is the historical fable The Rat Catcher – the story of an Irish rat catcher in 1900s Sydney who falls in love with a girl, a rat, and all the books in the public library. Rebecca Wilson’s historical narrative Kate Kelly is the true story of Ned Kelly’s little sister. Kim and Rebecca talk research, writing, and basing their successful creative careers in the Central West. Hosted by Sharelle Fellows.

2-3pm
Book Launch: More Than Words
Town Hall Theatre, free to attend
Mudgee Valley Writers launch their new anthology More Than Words, with readings, and a display of submitted pieces of writing alongside accompanying photographs. Includes afternoon tea.

 3-4pm
A Poetry Circle, hosted by Bob Campbell
Town Hall Theatre, free to attend
Writer and musician Bob Campbell presents an hour of poetry readings and recitals featuring five local poets. 

5-6pm
Dirt Town: A Conversation with Hayley Scrivenor
Town Hall Theatre, included in ticket price
Join Hayley Scrivenor for a chat about her debut crime novel Dirt Town. Jane Harper calls Dirt Town ‘a heart-wrenching mystery’ and Anne Cleeves ‘a stunning debut.’ Fans of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Garry Disher will love this stunning rural mystery. Hear from a new star of Australian crime writing, in conversation with Portia Lindsay.
This session is sponsored by Robert Stein Winery and includes a glass of wine on arrival. 

Sunday 28 August, 11am-12pm
Swimming Home
Mudgee Arts Precinct, included in ticket price
Judy Cotton is an internationally recognised artist who has had 37 solo shows and shown work in the United States, Australia, the U. K., Japan, South Korea and China. Her work is in many collections including Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Australia, and Bathurst Regional Gallery. Her memoir Swimming Home is a vivid chronicle of her time in the Central West, South Korea, Japan and New York. It is also a striking look at twentieth century life in regional NSW.

Unfortunately due to illness Judy Cotton is no longer able to attend, but please join Rebecca Wilson and guests for a chat about Swimming Home, and art and life in the Central West.

Admission for the full program is $20 and your ticket entitles you to attend as many or as few of the Saturday events as you like.
Jorie Ryan’s Book Launch on Friday 26 August is free to attend, courtesy of The Book Nest Mudgee, and the Mudgee Valley Writers sessions are also free to attend.

2021 MRF Event Announcement

To our wonderful Mudgee Readers’ Festival community,

It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of the 2021 Mudgee Readers’ Festival. Surrounded by uncertainty and changing circumstances, the risks of running the Festival in any form far outweigh the rewards. The safety and wellbeing of our town, guests, and authors are our top priority, so while we are disappointed, we know this is the right decision to ensure this community of ours remains safe and well.

For those who have purchased tickets to one of our events, we will begin issuing refunds in the coming days. If you would like to donate any portion of your ticket cost to support our continuation in 2022, please let us know by emailing info@mudgeereaders.com.au — this is a difficult time for the arts and we would greatly appreciate any contribution. And if not, rest assured that ticket purchases will be refunded within the next fourteen days.

We encourage you to still read and enjoy the many wonderful books that were to be discussed at this year’s event as the cancellation is also a blow to the authors and local businesses who support our festival. 

In the meantime, follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date with all the latest news and - eventually - event and festival details. For now, take care, stay safe, and always keep a good book handy.

The Mudgee Readers’ Festival Committee

Meet Tim Dean: Philosopher, author + MRF 2021 guest

While we keep tabs on all the latest lockdown details, we're putting the spotlight on our amazing line-up of guests for the 2021 Readers' Festival. And today, we're introducing Tim Dean.

Appearing in two events, 'Ask the Science Nerds' and 'How We Became Human', Tim is one of Australia’s brightest philosophers and author of 'How We Became Human and Why We Need to Change'.

Meet Tim Dean…

What does the daily life of a philosopher look like?

To the untrained eye, it looks like a lot of reading, staring into space and head scratching, occasionally walking around the local park and stopping from time to time to jot a few thoughts in a notebook. But to the astute observer, it's a hive of activity.

What do you hope your book will contribute to social narratives?

I want to remind us that we are essentially social animals, and we carry the genetic and cultural baggage of our ancestors, but they packed for a very different world to the one we live in today.

So, on the one hand, I hope we can come to forgive ourselves for being animals out of our natural element, but also empower us to realise that we can change ourselves, and our world, to make it a better place for everyone.

Do you think there will be debate around some of your ideas presented in How We Became Human?

I fully expect, and welcome, debate around the ideas in my book. I hope that the perspective I offer is useful, but I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I am open to other ideas and perspectives that can help us deal with the serious social and moral problems we face today.

What do you read in your spare time? What's currently on your reading rotation?

I have a rather long to-read list of philosophy, science, history, anthropology and politics books that only seems to get longer by the day!

I've just finished Artificial Intimacy by Rob Brooks, which is a fascinating look at how technology and biology are colliding to change the way we think about sex today. I also loved Stan Grant's With the Falling of the Dusk, looking at how the world is changing more than we might think.

That, in turn, has inspired me to read Francis Fukuyama's classic, The End of History and the Last Man, not because I agree with Fukuyama's thesis that 'history' is progressive, but because I'm increasingly interested in challenging that thesis. I'm also reading Aristotle's Rhetoric, because one of my core projects (maybe my next book?) is around improving discourse and helping us to tackle seemingly intractable disagreements.

I won't even mention the dozen or so other books waiting in the wings to be read!

MRF will be hosted in a Covid-safe manner over the weekend of 21 + 22 August 2021. We will keep you posted about any event changes as they arise.

Meet Karly Lane: Esteemed author + MRF 2021 guest

The Mudgee Readers’ Festival is excited to introduce the magical author and guest for this year’s line-up - Karly Lane!

Appearing in two events, 'Take Me Home, Karly Lane' and quiz extravaganza 'Who Reads Wins!', Karly is the rural romance queen, here to talk about finding joy in country life and escaping to Scotland in her latest novel Take Me Home.

Meet Karly Lane…

What’s the premise of your latest book, Take Me Home?

Take Me Home centres around Elle a young woman who really doesn't know who she is or where she wants to go in life. When she's asked to return her Gran's ashes to Scotland, she begins a journey that unravels family secrets and her own destiny.

You often talk about drawing from memories to fuel your stories; what’s your personal connection to this book?

The idea for this book started out as a holiday to Scotland to research my own Scottish ties and like Elle, visit some of the places that I’d grown up hearing stories about.

I felt that pull of history and family heritage that Elle also discovers and wanted to write a book that included aspects of history as well as a family connection to Scotland that so many people have.

You’ve lived in the country for most of your life, and now write almost exclusively about it. What is that you find most appealing about rural landscapes and small towns?

Setting my books in rural Australia just comes naturally to me. I think it comes down to the old adage of “write what you know” but I also find when writing my books that the towns themselves become a character.

There’s also a freedom that comes with a rural setting, small country towns are so much more than CWA meetings and farmers. They’re made up of communities which are diverse and sometimes complex and always make for interesting material.

What discussions are you looking forward to having at this year's Festival?

Any excuse to talk books and writing! I’m so looking forward to my talk with Kim Kelly, a fellow author whom I’ve been a big fan of and have admired for years. I also can’t wait to connect with readers and answering any questions they may have.

MRF will be hosted in a Covid-safe manner over the weekend of 21 + 22 August 2021. We will keep you posted about any event changes as they arise.

Meet our MRF Youth Intern for 2021

Now that we’re finally back in business and the festival is getting closer, we can announce our trusty Youth Intern that will help us pull everything off!

Say hello to Jess Nipperess, our smart, savvy, and eager young intern. Jess is a Year 10 student at St Matthews in Mudgee and has a passion for big ideas, finer details, and being involved in the production of of interesting arts and literature projects.

Jess has been been launching and facilitating her own projects such as Mudgee Mystery, funded and independent films, and social and environmental justice initiatives at her school like Mini Vinnies and the Eco-Wellbeing Team.

We’re excited to bring such a voracious and thoughtful intern onto our team in 2021. Now, we’ll pass the mic to Jess and let her introduce herself…

MRF: Firstly, please tell us a little bit about yourself!

JN: Well, the thing that most people know about me is that I'm obsessed with filmmaking! I love making my own stories and film is such an immersive way of storytelling. When I was younger though, I really wanted to be an author. My biggest achievement was 'publishing' (laminating and stapling together) my own picture book which I proudly presented to Mem Fox at a Mudgee Readers Festival event. I don't mean to brag, but Mem Fox did say that we were "two authors getting our photo taken together".

Whether my dream is to be an author, filmmaker or something in between, I think I'll always be a little obsessed with storytelling.

But other than my ingrained love for stories, I also care a lot about the environment and making a change in the world. I hope that I can unite my drives for the environment and storytelling, but for now I'm just taking little steps in both directions.

MRF: You’ve been to Festival events before, but what motivated you to get more involved with the Festival this year?

JN: It feels exciting to be behind the scenes to see how it's pulled together. I think I'm going to get a lot of valuable experience from understanding how it's coordinated and the admin side of things, as well as meet some really cool people.

MRF: Which sessions are you most excited to see from the current program?

TN: The top two on my list are Tim Dean's talk on How We Became Human and the one on Climate, Country and Culture. I'm prepping my brain to absorb knowledge!

MRF: And what have you been reading lately? Any recommendations for our audience?

JN: I'm going through a bit of a classics phase at the moment. Currently, I'm working my way through Crime and Punishment (It's definitely a slog, but I'm too invested in the story to stop now).

I've also recently developed an affinity with poetry, and my absolute favourite is Howl by Allen Ginsberg. It's an apocalyptic view on Cold War America, industrialisation, capitalism, but focused on the 'rejects' of society - the crazy people, the protestors. Incredibly visceral imagery; I cried the first time I read it.