Over the next eight months, the Sydney Writers’ Festival will present more than 50 virtual sessions from the 2020 program as a series of podcasts.

“In the weeks since we had to cancel the 2020 Festival, we’ve been working hard to ensure that this year’s program has a new story,” artistic director, Michaela McGuire, said.

“We’ve already recorded a first release of six conversations that were scheduled to take place on our festival stages, and over the coming months we’ll be publishing a couple of new podcasts each week, bringing the writing, ideas and debates from the 2020 program to audiences around Australia and the world.”

From today, the first six podcasts are available for free on the Sydney Writers’ Festival website and all major podcast platforms, including Omny, iTunes and Spotify.

In one of the podcasts, Gomeroi poet, essayist and legal scholar Alison Whittaker addresses the 2020 Sydney Writers’ Festival theme, ‘Almost Midnight’.

Alison Whittaker. (Photo: Jonno Revanche)

Alison considers our fates – both personal and collective – in a world that feels like it’s ending.

She’ll look at the role of hope in our 11th hour and will question how storytelling charts our fleeting joys and disappointments, our triumphs and tragedies, all while the clock ticks on.

Meanwhile, beloved authors Ann Patchett and Kevin Wilson will share an intimate glimpse into their decades-long friendship, their admiration of each other’s work and what they hope to accomplish in the future.

For those missing nature and the outdoors, guest curator Rebecca Giggs discusses Fathoms: The world in the whale, her stunning meditation on the lives of whales and what they reveal about us, our planet and our relationship to other species.

Rebecca Giggs. (Photo: Leanne Dixon)

In conversation with Angus Dalton, Rebecca asks what it means to write about nature at a time of environmental crisis.

In another podcast, Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement presents the second volume of its acclaimed anthology Sweatshop Women, a collection of short stories, essays and poems produced entirely by women of colour.

Celebrate with readings from some of Australia’s most exciting new Indigenous and culturally diverse writers, featuring Winnie Dunn, Sydnye Allen, Maryam Azam, Janette Chen, Phoebe Grainer and Sarah Saleh.

Meanwhile, actor, activist and writer Miranda Tapsell joins ABC Radio National’s Daniel Browning to discuss her thought-provoking memoir, Top End Girl, spanning from Kakadu to Cannes.

Miranda Tapsell. (Photo: Johnny Nicolaidis)

Last but not least, winner of the 2020 Stella Prize, Jess Hill, discusses See What You Made Me Do, her searing exposé of our national emergency, which draws on years of Walkley Award–winning investigative reporting on domestic abuse in Australia, in conversation with journalist Georgie Dent.

In light of the financial challenges the non-profit event has faced amid the pandemic, recently announced Copyright Agency funding will help pay Australian authors who are programmed in this podcast series.

“The Copyright Agency funding has extended a lifeline that allows us to celebrate and promote Australian writers’ incredible work, encourage sales of their books and connect them with the festival’s audiences,” McGuire said.

Attracting crowds of more than 80,000 people a year, the Sydney Writers’ Festival is all about the sharing of ideas and conversations.

As these writers contribute their stories, perspectives and thoughts over the coming months, the festival’s podcast series aims to lift spirits, provide comfort and offer a sense of community during this unprecedented health crisis.

Further Sydney Writers’ Festival podcasts will be announced weekly.

For more information on the series or to support the festival, visit its website or follow its socials.