The Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) is an annual literary festival held in Sydney in May, with the inaugural festival taking place in 1997. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

History

The festival began in January 1997, with most events initially held at the State Library of New South Wales. The first independent Sydney Writers' Festival ran from 12 to 17 May 1998, with 169 participants appearing in venues in, and around, the centre of Sydney. Since then, the Festival has rapidly expanded. Events have also been held at venues stretching across Sydney, including Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall, and Sydney Opera House. Events are also regularly held in regional and suburban locations including Parramatta, Ashfield, Auburn, Blacktown, Bankstown, Campbelltown, Hornsby, Penrith, Blue Mountains and Wollongong. The Festival moved from Walsh Bay to Carriageworks in May 2018 (as Walsh Bay was undergoing a major refurbishment). The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Now held mid-to-late May each year, the Festival involves over 400 participants and presents over 300 events. Approximately one-third of all Sydney Writers' Festival events are free of charge. Festival attendances have reached over 90,000 each year since 2007. Sydney Writers' Festival Limited is a not-for-profit company with an independent board of directors.

Chairs of SWF

Past and present chairs of the festival include:

Artistic directors

Artistic directors for festival years include:

Executive directors

Past international guests

Past guests have included:

Past local guests

Closing address

Organisational structure

The festival is led by CEO Brooke Webb and programmed by the Artistic Director, Michael Williams.