About Writers' Week
We regret that Adelaide Writers' Week 2026 will no longer be taking place.
Please note that tickets purchased for Adelaide Writers’ Week events are currently being refunded and you do not need to request this directly. We thank you for your patience as we work through this process.
We look forward to welcoming you back to Adelaide Writers’ Week next year:
Adelaide Writers’ Week 2027, 27 February - 4 March.
Adelaide Writers' Week
Adelaide Writers’ Week is Australia’s largest free literary festival, offering both writers and readers a unique opportunity to spend time sharing ideas and literary explorations in a garden setting in Adelaide’s city centre. Each carefully selected program brings the world's most celebrated established and emerging writers together for a week that delights, surprises and enlightens audiences. Over the years, Adelaide Writers’ Week has seen some of the world’s greatest writers and thinkers in conversation about literature, politics, poetry, current events, biography, the short story and much, much more.
Adelaide Writers’ Week includes six days of free panel sessions that are presented live in the gardens, and made available online via podcast. The program also features a series of ticketed special events throughout the year, alongside other popular free program elements such as Young Readers' Day and Breakfast with Papers.
“Quite simply, the model for what a book festival should be. Thoughtfully curated, casual, friendly, and best of all: free.”
FAQs
A first look at the program is revealed alongside the full Adelaide Festival program. The final AWW program and schedule is announced approximately a month before the event.
Thank you for your interest in appearing at Writers’ Week. Invitations are issued at the discretion of the Artistic Director. Our program is curated to include recent writing from both Australian and international authors. We work with established publishing houses who connect us with authors. We recommend that you contact your publisher to make a recommendation.
Each year Adelaide Writers’ Week receives many unsolicited submissions. There are so many wonderful books published every year that we have had to make the tough decision not to accept unsolicited proposals. We are not able to respond to submissions or return materials sent for consideration.
If you need advice on getting your book published, please visit the websites of Writers SA, The Australian Society of Authors or the Australian Publishers Association.
We are unable to pass on contact details for authors and cannot pass on messages. You can contact authors through their publishers.
Writers' Week podcasts are available on most major podcast platforms - just search for "Adelaide Writers' Week" through your preferred podcast app or website and listen back to your favourite sessions!
“I love Adelaide Writers' Week. I loved it as a reader and now I love it as a writer for all the same reasons. It is a gathering of community, a true festival of story and ideas in a beautiful shared space that is accessible to all. It is unique and treasured and my favourite time of year. ”
Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Writers’ Week acknowledge the rights of individuals to hold different and divergent views. Views held by our writers are not necessarily the views of the organisation. We respect freedom of speech and the respectful exchange of ideas. We will not tolerate any behaviour or commentary that is against the law or racist and we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding racism towards our staff, artists, audiences and the communities we serve.
