Manly Writers' Festival

Truth, Voice and Who Is Believed with Debra Adelaide, (When I Am Sixty-Four)

When: Friday 20 March, 2.30-3.30pm

Where: Sky Theatre, 56 Raglan Street, Manly NSW 2095

Why are some voices readily believed while others are doubted or ignored? In this thoughtful conversation, Sue Woolfe and Debra Adelaide examine truth-telling, credibility, and the fragile mechanics of belief in literature, institutions, and private lives.

Drawing on fiction and lived experience, they discuss how voice is shaped by power, gender, memory and circumstance — and how easily truth can be challenged, deferred, or dismissed. The session explores what it means to speak honestly when audiences, systems, or cultures may resist what is being said.

A reflective and engaging discussion about voice, authority, and the risks and responsibilities of telling the truth.

Get your tickets here.

The Nightmare Sequence: Art, Witnessing and Fracture with Omar Sakr and Safdar Ahmed

When: Saturday 21 March, 11.30-12.30pm

Where: Manly Youth Centre, Kangaroo St, Manly NSW 2095

How do artists respond when the world fractures around them? Safdar Ahmed and Omar Sakr discuss The Nightmare Sequence, a collaborative work that blends art, poetry and political witnessing. This literary session explores form, trauma and the limits of language — asking what art can do in moments of rupture, and how creative work carries memory, anger and hope. Challenging and deeply literary. Content note: This session includes discussion related to the war in Gaza that some people may find challenging.

Get your tickets here.

The Diplomat: Inside Australia’s Foreign Service with Ian Kemish, (Two Islands)

When: Saturday 21 March, 2:30-3:30pm

Where: Manly Youth Centre, Kangaroo St, Manly NSW 2095

What does diplomacy really look like behind closed doors? Three former diplomats lift the veil on the pressures, responsibilities and moral complexities of representing Australia abroad. From crisis management to regional relationships and the shifting expectations placed on the foreign service, this session offers a candid insider’s view of the work, challenges and changing culture of diplomacy.

Get your tickets here.