FAQs

The 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival will run from Friday 5 April to Sunday 7 April.

The program will be released 16 February and tickets are on sale from 9am the same day.

The full 2024 program will be available on 16 February on our website. We are not printing the traditional full-colour booklet, but you will be able to download a printable version. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and given the uncertainty of organising an event during a pandemic, there are likely to be program changes leading up to the festival. Updates are more easily communicated via our website.

A downloadable schedule will be available from 16 February on our website.

Yes! We offer about 30% of our program for free. Admission to the free events is provided on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Bookings are not taken for these events. You are encouraged to arrive early as free events are extremely popular and seats are limited.

Tickets are available at the door, though we encourage you to book ahead of time online. The main festival box office will be located in the foyer of the University of Newcastle’s NUspace building.

There will be family events on Sunday 7 April in the NUspace building. The details will be available online and in the downloadable schedule.

For the safety and wellbeing of all customers, you must not visit our venues if you:

• Feel unwell with or are displaying any Covid symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of smell or loss of taste
• Have tested positive for Covid in the past five days.

Please maintain a physical distance of 1.5 metres from those who are not part of your household.

Please use hand sanitiser at venues, especially in the main festival bookshop in NUspace.

Sit in your allocated seat. Just before the session begins, you may be invited to spread out if seats are available.

Volunteer registration is now open for 2023. Visit https://www.newcastlewritersfestival.org.au/volunteer-registration2024/

Most events will take place in the Civic precinct, which is located between Hunter and King Streets close to Civic Park.

The main venues are:

• The Conservatorium of Music Concert Hall, cnr Auckland and Laman streets. It is accessible by wheelchair.
• The University of Newcastle NUspace building, cnr Hunter and Auckland streets. It is accessible by wheelchair and you can view a map of the building on their website.
• Playhouse, part of the Civic Theatre complex at 375 Hunter Street. It is accessible by wheelchair.
• Smaller events will be held nearby at Watt Space Gallery (wheelchair accessible), and The Press Book House (a couple of stairs and standard door).

The festival is easily accessible from the Newcastle Interchange by light rail and bus. For information about bus, ferry, and train services, visit the Transport NSW website

We strongly encourage you to leave your car at home as on-street parking will be difficult to find.

It is a busy weekend in Newcastle and arterial roads will be congested. Please give yourself plenty of time to travel before the start of your session – more so if you intend to buy tickets at the box office.

Please note that Honeysuckle, Newcastle foreshore, and Memorial Drive will be affected by Newcastle Running Festival road closures on the morning of 7 April. See here for details.

Yes. There will be information desks in the main festival hub inside the University of Newcastle NUspace building. Lost property, information about the program, venue and other general information will also be available here.

Most events last one hour. Some special events are 90 minutes to two hours long. End times for each event will be included in the program.

The festival has its own dedicated bookseller – MacLean’s Booksellers. The main festival bookshop will be in NUspace and booksignings for events in this venue will happen here. Books for relevant sessions will also be for sale at the Conservatorium of Music, Playhouse, and Watt Space Gallery, as well as satellite events.

Yes. Most guest writers will participate in book signings immediately following their events.

This year, we will be live streaming several events. These are clearly marked in the program. Tickets are available for these sessions at a reduced price. You will be emailed a link a couple of hours prior to the start of the session and you will be able to access the live stream. Please check your spam folder if the link hasn’t arrived.

There will be film and sound recordings of some of the events for archival and publicity purposes. It is possible that audience members’ images will be included from time to time in the filming. Should you wish not to be filmed, please advise an usher. No flash photography or recording by attendees is permitted.

All main venues are accessible by wheelchair. The exception is The Press Book House. Please refer to our Accessibility information. Auslan Interpreters will be available by request for pre-arranged sessions, or you can bring your own. Please see here for more details.

All lost property from the festival will be available at the Information Desk in the NUspace foyer.  If you lose something at festival venues, please email admin@newcastlewritersfestival.org.au and include the following details:

• What did you lose?
• Where did you lose it?
• When did you lose it?
• What event were you attending?
• Anything else that might help them find your property