The 2026 Blak and Bright Writers’ Festival, Australia’s largest gathering of First Nations writers and storytellers, will run from September 3 to 6 in Naarm (Melbourne). The event marks its fifth year with a program centered on the theme ‘Every:When’, which redefines time through Indigenous perspectives, treating past, present, and future as interconnected.
The four-day festival includes ticketed and free sessions such as panel discussions, workshops, poetry readings, and live performances. Venues range from central Melbourne locations like the Capitol Theatre and The Wheeler Centre to regional sites, including the Ballarat Library.
Opening night and early highlights
Activities begin on September 3 with ‘Gathering’ at the Capitol Theatre, an evening of storytelling and reflections. Poet and dancer Luke Currie-Richardson will perform, establishing the festival’s creative direction.
The following morning, writer Tony Birch will lead a free workshop at the Institute of Postcolonial Studies in North Melbourne. Attendees will engage in exercises to develop their own creative work.
That afternoon, regional writers Brooke Blurton, Zac James, Julie Janson, and Claire G Coleman will discuss memory, identity, and narrative traditions at the Ballarat Library. Later, ‘Spokenground’ at Bard’s Apothecary will feature spoken word performances by poets including Ali Cobby Eckermann and Maria Van Neerven.
Poet Evelyn Araluen will conclude the first day with a keynote conversation alongside filmmaker Tiriki Onus at The Wheeler Centre.
Saturday’s lineup: panels, poetry, and resistance
A free panel at The Wheeler Centre on Saturday will include Birch, Anita Heiss, Debra Dank, Ali Cobby Eckermann, and Jasmin McGaughey. The group will examine why only select stories have persisted in mainstream narratives.
Later, ‘Her Story Now’ will highlight Blak women’s voices in literature, featuring writers Jasmin McGaughey, Julie Janson, Samantha Faulkner, Chelsea Watego, and Kirli Saunders.
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For those drawn to visual storytelling, illustrator Brenton McKenna will host ‘Write Way Forward: Lines’, a workshop where participants can explore comics and narrative art.
The day’s most anticipated session, ‘The Right to Offend’, will address censorship and resistance. The panel will include Evelyn Araluen, Melissa Lucashenko, Chelsea Watego, and Tony Armstrong, who will discuss why First Nations truth-telling often meets institutional pushback.
The festival serves as a platform where Indigenous perspectives on history, politics, and culture take center stage. Many discussions will address the conflict between dominant narratives and suppressed stories, a tension that carries personal and political weight in communities where oral and written traditions converge.
Workshops and readings offer hands-on opportunities to engage with these ideas.
Closing weekend: legacy and live storytelling
The final day, September 6, opens with ‘Life in Full’, a conversation between writers and leaders Melissa Lucashenko, Nardi Simpson, Jeanine Leane, Bruce Pascoe, and Melanie Saward. They will reflect on legacy and the evolving role of First Nations storytelling.
The festival concludes at Camp Sovereignty with an evening of poetry, music, and live storytelling, providing a communal end to the event.
Tickets are available on the festival’s website, with some sessions requiring registration while others remain free to attend. For those seeking specialized craftsmanship, the festival’s emphasis on cultural expression may resonate with broader creative traditions.
