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Fiction, at its best, sparks a change inside you, leaving you with new insights, empathy or knowledge. In this session, discover two award-winning authors who are extraordinary at creating fiction that is much more than just a story. In her latest novel, Every Wild Soul, Katherine Johnson brings together memorable characters against a backdrop of exquisite and sensitive nature writing, and leaves us wondering about everything from kelp forests to the ethics of re-introducing extinct species; in Circle of Wonders, Kathryn Heyman gives us a flawed and irritating protagonist who we fall in love with, despite ourselves, and who causes us to reflect on what really matters in life, and why.
Join our host, Varuna's Executive Director Veechi Stuart, in this conversation with two of Australia's finest fiction writers.
KEY INFO
Date: Sunday 1 November 2026
Time: 2:00-3:00pm
Venue: The Ballroom, The Carrington Hotel
Tickets & More Info: https://www.bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au/events/wild-souls-and-wonder
Dr Kathryn Heyman is the author of seven novels as well as a memoir, a poetry collection and several dramas for stage and BBC radio. Kathryn Heyman won the Copyright Agency's Author Fellowship for her memoir Fury, which is now in development as a feature film. Her latest novel is Circle of Wonders.
Katherine Johnson is an award-winning Tasmanian novelist and feature writer. Her most recent novel, Every Wild Soul, is the inaugural winner of The Australian Fiction Prize. Previous novels include Paris Savages, Matryoshka, The Better Son and Pescador's Wake.
Veechi Stuart is the Executive Director of Varuna the National Writers' House and has had a career that has taken her on many adventures, including working as a journalist, writer, editor, publisher and business consultant. She is the author of over a dozen non-fiction titles, including bushwalking guides for both the Blue Mountains and Sydney.
This event is part of the 2026 Blue Mountains Writers Festival, head to bluemountainswritersfestival.com.au for more information.
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Event venue
The Carrington Hotel, 15 Katoomba St, Katoomba NSW 2780, Australia, Katoomba
Tickets
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