Forging new frontiers in fantasy

Presented by Sydney Writers' Festival

Imagine another world with the fantasy writers who are redefining the wildly popular genre.

Australian fantasy heavyweight Garth Nix (The Old Kingdom series) takes to the stage with ascending local star Shelley Parker-Chan (The Radiant Emperor duology) and global sensation Samantha Shannon (The Roots of Chaos series) to explain how they create expansive universes for their epic stories, heroes and heroines.

Don’t miss this must-see event for YA and fantasy fans alike! Hosted by Aimée Lindorff.

Presenters

Garth Nix - Australian
Garth Nix has been a full-time writer since 2001, but has worked in many parts of the publishing industry. His books include the Old Kingdom fantasy series, Newt’s Emerald, A Confusion of Princes and the Keys to the Kingdom series. More than 5 million copies of his books have been sold around the world. Garth’s work has appeared on the bestseller lists of {he New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA Today, and has been translated into 42 languages. His most recent book is The Sinister Booksellers of Bath.

Shelley Parker-Chan - Australian
Shelley Parker-Chan is an Asian Australian former international development adviser who worked on human rights, gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights in Southeast Asia. Their Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling historical fantasy novels have been translated into 15 languages. Shelley is a previous winner of the Astounding Award for Best Debut and the British Fantasy Awards for Best Fantasy Novel and Best Newcomer. Their most recent book, He Who Drowned the World, came out in 2023.

Samantha Shannon - International
Samantha Shannon is The New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of the Bone Season series and the Roots of Chaos series. Her work has been translated into 26 languages. She lives in London.

Aimée Lindorff - Australian
Aimée Lindorff is an Australian cultural producer, podcaster, and story editor. She's developed and produced projects for the likes of Netflix, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Universal Pictures, Discovery Channel, Supanova Expo, and Gold Coast Film Festival.. She is host of the Screen Australia podcast and content producer for the agency's in-house publication Screen News.

Presented by Sydney Writers' Festival at Carriageworks