Whitsundays Writers Festival Lands another Literary Giant: Christos Tsiolkas

Monday 4 March 2024

The Whitsundays Writers Festival is beginning to become a significant player in the national literature calendar with the announcement that Christos Tsiolkas will join the significant line-up of award-winning authors already announced.

What is turning into a celebration of the best Australian writers, the Festival – planned for 6 – 8 September 2024 in Airlie Beach, Queensland – promises to be a premium event for readers, writers, and thinkers.

“We planned for the best and we are attracting Australia’s leading authors,” said Festival President Karen Jacobsen. “We are very excited to announce Christos’ attendance and we know he will bring many excellent insights for Festival attendees.”

Christos Tsiolkas is a Melbourne-based author of nine novels, playwright, essayist, and screen writer.

His novels include The Slap – which won Overall Best Book in the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2009, Australian Literary Society Gold, and 2009 Australian Booksellers Association and Australian Book Industry Awards Books of the Year – Loaded; The Jesus Man; Dead Europe winning the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award; Barracuda, Damascus winning the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction, and 7½ won the Melbourne Prize for Literature.

The Slap and Barracuda were both adapted into celebrated television series.

Christos’ most recent novel is The In-Between, released in 2023.

“My only advice for those who might experience Festival FOMO is to subscribe to receive Festival news from our website so you don’t miss out!’ Karen said.