Literature and writing | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Literature and writing

Showing 1 - 12 of 107 results
Shelves of books in the National Library's repository are pictured alongside speaker Susannah Fullerton
10 novels that changed the world

Which novels have had a universal impact on our world? Author and leading literary authority Susannah Fullerton delivers this engaging lecture presented by the Friends of the Library.

Event
Shelves of books on display in a Library
12 years in: Writing for the Future Library (2014-2114)

Learn about the Future Library (2014-2114) project—a hundred-year literary artwork and one of the most internationally acclaimed long-term cultural projects of our time. Curator and producer Anne Beate Hovind appears in conversation with Kathryn Favelle.

Event
A man with glasses wearing a black button-down shirt in the National Library of Australia's Special Collections Reading Room

Dr Matthew Lamb

The 'archival imagination' of Frank Moorhouse

Dr Matthew Lamb presents his recent Fellowship research on Frank Moorhouse’s ‘archival imagination’, exploring how his methods shaped his work and identity. 

Event
A man wearing glasses, blue shirt and jacket, standing in front of a wrought iron fence
The audiobook's evolution from the analog era to AI

Does listening count as reading? Should narrators perform? Can audiobooks do more than imitate printed ones? This event explored the evolution of the audiobook from analog to AI.

Event
Portrait of woman with dark short hair, next to the image of a book cover, which is yellow with a pink border, 'Rosalie Ham' written up the top, the title 'Look After Your Feet' at the centre, 'Some keen observations on the unexpected advantages and indignities of getting older' underneath the title

Rosalie Ham

Author talk: Look After Your Feet by Rosalie Ham

Canberra Writers Festival presents author Rosalie Ham for a special event focused on her new novel, Look After Your Feet.

Event
Susan Choi and David Szalay pictured alongside their book covers

Susan Choi and her book Flashlight and David Szalay and his book Flesh.

Author Talk: Night of the Bookers with David Szalay and Susan Choi

Canberra Writers Festival presents authors David Szalay, Susan Choi and Nigel Featherstone for a special night of conversation about their works and their writing lives.

Event
A woman sitting on a stool with piles of books and a bookcase behind her

Lisa Wilkinson

Author talk: The Titanic Story of Evelyn by Lisa Wilkinson AM

Canberra Writers Festival presents renowned author and journalist Lisa Wilkinson AM in conversation about her book, The Titanic Story of Evelyn.

Event
Red text reading 'Wangka Wakanutja' on a yellow background
Wangka Wakaṉutja: The Story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre

Explore the decades-long, remarkable efforts of the Papunya community to record language and culture and keep it alive. 

Exhibition
Cover of 'Wangka Wakanutja: The story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre' by Vivien Johnson, Charlotte Phillipus and Samantha Disbray
Wangka Wakaṉutja: The Story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre

Vivien Johnson, Charlotte Phillipus and Samantha Disbray

Book
A headshot of a woman wearing a red shirt and black blazer, looking into the distance while leaning on the edge of a city view

Natasha Brown

Author talk: Universality by Natasha Brown

Canberra Writers Festival and author Natasha Brown presented a special In Conversation event focused on her bold, new novel Universality.

Event
Part of the cover of children's book 'The Legend of Jessie Hickman' featuring a woman sitting on a horse, which is standing on its back legs, holding her hat up
On writing 'The Legend of Jessie Hickman'

Author Mark Greenwood shares his process of writing NLA Publishing children’s title The Legend of Jessie Hickman.

NLA Publishing book
Prof. John Morrissey, 2025 National Library of Australia Stokes Fellow leaning on a table in one of the reading rooms.

Prof. John Morrissey, 2025 National Library of Australia Stokes Fellow

Human life in a wider ecosystem: Judith Wright and environmental action

Learn about 2025 National Library of Australia Fellow John Morrissey's research into poet and environmentalist Judith Wright. 

Blog

Need help?

Our librarians are here to guide you.

Ask a librarian