Newcastle Writers Festival founder Rosemarie Milsom shares her "director's picks" for 2022

Hand sanitiser was used in hospitals and dental surgeries, not liberally at supermarkets, hairdressers, or takeaway restaurants.

We have become so used to COVID-19 measures now that the confusion and incomprehensibility of the rapidly unfolding public health crisis a couple of years ago seems a distant memory.

Given the upheaval it was strangely fitting that on March 3 I appeared via Zoom at the launch of the festival's 2022 program in Newcastle City Hall. As a household contact - one of the kids had contracted COVID - I couldn't be there to speak about the line-up of 110 writers appearing in our first in-person program since 2019.

Three years without a festival. It still surprises me. One benefit of not being able to hold the festival for a couple of years is that there is a depth of writing talent to choose from. The past 12 months has been extraordinary in Australian publishing.

There are 70 events in the April program, but there could have easily been three times that. While the program doesn't have an overarching theme, I wanted the opening and closing night events to capture the tone.

The opening night gala on April 1, What the World Needs Now: Stories from the Heart, centres on love in all its forms and includes six of our most engaging writers - Trent Dalton, Clementine Ford, Hannah Kent, Nardi Simpson, Jessie Stephens, and Thomas Mayor. On the final evening on April 3, Sarah Wilson will discuss her book, This One Wild and Precious Life: A hopeful path forward in a fractured world, with Beejay Silcox.

Between these two events will be conversations about history, identity, gender politics, faith, place, disinformation, toxic masculinity, life as one of Australia's best investigative journalists, education inequity, and much more. Underpinning the topics are stories of courage, failure, grief, joy, success, friendship, resilience, and hope.

Even if you're not a reader, you will probably recognise some of the featured writers: Tom Keneally, Helen Garner, Wendy McCarthy, Peter Doherty, Jane Caro, Michael Robotham, Simon Winchester and Kate McClymont. There are a host of younger, diverse writers, too: Amani Haydar, Chelsea Watego, Laura Elizabeth Woollett, Emily Brugman, Lech Blaine, Justine Cullen, Bri Lee, Van Badham, Diana Reid, Emily Bitto, and Yves Rees. There is a strong contingent of Hunter region writers, including Ben Randall, Lee Christine, Magdalena Ball, Keri Glastonbury, Jean Kent, Jacquie Svenson, Oceane Campbell, and Wendy James.

Here are some of my picks - for those who read, those who want to be entertained, and those who want to be inspired and challenged:

April 1, 10am at Boatrowers Hotel, Fullerton Street, Stockton. The tour will conclude at 11.30am.

Writers Vanessa Berry, Bastian Fox Phelan, Keri Glastonbury, Duncan McDuie-Ra, and Kate Senior share historical and poetic insights about Stockton's community monuments. This is a collaboration with the University of Newcastle's School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Science. Tickets are $12.50.

April 2, 10.15am to 11.15am at Newcastle City Hall

Kate Holden and Simon Winchester explore the complex relationship we have with the land: from those who mapped and divided it to those who have fought and died for it. Given the war in Ukraine, this will be a compelling conversation. Kate's book The Winter Road: A Story of Legacy, Land, and Killing at Croppa Creek was one of the best Australian nonfiction titles of 2021. Tickets $22.50. (Simon Winchester will be appearing live from the US via video link.)

April 2, 1pm to 2pm at Newcastle City Hall

First Nations women are the backbone of their communities. Join this deep dive into storytelling, song, poetry, and activism. With Evelyn Araluen, Jasmine Seymour, Nardi Simpson, and Chelsea Watego. Hosted by Narelda Jacobs. Tickets $12.50/ live stream $7.50.

April 2, 2.30pm to 3.15pm at Newcastle Museum Theatrette

Meet the people who shape the image of Newcastle online and in print. With Dan Beazley, Alissa McCulloch, and Kristy Coady. Free.

April 2, 3.30pm to 4.30pm at Conservatorium of Music Harold Lobb Concert Hall

Hannah Kent discusses her recent work, which takes us on a journey back in time, across oceans and spiritual planes. Tickets $30/live stream $15.

April 2, 5pm to 6pm at Conservatorium of Music Harold Lobb Concert Hall

The 2022 lecture will be presented by Graeme Innes and the topic is Raising the Bar for Australians with Disabilities. Margaret Henry was a well-known Newcastle activist. She is remembered for her fierce pursuit of social justice. Tickets $25/concession $15.

April 3, 10am to 11am at Conservatorium of Music Harold Lobb Concert Hall

A discussion about the elusive, intangible act of believing with Monica Dux and Sarah Krasnostein. They explore the stories we tell ourselves to deal with the distance between the world as it is, and the world as we'd like it to be. Tickets $17.50. (Sarah will be appearing live via video link.)

April 3, 11.15am to 12.30pm at Newcastle City Hall

If I had a dollar for every time someone contacted me about including Julia Baird in the festival, I'd be a wealthy woman. The respected journalist's best-selling book Phospherescence provided comfort for many during lockdown. In this presentation of music, readings and conversation, Julia explores how we can find and nurture inner happiness - the 'phosphorescence' - that can sustain us even in the darkest times. With music composed by David Banney and performed by Anthea Scott-Mitchell (cello) and Erin Sweetman (piano). Tickets $35.

April 3, 11.30am to 12.30pm at Newcastle City Hall

Edgar Allen Poe warned that "the scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls". Anna Downes, Michael Robotham, and Laura Elizabeth Woollett, discuss the human monsters at the centre of their recent work. Tickets $22.50.

April 3, 1.15pm to 2.15pm at Newcastle City Hall

Van Badham and Ed Coper interrogate the rise of internet manipulation and disinformation campaigns that not only have devastating consequences for individuals but also threaten democracy. Tickets $22.50.

April 3, 3.30pm to 4.30pm at Conservatorium of Music Harold Lobb Concert Hall

The ABC's top-rating political analysis podcast returns with a season about coal and climate change. Matt Bevan dives into the archives to show Newcastle's crucial role in Australia's energy past and future. Free.

April 3, 3.30pm to 4.30pm at Piazza Mercato

Magazines, motherhood, and misadventures in having it all. Justine Cullen, who was just announced as the new editor of InStyle magazine, will chat about her entertaining and sometimes bumpy ride through life. Tickets $30.

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