PODCAST: Ann Mossop on the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival

Cheryl talks to Ann Mossop, Artistic Director of the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival, for a special episode of Stories Behind the Story. Together, they explore this year’s festival theme, highlight standout events, and discuss the exciting lineup of attending authors. The 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival runs from 17–24 May, with tickets now available via the official festival website.

About the Director

Ann is an ideas curator and festival programmer. Throughout her career she has been involved with important initiatives to bring the work of writers and thinkers to broader audiences. Prior to her appointment at the Writers’ Festival, she was the Director of the Centre for Ideas at UNSW Sydney, a new program she established that hosts live and digital public conversations about important issues. Recent highlights include talks with speakers like Dr Anthony Fauci, Daniel Kahneman, Grace Tame and Julia Gillard as well as writers William Dalrymple, Geraldine Brooks, Masha Gessen and Daniel Lavery. As Head of Talks and Ideas at the Sydney Opera House from 2010-2017, she established the Opera House’s extensive talks and ideas program. The Ideas at the House series featured writers, thinkers, artists, cooks and comedians including Jackie Chan, Noam Chomsky, Roxane Gay, Elizabeth Gilbert, Stephen Hawking, Alicia Garza, Jamie Oliver, Yoko Ono, Grayson Perry, Jennifer Saunders, Alice Waters and many more. She led key projects like the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which brought substantial audiences to hear speakers like Slavoj Zizek, Salman Rushdie, Vandana Shiva and Naomi Klein on Opera House stages. She was also the founder of the All about Women festival, which has taken place annually at Sydney Opera House since 2013. She is a past member of Sydney Writers’ Festival’s Board and was involved with the establishment of the Sydney Writers’ Festival as an independent entity in 1998.