ANNOUNCING OUR FULL FESTIVAL PROGRAM!
Let’s loosen the bindings of history!
Ready to loosen the bindings of history? Eager to celebrate historical fiction?Join us at Parramatta Town Hall for an inspiring weekend of conversations, creativity and connections. Early Bird tickets are now on sale for the History Unbound Historical Novel Festival to be held on 1-2 November 2025.
Take a look at our full program
Enjoy hearing from over 50 speakers across the weekend in a two stream program featuring interviews as well as panels on the writing craft. Our plenary sessions include conversations with our wonderful Guests of Honour Anita Heiss, Natasha Lester, Fiona McIntosh and Pip Williams. There are also interviews with Emily Maguire, Toni Jordan, Matthew Reilly and Malcolm Knox.
Panellists include Tasma Walton, Leonie Norrington, Nilima Rao, Suzanne Leal, Angelo Loukakis, Sophie Masson, Rebecca Lim, Lauren Keenan and many, many more. Visit our website to the full program and list of speakers.
Celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen
Don’t miss our ‘What would Jane think? The Bridgerton Effect’ panel where Pamela Hart will quiz Kelly Gardiner, Sharmini Kumar and Alison Goodman on the impact of Bridgerton and their own take on Regency mysteries as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.
Join our History Unbound Book Club
Meet Nicole Alexander and Kate Forsyth in a live book club to discuss their new books: The Limestone Road and Psykhe. In-person and online attendees will both be able to ask questions of the authors via our festival app.
What else you can expect at History Unbound?
Our signature First Pages Pitch Contest, book signings, Historic Heads Parlour Game, doorprizes, a festival dinner featuring the launch of Alexandria Burnham’s Swallow, as well as connecting with fellow writers and readers, —all in one unforgettable event that is History Unbound Festival 2025!
Wait - there’s more! Stay tuned for our Workshop Program
Thanks to our new partnership with WestWords, we will be holding a workshop program on 31 October at WestWords offices a short distance from Parramatta Town Hall. Tutors include Sophie Masson (What catches a publisher’s eye), Pamela Hart (Dialogue), Renee Otmar (Sensitivity Reading & Editing), Bonnie Wyldie (Trove & Library Research tools), Nicole Alexander (Using Family History for Inspiration) and Pamela Rushby (How to Write a Synopsis). Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale. A festival ticket isn’t required to book a workshop.
There will be pitch sessions, too!
Did you want to pitch your idea for the next best seller to an agent or publisher? Pitch sessions will be available throughout the weekend. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear when bookings are open.
On demand access for 3 months post festival
Worried about which session to choose? You won’t miss a moment! The program will be livestreamed to a virtual audience and recorded. Both online and in-person tickets are available and include on-demand access to recordings for three months post the event.
Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about the workshop program and pitch session bookings!