Former Senator and Greens leader, Bob Brown, and bestselling author and former Canberran, Sarah Wilson, are among the big names announced to headline Canberra's inaugural writers' festival.
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The announcements come as Canberrans get their first glimpse of the festival program themed "Power, politics and passion".
Vickii Cotter, festival director, said the selection of authors included in the event "all connect with these themes", as passionate writers, and political and journalistic heavyweights alike descend on the nation's capital.
"[They're] prize-winning, best-selling and widely-acclaimed writers from Australia and overseas, all of whom will ensure the festival lives up to its theme."
One of Australia's most distinguished, Walkley award-winning journalists, Kerry O'Brien, will appear alongside the ABC's Stan Grant and political commentator and editor Tom Dusevic.
Rosalie Ham, praised author of The Dressmaker, will attend along with multi award-winning writers Merlinda Bobis and Don Watson.
Others confirmed in the second announcement are Paul Ritchie, Mark Tedeschi, Susan Hawthorne, Aoife Clifford, Marion Halligan, Sulari Gentill, and Omar Musa.
These authors will join the already announced AC Grayling, Charlotte Wood, Isobelle Carmody, Nick Earls, Richard Glover and Steve Lewis & Chris Uhlmann, who both authored the best-selling novels, The Marmalade Files and The Mandarin Code, inspiring the political thriller television series set in Canberra, Secret City.
Ms Cotter also said "the time is right" for Canberra to have its own large scale writers' festival.
"There are so many talented authors based here in Canberra, not to mention journalists, academics, readers, thinkers, publishers and politicians.
"Together through not just the talent coming to the festival but [also] alongside the national cultural institutions and with our audience, we can all contribute to and shape the national conversation."
Canberra Writers' Festival has partnered with the Melbourne Writers' Festival as well as the ACT government.
It will be held over three days in late August with more than 50 events, including workshops, panel sessions, keynote addresses and intimate literary lunches and dinners.
There are a limited number of season and single-day tickets on sale now, but single session tickets will be released once the full program and line-up is revealed in July.