This year's program sees conversations regarding the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, the demonising narratives targeting some women, and the art of being unapologetically outspoken, all of which take centre stage throughout next weekend.

And while it's not new for the festival to scrutinise today's most pressing issues, reflect on the past, contemplate the future, and challenge our understanding of the world, this year it will do this with a program that's made up of 60 per cent women.

It's not completely surprising when you consider the majority of writers festival attendees are women - and according to Canberra Writers Festival artistic director Jeanne Ryckmans, they're the biggest buyers of books as well.

But while there is a "really strong battalion" ready and willing to listen to stories about the female experience, this year's offerings have less to do with the audience, and more to do with wider societal conversations.

"It's not the festival of feminist ideas or issues but there's a lot that has happened in the last 12 months that will give way to interesting conversation," Ryckmans says.

"For example, it's great timing that Amanda Tyler will be with us live and I'm sure she will talk about Roe v Wade and Ruth Bader Ginsburg's work and there's a lot of interesting conversations to be had.

"And I'm really curious to know what Germaine Greer will say, in particular about aged care, because Germaine has spent some months in aged care and there are more women in residential aged care than there are men. So her viewpoint will be really interesting.

"But there's always been a focus on women's issues ... [and] we've had the #MeToo movement in recent years."

With the 2020 edition scaled back and the 2021 event cancelled due to COVID, this is the first full festival Ryckmans has organised from the artistic director's chair. But having been on the board in previous years - as well as her career in publishing - means she is well-versed in what makes for a great Canberra Writers Festival.

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And while the team behind the program may not be as large, or have as much history as festivals in other cities, the artistic director says the programming approach is not all that different - albeit a little more nimble.

"It's keeping an ear and an eye open [about] what the conversations, the national conversations as well as locally in Canberra, that we're having. And then trying to program to those conversations and broadening the conversations, more importantly," Ryckmans says.

"That's the starting point and then publicists will pitch new titles for that calendar year. And I don't have any qualms about inviting an author who has self-published or may have published a few years ago, a back listing title, for example. I think if it fits the theme, that's the most important.

"And also, I think it's important to give an opportunity to writers who are not necessarily being invited to all the big festivals, because big festivals, of course, will always program the latest title, the popular author. And there are a lot of books that can be overlooked because they don't have the publicity or are deemed small in that way."

Of course, there will always be the crowd pleasers and when it comes to this year's program, Ryckmans says it's Amanda Tyler's conversation with Fran Kelly that is set to be the big one.

Tyler began her career as Ruth Bader Ginsberg's law clerk and having kept in touch in the 20-odd years since, the pair wrote what would be the late-supreme justice's final book.

Justice, Justice, Thou Shalt Pursue is a collection of speeches, briefs, and court decisions that track the progression of Ginsburg's career from civil rights lawyer to US Supreme Court Justice, and includes sections from the first annual Herma Hill Kay Memorial Lecture the duo delivered in 2019.

Also joining the festival, via Zoom, is Rachel DeLoache Williams, talking about her book My Friend Anna. The New York Times bestselling author is set to tell the incredible tale of Anna Sorokin (aka Anna Delvey), the fake heiress of New York and the inspiration behind Netflix's Inventing Anna.

However, since the release of the limited series, Williams - who also shared her story in a now famous Vanity Fair essay - has criticised the show for how fictional it was.

"What interests me is that her portrayal in the dramatised blockbuster Netflix series is, from what I understand, not an accurate portrayal of Rachel," Ryckmans says.

"She came across as somewhat naive and gullible, and in real life, she's not. She's an incredibly accomplished young woman in her own right."

Your guide to some of the events at this year's Canberra Writers Festival.

This session, which is moderated by Jane Caro, will see Wendy McCarthy, Virginia Haussegger and Jackie Huggins discuss the challenges that shaped them and how we can all learn to side-eye without censure.

August 13, 10am. Cinema, Kambri.

The inspiring life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be in focus when Amanda Tyler heads to the Canberra Writers Festival. The University of California, Berkeley law professor, and Ginsberg's co-author on her final book, Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue, started her career as the late Supreme Court Justice's law clerk. Tyler will be in conversation with Fran Kelly, where she will share Ginsburg's optimistic vision of a just society and a "more perfect union".

August 13, 12pm. Manning Clark Hall, Kambri.

Having sold more than 20 million books worldwide, Liane Moriarty needs no introduction. The Australian author is behind nine internationally bestselling novels including Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary and The Husband's Secret, as well as Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, both of which have been turned into hit television series.

With such successes under her belt, it's understandable that Moriarty wanted a break after writing Nine Perfect Strangers. But you know what they say about best-laid plans. And these best-laid plans led Moriarty to write her ninth book, Apples Never Fall, a story about a seemingly normal family after the mother goes missing.

August 13, 12pm. T2, Kambri.

Almost 90 per cent of the direct care workforce in residential aged care are women, as are 70 per cent of people who live in residential aged care. Germaine Greer speaks frankly about why aged care remains one of the most pressing feminist issues today, in this conversation with Rick Morton.

Greer is an Australian writer and public intellectual, and regarded as one of the major voices of the feminist movement.

August 13, 2pm. Manning Clark Hall, Kambri.

Women frequently pay a personal price for exposing the truth - either about themselves or the stories they cover in the public eye. In the pursuit of truth and justice, disturbing and demonising narratives can emerge. Join Amy Remeikis, Sam Maiden, Louise Milligan, Katrina Marson and moderator Wendy McCarthy as they discuss their own experiences with this.

August 13, 2pm. T2, Kambri.

Canberra, we need to talk about Lionel Shriver. The award-winning author is unapologetically outspoken. Her 2003 book, We Need to Talk About Kevin - which saw Shriver part with her original agent, and face rejection from a dozen others for being too dark - was the unsettling story about a woman whose 15-year-old son commits a school massacre. It went on to win the Orange Prize and was adapted into a film starring Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller and John C. Reilly.

Shriver's latest book, Should We Stay or Should We Go, tells the story of a couple who are determined to die with dignity, after seeing too many elderly people face life with dementia. Fellow writer Chris Flynn joins Shriver at this year's festival to deliver everything you've ever wanted to know about the author, why she believes cataclysm is good for the arts and how fiction can change minds.

August 14, 10am. Manning Clark Hall, Kambri.

How does it feel to be betrayed by your closest friend? What's more, what is it like to be betrayed by your closest friend, and then have a Netflix series made about it? In an exclusive to the festival, New York Times bestselling author Rachel DeLoache Williams tells the story of Anna Sorokin, New York's most prolific grifter and the subject of this year's most-watched Netflix series, Inventing Anna.

Williams first met Sorokin - aka Anna Delvey - in 2016. Just over a year of friendship - and one fateful trip to Morocco later - and Williams found herself conned out of $62,000 by Sorokin. The story of this traumatic friendship came out first in a Vanity Fair essay, and then in the book, My Friend Anna, which will be in the spotlight this month.

August 14, 12pm. Cinema, Kambri.

The Canberra Writers Festival is on from August 10 to 14. For tickets, go to canberrawritersfestival.com.au.

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