Former prime minister unveiled as Brisbane Writers Festival headliner

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has been belatedly announced as the headliner of the 2026 Brisbane Writers Festival this October.

Ardern’s name was left off the festival program when it was released earlier this month, but her appearance has been confirmed and tickets are on sale.

Artistic director Jackie Ryan said the response to the announcement had been “immediate and passionate”.

“She’s someone that’s loved and respected around the world, so the fact she’s making time to come and see us in Brisbane, I think, is an act of support for the festival,” Ryan said.

“Jacinda could have gone with a much bigger place and a much bigger ticket price, but true to the way she conducted her political life, she’s keen on making herself accessible to the people.”

Ardern became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was elected prime minister of New Zealand in 2017.

Having recently relocated to Sydney’s northern beaches, she is the author of a memoir, A Different Kind of Power , and a motivational book for teenagers, What If You Could.

She will appear at Brisbane City Hall in conversation with Boy Swallows Universe author Trent Dalton.

Ardern joins a program that includes British young adult fiction writer Alice Oseman, whose wildly popular graphic novel series Heartstopper was adapted as a Netflix series.

US journalist and author Susan Orlean ( The Orchid Thief ), and London Review of Books editor-at-large Andrew O’Hagan ( Caledonian Road ) are other literary figures appearing during the four-day festival.

Major Australian writers on the program include Kate Grenville ( The Secret River ) and Richard Flanagan ( The Narrow Road to the Deep North ).

Media figure Marc Fennell will talk about the book version of his podcast and TV series Stuff the British Stole , and Holly Ringland ( The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart ) will discuss her latest novel The World Beneath Her Feet.

Playwright Suzie Miller ( Prima Facie ), whose latest play Strong Is the New Pretty is premiering in Brisbane in September, will appear to talk about her new novel on sexual assault and the manosphere, Inter Alia .

Founded in 1962, Brisbane Writers Festival is the oldest continuously running writers’ festival in Australia.