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Welcome to Fair Play Publishing, the home of really good books on Sport, Fiction and Life, as well as the Manly Writers' Festival.

  1. Manly WF 2026 - Lives that Don't Follow the Script

    3h ago

    Manly WF 2026 - Lives that Don't Follow the Script

    Not every life follows the path we’re told to expect, and not every choice is freely made. In this intimate and thoughtful conversation from the 2026 Manly Writers’ Festival, Kumi Taguchi and Lucy Nelson reflect on identity, womanhood, motherhood, childlessness, expectation and silence. From choosing, or being unable, to have children, to navigating lives shaped by grief, loss, constraint and self-definition, they create space for stories that are often overlooked. Together, they explore family expectations, belonging, resilience and what it means to live a life that doesn't follow the script. Honest, compassionate and deeply personal, this conversation speaks to anyone who has wrestled with society's expectations or found themselves living a different story. Recorded live at the 2026 Manly Writers’ Festival.

    56 min
  2. Manly WF 2026 - The World on Edge

    May 27

    Manly WF 2026 - The World on Edge

    As the international order shifts, three leading commentators and strategic thinkers discuss Australia’s future in a rapidly changing world. From US–China competition and regional militarisation to democratic backsliding, disinformation and the erosion of global norms, this finale to our three-part geopolitics sessions brings contrasting views to the major strategic questions facing the nation. Dynamic and thought-provoking.

    1h 4m
  3. Manly WF 2026 - Bring Back Yesterday

    May 21

    Manly WF 2026 - Bring Back Yesterday

    In this intimate conversation, Bob Carr reflects on love, loss, and the emotional afterlife of a shared life. Bring Back Yesterday is his deeply personal account of a 50-year partnership, and of learning how to live in the wake of profound grief following the sudden death of his wife, Helena, in 2023. Rather than offering consolation or easy answers, Carr speaks candidly about absence, memory, and how grief reshapes time, identity, and daily life. With characteristic clarity and restraint, he explores how love endures beyond loss, and what it means to keep going when the centre of one’s world has shifted. This is a quiet, searching conversation with the ABC's Sarah Dingle about devotion, resilience, and the hard work of remembering.

    50 min
  4. Manly WF 2026 - Ruptured Lives, Resilient Voices

    May 18

    Manly WF 2026 - Ruptured Lives, Resilient Voices

    The book, Ruptured, brings together the voices of Jewish women in Australia reflecting on life after 7 October 2023, an event that sent seismic shockwaves worldwide. Four of the contributors to the book share deeply personal essays that wrestle with grief, fear, belonging, faith, and the fractures that opened in both public and private life, and, more recently, were highlighted in Australia by the Hanukkah attack in Bondi. In this conversation hosted by journalist and author, Suellen Dainty, they explore what it means to be shaken by history, how to live with rupture, and the fragile, necessary work of repair. Manly Writers' Festival was the first writers' festival in Australia to feature this book as part of our commitment to open, inclusive, respectful conversation as a means of building connection and developing understanding of issues that some may find confronting or contestable.

    1h 4m
  5. Manly WF 2026 - Frontlines

    May 15

    Manly WF 2026 - Frontlines

    A gripping, deeply human conversation with two Australians whose lives have been transformed by conflict and state power. Kylie Moore-Gilbert reflects on her 804-day imprisonment in Iran, while journalist Mike Amor shares his experiences reporting from natural and human disasters, war zones and political flashpoints. Together, they shed light on resilience, risk, hostage diplomacy, and what it means to survive geopolitical forces beyond one’s control. A compelling centrepiece that brings the global down to the personal. In conversation with former foreign correspondent, Mark Corcoran.

    1h 6m
  6. Manly WF 2026 - The Diplomat

    May 11

    Manly WF 2026 - The Diplomat

    Inside Australia's foreign service. What does diplomacy really look like behind closed doors? Three former diplomats (and heads of mission) lift the veil on the pressures, responsibilities and moral complexities of representing Australia abroad. From crisis management to regional relationships and the shifting expectations placed on the foreign service, this session offers a candid insider’s view of the work, challenges and changing culture of diplomacy at a time when the stakes have never been higher. Bob Bowker, Ian Kemish, Lachlan Strahan in conversation with Geraldine Doogue.

    1h 2m
  7. Manly WF 2026 - Hugh Mackay

    May 9

    Manly WF 2026 - Hugh Mackay

    Hugh Mackay in conversation with Helen Vatsikopoulos around his latest book, 'Just Saying'. In Just Saying, one of Australia’s most trusted social commentators, Hugh Mackay, turns his sharp but compassionate gaze to the state of our national psyche. From loneliness and social division to kindness, trust and the small acts that shape community life, Mackay explores what truly matters in unsettled times.

    1h 5m
  8. David Picken on ABC Evenings with David Astle

    05/12/2025

    David Picken on ABC Evenings with David Astle

    David Picken, editor of 'Football Fans in their own write' (2023) talks with David Astle of ABC Evenings about the book and the contributors who wrote about why they follow a particular football team, headlined by the late Pope Francis.

    18 min
See All (40)

About

Welcome to Fair Play Publishing, the home of really good books on Sport, Fiction and Life, as well as the Manly Writers' Festival.

Information

  • Creator
    Fair Play Publishing
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Back Story