BESTSELLING author Hannah Kent will be among the drawcards when Newcastle Writers Festival shakes off its COVID hibernation in April next year.
First Nations poet and editor Evelyn Araluen, immunologist and Nobel laureate Peter Doherty, debut author Amani Haydar and Kent will be among 100 guests at the event, the first in three years.
The festival is slated to return from April 1 to April 3.
Vaccination rates have been credited with allowing interstate artists including Professor Peter Doherty, who helped guide re-opening beyond lockdowns.
Festival director Rosemarie Milsom is particularly excited about Hannah Kent's participation, discussing her most recent work Devotion.
"Coincidentally, Hannah's first book Burial Rights was published in 2013, which is the same year that the inaugural Newcastle Writers Festival was held," Ms Milsom said.
"I've been trying to lure her here nearly every year since."
Despite uncertain times, Ms Milsom said the quality of Australian writing had been a beacon through the pandemic.
"The depth of talent is exciting and this has buoyed me amid the uncertainty," she said.
"So many of us have turned to books to help us through lockdown and it's well and truly time we gather to celebrate the power of literature to comfort and sustain us.
"We also shouldn't lose sight of its power to challenge us."
Guest curators were called in to help shape the festival program for the first time.
This year they included Kirli Saunders, Claire Albrecht, Laura Kebby and Amy Lovat.
"The collaboration has been valuable, and I've appreciated having a small team to bounce around ideas with," Ms Milsom said.
The festival will be spread throughout Civic precinct venues in Newcastle, as well as reaching Cessnock and Pokolbin.
The festival is due to coincide with Surfest, Newcastle Food Month and NewRun in early April as part of a blockbuster return of major events scheduled for the city.
The full program launches March 4, with tickets on sale the same day.
