BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival | Opening Night

Welcome to BAD 2023, the place for every crime story. We’re bigger, badder and better than ever with new offerings, as well as your favourite fiction, true crime and social justice events, to entertain, inform and provoke from 1-5 November, all day and into the evenings.

Join us for an opening night sure to thrill as four writers fight to the metaphorical death in this crime edition of Literary Death Match. Led by MC and ringmaster Adrian Todd Zuniga, crime writers Tim Ayliffe, Anne Buist, Candice Fox and RWR (Rob) McDonald will read from their latest books in four thrilling performances.

Three judicious judges – Cassie McCullagh, Benjamin Stevenson, and Caroline Overington – will respond in their own inimitable fashion. They’ll focus on literary merit, performance and “intangibles” (whatever that means) before picking two writers to go onto the finals where they’ll compete in a vaguely literary game to decide the ultimate winner.

6–7pm | Metcalfe Auditorium

Click here to view the full festival program

Booking information:

Please take care when booking your tickets to make sure that none of the sessions you are choosing have conflicting times – the festival has at least two events at any one time, and unfortunately, you cannot be everywhere at once!

Please choose your tickets carefully and check the dates and times, as we do not offer refunds. If you find you can no longer attend sessions to which you purchased tickets, we may be able to swap your tickets to different sessions (if they are not sold out), or change the name on your order if you would like to gift your tickets to a friend.

Venues:

All our events are held at the State Library in the following rooms:

• The Metcalfe Auditorium in the Macquarie Street Building (entrance via Macquarie Street)

• The Dixson Room in the Mitchell Building (entrance via Shakespeare Place)

• The Gallery Room in the Mitchell Building (entrance via Shakespeare Place)

• The Library Bar on the rooftop of the Mitchell Building (entrance via Hospital Road)