We are pumped to reveal the third of four festival Ambassadors for the 2023 Emerging Writers’ Festival… 

ANNOUNCING yumna Kassab!

Yumna Kassab is the author of The House of Youssef, Australiana and The Lovers. Hailing from Sydney, she has appeared in Meanjin, Sydney Review of Books, Sydney Morning Herald, Griffith Review, The Saturday Paper and Kill Your Darlings, and has been listed for The Stella, QLD Literary Awards, Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and NSW Premier’s Award.

As one of our four festival Ambassadors for 2023, Yumna Kassab is part of this year’s National Writers’ Conference on Saturday, 17 June – the centrepiece event of the Emerging Writers’ Festival. Alongside Ambassadors Bella Li and Debra Dank, as well as one last mystery Ambassador, Yumna will be presenting at this fully-digital day of writing and conversation where emerging writers nationwide can develop their skills, hear from leaders in the field, and forge connections within the industry, held entirely over Zoom.


Early Bird tickets for the National Writers’ Conference are now available! These discounted tickets are available for a limited time only until our program launch.

Alongside Early Bird tickets, we are pumped to announce the long-awaited introduction of First Nations Tix for this year’s festival and beyond! This sees discounted tickets reserved for Aboriginal, Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) and South Sea Islander peoples, as well as our global First Nations audience for the entire #EWF23 program. Our First Nations Tix come as part of our initiative to take necessary action in our evolving commitment to prioritising First Nations voices and demands within the creative industry.

Over the next month, we will be unveiling the remaining Ambassadors who will be presenting at the National Writers Conference. The Early Bird tickets for the conference will be closing on Tuesday, May 16 and will undergo a price update after the Program Launch on the same day. Be sure to get in quick before they are gone!

The National Writers’ Conference is held online on Saturday 17 June. Early bird tickets to the National Writers’ Conference are on sale from now. Purchase tickets here.

Emerging Writers’ Festival returns 14–24 June 2023.