{"id":76252,"date":"2026-08-20T04:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T04:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/76252\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T04:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T04:44:09","slug":"sydney-writers-festival-appoints-tamara-zimet-as-its-new-artistic-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/76252\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival appoints Tamara Zimet as its new Artistic Director"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TamaraSydney Writers\u2019 Festival<\/a> has announced the appointment of Tamara Zimet as its new Artistic Director, marking a significant return to the Festival for one of Australia\u2019s leading literary programmers, after six years curating programs at Edinburgh International Book Festival.<\/p>\n

Tamara began her programming career at Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival in 2016 as Program Coordinator, before being promoted to Program Manager in 2017 and ultimately Associate Director in 2018, co-curating the Festival\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

Since joining Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2020, Tamara has held increasingly senior programming roles, culminating in her appointment as Director of Programming in 2024. In that role, she plays a leading part in shaping the artistic program and contributing to the strategic development of one of the world\u2019s leading celebrations of books and ideas.<\/p>\n

Tamara Zimet said returning to Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival as Artistic Director is both a professional and personal homecoming. \u201cSydney Writers\u2019 Festival is where I began my career in literary programming a decade ago, so to return to Australia as the Artistic Director is an enormous honour,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSWF plays such a unique role in Australian cultural life \u2013 bringing the world\u2019s leading writers and ideas to Sydney, celebrating extraordinary Australian writing, and creating a place where readers and writers come together with curiosity, generosity and a real sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven from afar, I have been so delighted to see the festival grow under Brooke Webb, Ann Mossop and the team, and have been so encouraged by its creativity and culture. After six incredible years in Edinburgh, I\u2019m thrilled to be coming home to SWF with everything I have learned and the relationships I have developed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so looking forward to connecting with readers, writers, publishers and partners in Sydney and beyond to build on the Festival\u2019s extraordinary foundations, and to work with the team to shape its next exciting chapter,\u201d said Zimet.<\/p>\n

During her six years in Edinburgh, Tamara has played a key role in shaping the Festival\u2019s artistic direction, creating ambitious programs, growing audiences and building an extensive international network of writers, publishers, agents and cultural partners.<\/p>\n

She also brings extensive experience across Australia\u2019s literary and cultural sector. In 2019, Tamara founded and directed Broadside, the Wheeler Centre\u2019s festival of feminist ideas, which attracted more than 17,000 people and featured Zadie Smith, Helen Garner, Jia Tolentino, Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Monica Lewinsky and Mona Eltahawy.<\/p>\n

Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival CEO Brooke Webb said Tamara\u2019s appointment comes at an exciting moment for the organisation. \u201cThere is something incredibly special about welcoming Tamara home to Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival ten years after she began her programming career here.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe left SWF as an enormously talented programmer and returns with six years at one of the world\u2019s great literary festivals, strong editorial judgement and a clear sense of what a contemporary writers\u2019 festival can be. She also brings a deep understanding of SWF, our audiences and the Australian literary community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTamara joins SWF at an exciting point in our evolution. We have an ambitious annual Festival, a growing year-round program and audiences with a real appetite for great books and writers, big ideas, complexity, joy and genuine exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSWF has become a leading voice in the global literary conversation, bringing some of the world\u2019s most important writers and ideas to Sydney while proudly championing Australian voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnn Mossop has played an important role in that success, and Tamara\u2019s international perspective, experience and relationships make her particularly well placed to build on what has been achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTamara is an exceptional appointment to lead SWF\u2019s artistic vision into its next chapter, and I am absolutely delighted to welcome her home,\u201d said Webb.<\/p>\n

Tamara\u2019s appointment comes as Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival continues to expand its year-round activity alongside its annual May Festival, including its partnership with the State Library of NSW. Tamara will commence as Artistic Director of Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival in November 2026.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival, visit: www.swf.org.au<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n

Image: Tamara Zimet \u2013 courtesy of Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney Writers\u2019 Festival has announced the appointment of Tamara Zimet as its new Artistic Director, marking a significant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1174,1164,1168,1172,1165,1175,260,1163,1171,1169,1170,1173,1166,1177,247,1167,1162,1176],"class_list":["post-76252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-belvoir","tag-book-of-mormom","tag-destination-nsw","tag-fortyfivedownstairs","tag-kooza","tag-la-boite-theatre","tag-melbourne","tag-meow-meow","tag-midsumma","tag-muck-rack","tag-ngv","tag-opera-australia","tag-publication-media","tag-rocky-horror","tag-sydney","tag-the-lion-king","tag-theatre","tag-todd-mckenney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}