OzAsia Festival Reveals Weekend of Words 2026 Program

OzAsia Festival finishes up this October, but organisers are determined to go out with a bang, releasing the program for the final Weekend of Words that takes place from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October at Adelaide Festival Centre

The free program brings together some of the country's most exciting Asian and Asian Australian writers, comedians and thinkers, curated by award-winning writer and comedian Sami Shah. 

"At our final Weekend of Words, we ask writers, journalists, artists and comedians to explore AI, memoir, food, resilience, identity, place, healing, media and reading," says OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words Curator Sami Shah.

"It's an ambitious exploration of who gets heard, who gets believed, who gets to belong, and who is told to go back where they came from. There will be arguments, recommendations, grudges, and hope. And, of course, lots and lots of books."

The weekend kicks off with Sashi Perera’s Night School on Friday 23 October, featuring comedians Sashi Perera, Kushi Venkatesh, AJ Lamarque and Harry Jun, joined by an actual expert, Arjun Singh Chahal, taking to the classroom at Dunstan Playhouse.

Saturday 24 October is chockers with discussions from personalities including Benjamin Law, Yumi Stynes, Beverley Wang, Durkhanai Ayubi, Nam Le, Antoinette Lattouf and Jennifer Wong at Space Theatre, Artspace and Dunstan Playhouse. Panels include The Woman Who Becomes the Problem, This Memoir Is Not About You, How Much Is Your Asian-ness Worth?, Multiculturalism Was Better When It Was Just Dinner and The Newsroom Is a Person Now.

Rounding out this year's Weekend of Words is OzAsia favourite The Greatest Debate, centred around the topic: "That You Should All Go Back Where You Came From". Comedians Jo Gowda, Takashi Wakasugi, Michael Hing, Kushi Venkatesh, AJ Lamarque and Jennifer Wong will be giving their thoughts, with Jason Chong tapped as moderator.

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Speaking on the program, Adelaide Festival Centre CEO Kate Gould said, "Weekend of Words has been an important part of OzAsia Festival, bringing people together to share ideas, stories and perspectives. We look forward to celebrating its contribution to the festival with this final program and thank everyone who has contributed to its success."

Sunday 25 October finds OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words Family Day taking over the Lucky Dumpling Market for a fun afternoon of free story reading sessions and family-friendly arts and crafts from 1pm to 5pm.

OzAsia Festival's Weekend of Words runs from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October. For the full program, visit ozasiafestival.com.au.