Kaliane Bradley: The Ministry of Time
Kaliane Bradley I Melanie Kembrey | Fiona Morrison
The Ministry of Time landed on multiple bestseller lists thanks to its highly original, genre-defying story, which combines elements of time travel, romance and spy thriller.
Described by Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton as “outrageously brilliant”, Kaliane Bradley’s debut challenges the boundaries of literary and genre fiction as the past meets the future when a disaffected civil servant accepts a job at a mysterious new government ministry specialising in ‘historical expats’.
Join Kaliane and host Spectrum editor Melanie Kembrey to unpack the triumph of Kaliane’s debut novel and what it means to change the world by defying history. With introduction from Fiona Morrison.
This event is co-presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival and UNSW Sydney.
UNSW SYDNEY X SYDNEY WRITERS' FESTIVAL
UNSW Sydney is the exclusive university sponsor and proud Premier Partner of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Featuring UNSW academics and researchers on Sydney Writers’ Festival stages, this partnership brings together a shared vision of creativity, curiosity and thought leadership.
TICKETS & VENUE INFORMATION
Ticket Prices
Adult – From $40
Concession – From $35
Wheelchair User – $35
Livestream – $35
*plus booking fees
Venue Information
This event will take place live at Carriageworks, and via livestream. For all venue and visitor safety information, please visit Sydney Writers' Festival.
ACCESS
Captioning
In venue live captioning will be provided.
Wheelchair Access
All Festival venues are accessible, and provide wheelchair and level access. To book accessible seats at Carriageworks, please contact the Sydney Writers' Festival Box Office on 02 9256 4200 or email ticketing@swf.org.au.
Accessible Parking
Accessible parking is available at Carriageworks. Please call 02 8571 9099 for more information.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT & PARKING
Carriageworks is located at 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh. This is a 10 minute walk from Redfern Station, City Road bus stops and Macdonaldtown Station. Catching public transport is strongly recommended as residential parking in the area is strictly limited, and the Sydney Writers' Festival offers shuttle bus services from Redfern Station at selected times. For more information on transport, visit swf.org.au or visit transportnsw.info.
CONTACT
Sydney Writers' Festival
For all event enquiries, contact the Sydney Writers' Festival on 02 9256 4200 or email ticketing@swf.org.au.
UNSW Centre for Ideas
For all other enquiries, contact the UNSW Centre for Ideas on 02 9065 0485 or email centreforideas@unsw.edu.au.
National Relay Service
The UNSW Centre for Ideas and Sydney Writers' Festival are happy to receive phone calls via the National Relay Service. TTY users, phone 133 677, then ask for the applicable organisations phone number (listed above). Speak and Listen users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for applicable organisations phone number (listed above). Internet relay users, visit relayservice.gov.au, then ask for applicable organisations phone number (listed above).
Kaliane Bradley
Kaliane Bradley is a writer and editor. The Ministry of Time, her debut novel, was an instant New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, the Dymocks Book of the Year 2024 and the Harry Hartog Book of the Year 2024, has been shortlisted for the 2024 Waterstones Debut Prize and the 2024 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Writing, and won the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards for Science Fiction. In 2022 she won the V.S Pritchett Short Story Prize and the Harper's BAZAAR Short Stories Prize. She lives in London with her husband.
Melanie Kembrey
Melanie Kembrey has been a journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald for more than a decade and is currently editor of arts and culture publication Spectrum.
Fiona Morrison
Fiona Morrison is an Associate Professor in the School of the Arts and Media at UNSW Sydney, where she has taught and supervised in the areas of postcolonial and world literatures, Australian literature and women’s writing. Her recent books include Christina Stead and the Matter of America (2019), Time, Tide and History: Eleanor Dark’s Fiction (2024) co-edited with Brigid Rooney and Thinking for Yourself: A Handbook for Interesting Times (Simon and Schuster/Ventura, September 2025) written with Michael Parker. She is currently working on a monograph on Henry Handel Richardson’s transnational fiction.