The 2024 Newcastle Writers Festival officially begins on Friday, with an opening night event at Newcastle City Hall featuring award-winning journalist Leigh Sales.

Sales will be interviewed by ABC radio presenter and author Indira Naidoo about her Sales' new book Storytellers.

Several events across the three-day program are booked out, including those with actor turned-bestselling writer Bryan Brown, journalists David Marr and Antony Loewenstein, and 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Shankari Chandram.

There are 95 free and ticketed sessions across the weekend, which includes 150 writers.

It will be the second year the festival will take over the University of Newcastle's NUspace building. There are also events at the Civic Playhouse, Conservatorium of Music, Watt Space Gallery, Wollotuka Institute, The Press Book House, Back to Back Galleries, and Performance Arts Culture Cessnock.

"There really is something for everyone - crime, romance, history, First Nations astronomy, poetry, politics, sex, memoir, food, and mind-opening discussions about global issues, " said Rosemarie Milsom, the festival's founding director.

The program includes award-winning writers such as Nam Le, Charlotte Wood, Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Lucashenko, Kate Grenville and illustrator Liz Anelli.

Other notable literary stars include New York Times bestseller Sally Hepworth, comedian Wendy Harmer, Teacher's Pet journalist Hedley Thomas, and feminist writer Clementine Ford.

There are a record number of debut authors, including Madeleine Gray, Nadine J Cohen and Hannah Diviney.

On Saturday night, Words and Music will bring together local and visiting musicians including Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie, Adam Newling, Sunbiirds, and Piper Butcher as they transform the work of Australian writers into songs.

Among the Hunter writers included in the program are Lake Macquarie poet Jean Kent, philosopher Russell Blackford, and 93-year-old debut writer Rosemary Lewis.

Free sessions, which are offered on a 'first in, first served' basis.