The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Chaos Walking, A Monster Calls and Release

The Sydney Writers' Festival has this week announced that Walker Books author – and one of the world's most loved authors of YA – Patrick Ness will make his next trip Down Under in May next year as a key speaker as part of the exciting 2018 Festival line-up.

Hot off the heels of his literary and cinematic success, Ness will be a key speaker as part of the Sydney Writers' Festival's Secondary Schools program, which this year is relocating to one of Sydney's most impressive arts and entertainment hubs, Carriageworks, from 30^th April to 6^th May.

Ness will speak to his audience about where his powerful stories have come from – from The Rest of Us Just Live Here, to Chaos Walking, to A Monster Calls and his latest – and most personal novel – Release. Ness will also delve deeper into what it's like to work as both an author and a screenwriter, and seeing his successful works turn into major motion pictures.

As one of the world's most beloved writers of YA, and described by author John Green as, 'An insanely beautiful writer", Ness is currently riding on a wave of success following fellow YA authors whose books have been adapted to screen (such as John Green's A Fault in Our Stars and franchises like The Hunger Games and Divergent). The movie adaptation of his popular 2011 novel A Monster Calls (starring Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver) was released in Australia in July this year, and a movie based on his award-winning Chaos Walking trilogy is currently in production with a cast led by Tom Holland (Spider-Man Homecoming) and Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

In March next year, die-hard fans will be excited as Walker Books releases a 10^th Anniversary edition of Chaos Walking (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men).

The trilogy tells the story of Todd Hewitt who is one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. Todd lives in a town of men in New World, a place where you can hear everything men think. But his town has been keeping secrets from him, secrets that force him to run. On the way, he meets a girl named Viola who may be the key to unlocking New World's many secrets. Together, they try to escape and hide in an environment where all thought is heard, all movement seen as they both discover the truth about the lives they left behind, and the spectacular world they've learned to call home.

Patrick Ness will be presenting as part of the Secondary Schools days program during the festival. Visit www.swf.org.au for more information. He will also be participating in a number of public and industry events as part of the 2018 Sydney Writers' Festival.

Further information about Patrick Ness and his books can be found at www.walkerbooks.com.au