But organisers are especially excited about the appearance of Australia’s literary darling of the moment – Charlotte Wood – at the June 18 event at Thirroul Community Centre.

Wood’s novel The Natural Way of Things has received rave reviews, was shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) and longlisted in the Miles Franklin Award.

The book has won numerous prestigious awards including the Stella Prize, Indie Book of the Year, Literary Fiction Book of the Year, the 2016 Kibble Award and the 2016 Aba Nielsen Bookdata Booksellers Choice Award.

Critics have compared The Natural Way of Things to such masterpieces as Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

Wood will drop by Thirroul on June 18 and talk with Caroline Baum about her prize-winning novel which centres on persecuted young women, set in a dystopian future.

Baum, editorial director of Booktopia, is also an award-winning writer as well as a journalist and broadcaster. In 2015, she won the Hazel Rowley Fellowship award.

Wollongong Writers Festival program manager Linda Godfrey said the event, sponsored by the University of Wollongong, is the first of 201 festival satellite events.

Godfrey was delighted to have two of Australia's literary stars as guests at their event.

“It is a coup to have her [Wood] here. And she is in conversation with the powerhouse, Caroline Baum,’’ she said.

“The festival has been following them on Twitter and they are a comedy duo. The talk will be a cracker.’’

Godfrey added the festival is tapping into local and regional talent, showcasing the best of the Illawarra.

The program will officially be launched on August 19, while the three-day festival running November 25-27, is jam-packed with panels, performances and fun events..

The Thirroul event on June 18 runs from 3-4.30pm. Cost is $20. To book either email program@wollongongwritersfestival.com or visit website www.wollongongwritersfestival.com