Perusing the gargantuan lineup of this week's Sydney Writers' Festival, and given the dire warnings about the grim state of the book publishing industry, we were struck by an odd thought: At some point, surely, we are in danger of having more book writers than actual book readers.

Regardless, there is brain food aplenty at this year's SWF down at beautiful Walsh Bay. There's Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides, but dammit, he's already sold out. Then there's celebrated potter-turned-writer Edmund de Waal, though sadly he's sold out too. There's a whole day devoted to a forum on the state of publishing though it's also a full house. But wait, there are plenty of seats left for Bob Katter discussing his new memoir with ex-PM K.Rudd...

Of course there's tonnes else on: Jeanette Winterson asks of the gay community: "Why get married when you can be happy?" Chad Harbach discusses his dazzling debut novel The Art of Fielding. And Jeff Jarvis, author of Public Parts: How sharing in the digital age improves the way we work and live and What Would Google Do? explains why the internet should remain free. If you can't get there, the really good news is you can listen to all the highlights live on Radio National. Full festival program and news here.