Tame will be the guest speaker at the festival's annually popular opening night event. She is scheduled to speak at 7.30pm, March 31, at the Civic Theatre.

The seating capacity of the Civic Theatre is 1450. The event was scheduled for Newcastle City Hall.

Grace Tame is an Australian activist and advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She was named 2021 Australian of the Year. Her memoir, The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner, was published in 2022.

Tame will discuss her memoir and the power of sharing stories in your own words, on your own terms in an event hosted by Maddison Connaughton.

Tame will pre-sign copies of her book and there will not be a book signing on the night.

The 10^th annual Newcastle Writers Festival runs March 31, April 1 and 2, with 75 events across the three days. Other headline guest writers include Jane Harper, Pip Williams, Norman Swan, Andrew Quilty, Richard Fidler, Holly Throsby, Craig Silvey, Indira Naidoo, Fiona Kelly McGregor, Chloe Hooper and Holly Ringland.

Five dollars from every ticket to the Tame event will be donated directly to the not-for-profit Grace Tame Foundation, which campaigns for and helps fund initiatives that aim to prevent sexual abuse of children and others.