"The bible is the kind of subject that we can all gather around and discuss.

"Religion is so often divisive in our politics and across family dinner tables.

"If we are prepared to put up with disagreement, it is something we can all have something to say about," Ms Lake said.

Author of the critically acclaimed The Bible in Australia, winner of the 2019 Prime Minister's and New South Wales Premier's Australian history prize, Ms Lake will feature in two sessions at the Bendigo Writers Festival's Big Bookmark in May.

"I am really thrilled to be going to the festival.

"I love meeting readers and writers and talking about language and ideas.

"I can't wait," Ms Lake said.

Hosted by Mayor Margaret O'Rourke on Saturday, 9 May at The Engine Room, Ms Lake will discuss The Bible in Australia, which examines what all kinds of Australians think about the bible.

"It is my chance to share some of the stories from convicts who came to Australia with biblical tattoos and Indigenous land rights activities to novelists and musicians who have a creative relationship with the bible," Ms Lake said.

The use of the bible by Europeans when settling in Australia was as a catalogue of stories, according to Ms Lake.

"When you turn up in a place that is unfamiliar and on the other side of the world, how do you make sense of where you are, who you are and who the other people that live here are?

"Whether you live in a city or a regional area, the bible was part of the imagination that colonists brought to Australia and helped shape all kinds of things," Ms Lake said.

A Saturday evening session with Sam Kane and Sophie Cunningham, 'What Makes Us Whole?' will discuss faith and belief, scepticism and understanding and the writing that helps to communicate spirituality.

"In 2020, whatever belief systems we might have inherited from our parents, it is not obvious that they are going to go the distance.

"We have assumed things about the economy, environment and community institutions, such as churches.

"I think a lot of people, rightly, have doubts about whether or not we can carry on as we did before," Ms Lake said.

A highly regarded speaker on history, faith and culture, Ms Lake recently attended the Adelaide Writers Festival, where the issue of climate and the environment was top of the agenda.

"Discussion about the Uluru Statement and how we deal with the challenges we face where such hot topics.

"The role of religion in all of that is really open and I'm really keen to talk about it," Ms Lake said.

Writers festivals aren't the only way Ms Lake interacts with her specialty area and she is the host of Soul Search on ABC Radio National.

The program explores contemporary religion and spirituality from the inside out and delves into what we believe, how we express it and the difference it makes in our lives.

Soul Search airs on Sunday at 6pm and is repeated on Wednesday at 11pm and Thursday at noon and is available anytime via podcast.

'The History of Belief' at the Bendigo Writers Festival takes place on Saturday, 9 May, 12.30pm - 1.30pm at the Engine Room with Margaret O'Rourke and Meredith Lake.

'What Makes Us Whole?' with Sophie Cunningham, Meredith Lake and Sam Kane takes place on Saturday, 9 May, 6.30pm - 7.30pm at the Engine Room.

Tickets to both events are $20, concession $18.

To book tickets to the 2020 Bendigo Writers Festival events at the Capital Theatre and satellite venues, visit bendigowritersfestival.com.au/ticketing