Williamstown Literary Festival

Last night we celebrated the talents of local writers and performers with our annual People's Choice Awards at the Pirates Tavern, setting a warm and rousing tone for what is bound to be a sensational Festival.

The prose prize was easily awarded to Mathew Lang, whose piece Raisins and Cheese - penned in the style of Dr Seuss and based on a conversation overheard on a bus - was simply delightful and a runaway winner. Second placegetter was one of the Lit Fest’s most loyal supporters and participants, James Howard of Footscray, who entertained with his charming monologue Things My mother Told Me!

The poetry winner Lily Chan, with her The Everything poem, mesmerised the crowd with her unique and compelling literary voice. Second placegetter was Richard Pannell, a Willy local and retiree active in creative writing at the local U3A, with his poem entitled Trial by jury (The jury is a trial). The winners went home with a bounty of $100 a piece, with the runners up each securing $50. The night was charmingly MC'd by Passionate Tongues's Michael Reynolds, and further enhanced by the brilliant Jackie Kerin.

Our offical festival blogger has a more detailed post about the event, along with some great snaps of the evening's highlights, which you can see here.