Festival Program

In 1986, Picasso’s The Weeping Woman was stolen from the NGV. Weeks later it was discovered in a train station locker. Chris Womersley (The Diplomat) is an expert on art heists. With arts critic Tim Byrne, Chris will unravel truths stranger than fiction in Melbourne’s underground art world.   In... Read More

Join festival favourites, as the Stereo Stories band celebrates the songs that shape our lives. With special guests Jock Serong, Nick Gadd, Jacinta Parsons, Rijn Collins, Angela Savage, Katherine Kovacic and Willy’s own Andy Griffiths and Smokie Dawson. Seating for Stereo Stories will be general admission, with both theatre-style rows and cabaret-style tables available. Arrive together to sit together. BYO... Read More

Start your festival with a smile. Join positivity expert Ros Ben-Moshe (The Laughter Effect) for an introduction into a new dimension to self-care, elevating mindfulness, gratitude and self-compassion. Ros will lead a small guided laughter yoga practice, amidst the fascinating science of why laughter really is the best medicine.

Grief is complicated. Paul Dalgarno (A Country of Eternal Light) speaks to Angela Savage about remaining wanted by our loved ones, dead or alive, and reckoning with our pasts.  

AI language models like ChatGPT can generate text based on prompts. Its ability to write a coherent and emotionally engaging novel is… We ask Rhett Davis, Declan Fry and ChatGPT whether AI could write a novel.  

Join Leigh Hay, Mick Coventry, Margaret Ryan and James Thomas to celebrate the centenary of The Henry Lawson Memorial & Literary Society Inc. by launching Beyond Lawson, a collection of contemporary poems inspired by the works of Henry Lawson.  

Explore dreaming as storytelling practice, performance of symbology and tools for truth, play and deep engagement with our own stories with poet Manisha Anjali (Neptune). Turn dreams, visions and hallucinations into prose.  

Elizabeth Coleman (A Routine Infidelity) and Katherine Kovacic (Seven Sisters) discuss madcap murders, Phryne Fisher and psychological thrillers – with a particular lens on the criminal side of Williamstown. Moderated by Emily Spurr  

Toni Jordan (Prettier if She Smiled More) and RN’s Jacinta Parsons (Question of Age) unpack the patriarchy with hilarity and cutting observations, focussing on the slip in time when women of ‘a certain age’ begin to seem invisible.  

Australia’s colonial history is an act of violence against First Nations People. In order to move with care and hope into a shared future, how do we write through the ‘cult of forgetfulness’? Join Jock Serong (The Settlement) and Declan Fry as they tackle the ‘not my problem’ mindset.  

Hear from two judges of our Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize, Andy Jackson (Human Looking) and Gayelene Carbis (I Have Decided to Remain Vertical) read from their recent collections in this free lunchtime event.

Join Emma Cutting (The Pollinator Handbook) for a fun and practical introduction to native bees, welcoming them to your green patch and street gardening. Learn about planting for biodiversity as active citizenship. A friendly session for both adults and children. This session has now been cancelled, should you have purchased... Read More

Three independent food writers, publishers and chefs: Rushani Epa (Colournary), Sasha Gattermayr (Tart) and Ella Mittas (Ela Ela) discuss food writing in an era where recipes can be found online, their food is more family and feeling. Moderated by Jess Ho  

Historically, witches have sat outcast by patriarchal society, but novels about witches are on the rise. Join Eliza Henry-Jones (Salt and Skin) and practising witch Rijn Collins (Fed to Red Birds) for a discussion on the role of witchcraft in the 21st century. Moderated by Rochelle Siemienowicz (Fallen)  

Over two years, Nick Gadd and his late wife Lynne circled the city of Melbourne on foot, starting in Williamstown and ending in Port Melbourne. Their walk was a meditation on lost histories embedded in place, in old buildings, derelict factories, and ‘ghost signs’ – evocative old painted signage for... Read More

Someone is waiting for the gift only your book can give. Join local award-winning author Louise Karch, M.Ed. and special guests Leanne Gordon and Daniel Burns for a Write Now and Out Loud power session. Come write, laugh, and fuel your inner author with wisdom and chocolate. (Bring your laptop... Read More

Join our special festival book club discussion of Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood. Have a cup of tea, a scone and join our host for a book chat.

Learn to ferment for good with Sharon Flynn (Wild Drinks). In this seminar learn to infuse, brew and ferment delicious and nutritious things to drink, from mead to kombucha.  

First Time Podcast tackles the trials and triumphs of publishing. In a live episode recording, Katherine Collette talks to Pip Finkemeyer about Sad Girl Novel(s) and finding the perfect balance of delusion and ambition needed to write a novel.  

What dystopia occurs when we ignore our shared humanity? Claire G. Coleman, master of speculative fiction explores a future of surveillance, disruption and segregation that echoes the horrors of our colonial past. Claire G. Coleman in conversation with Hella Ibrahim (Unlimited Futures) discuss speculative fiction as an act of decolonisation... Read More

How can girls and women reach their potential in a culture that prefers them to be scared?  Anne Casey-Hardy in conversation with Angela Savage as they discuss the ‘excitable girls’ in Anne’s feminist stories who go after what they want, whatever the risk and regardless of what the world has to say... Read More

‘Women’s fiction’ is a derogatory term used to dismiss romance as an airport read, full of feelings not facts – but a little bit of love should never undermine the story. Join local legend and historical fiction writer Alison Stuart, Genevieve Novak (Crushing) and Nicola Marsh – a USA Today... Read More

Dot Circle and Frame by John Kean reveals the origins of Australia’s most internationally significant art form. Return to Papunya (a remote Aboriginal community in Central Australia) with John Kean and Gaye Sculthorpe in 1971 and meet the exceptional cohort of ‘painting men’: Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, Tim Leura, Clifford Possum and... Read More

Come and meet Artful Women, a work of poetry that explores the art and lives of women artists and writers ignored by history. Helen Cerne will read from this personal and political collection. Launched by Enza Gandolfo (The Bridge).  

Join us for the announcement of the winners of the Ada Cambridge Poetry, Biographical Prose and Young Adas Prizes, and the Jennifer Burbidge Short Story Award. Winners will read excerpts from their pieces.  

Paris, it seems, has its own plans for Jayne Tuttle. Drawn there from a cloud of grief, she finds herself in a dizzying neighbourhood, studying at an intense theatre school, and falling in love with a Frenchman too beautiful to be real. She will disappear into the culture if it... Read More

From conducting top-secret missions to making history commanding the farthest deployment in the history of the Australian submarine service, Commodore Peter Scott deep dives into what it takes to be a Submariner. Moderated by Jeff Maynard Stay for sea shanties and a beer.