If your love affair with the printed word (and picture) runs deep, then this may be the event for you.
Clunes Booktown Festival returns on the first weekend of May (4 & 5) with a series of renowned authors and guest speakers joining the historic country town in north-west Victoria for a festival of the book filled with ideas and arts.
Australians simply can’t get enough of true crime stories, especially with the increase in podcast listenership in the crime genre. This year, festival organisers have taken the hot topics from what is trending on social media and podcasts to create curated discussions with leading authors and experts.
Topics covered at this year’s Clunes Booktown Festival include: Do the Best Crime Stories take place in Fictional Worlds?; Are We Reading to Escape, or Face, Reality?; Writing for the Millennial Mind; New Voices and Smart New Writing; and Travelling to Places where we Connect.
Delving into trending topics such as our current political climate, slowing down at home, and modern day feminism, this year’s Festival promises intriguing tales and talks to open your mind.
The popular two day festival will feature a series of panel discussions with some of the nation’s favourite authors who have captured our hearts and minds with their new publications.
Just some of the authors appearing include the likes of Robbie Arnott (Flames), Jane Caro (Accidental Feminists), Nathan Curnow (The Right Wrong Notes), Peter Mares (No Place Like Home), Michael McGirr (Books That Saved My Life), Alicia Sometimes (A Footy Girl’s Guide) and Paddy O’Reilly (Peripheral Vision) – just to name a few!
The Festival features Australia’s largest book shop, with the whole of the main street given over to bookstores, with festival-goers able to browse rare and collectible books, go inside heritage buildings, listen to live music while sampling local food and wine, watch street performers, visit exhibitions, and immerse themselves in stories.
Each year Clunes Booktown Festival attracts over 15,000 people across the two day event to the historical town, tempting book lovers with its sensational line-up of speakers and enticing weekend explorers with its culinary delights and surprises.
Tickets are $10 and available from 1 March from clunesbooktown.com.au.
Photo by Tony Evans
