Reading is quite often a solitary activity, however literary festivals are the ideal place for book aficionados and lovers of the written word to come together and connect with book creators and fellow bookworms.
The Queenscliffe Literary Festival is the annual book and writers’ festival in the Borough of Queenscliffe throughout May, and this year marks its fourth year. The festival has grown each year to now feature around 30 events across four weekends in May (4 – 27). The 2018 festival theme is ‘Exploration’, and will feature acclaimed and emerging authors speaking at events covering a huge variety of topics – from fiction to travel writing, from crime to gardening, and from history to surf. There is something to spark everyone’s interest!
The festival opens May 4 – 6, featuring Keynote Speakers: Bell Shakespeare founder, John Bell, speaking on ‘My Life In Shakespeare’; and acclaimed author, Robert Dessaix, speaking on his travels and writing in ‘A Writer’s Walk Around the World’.
On May 12, Stuart Kells and Patti Manolis, Geelong Library CEO, will take you on a wander through ancient, modern and fictional libraries, and Dr Charles Lane will speak about his privilege of living with the extraordinary African nomadic tribe, the Barabaig. The Memories of Music will be discussed by Andrew Ford, composer and broadcaster, Professor David McCooey and local musician Andrea Robertson.
The crime writing event on May 19 is sure to be a hit with anyone who loves losing themselves in a good book about solving crimes, thrives on the mystery of murder, or just enjoys the gritty suspense. Renowned journalist Michael Brissenden (The List) and author Sarah Bailey (The Dark Lake), will be in conversation with Angela Savage, Director of Writers Victoria. Brissenden’s The List is a page-turning thriller where justice, revenge and the war on terror collide from the brutal battlegrounds of Afghanistan, to the western Sydney suburbs and the halls of power in Canberra, while Bailey’s The Dark Lake is a suspense thriller about a detective with secrets of her own, who hunts the killer of a woman who was the glamorous star of their high school.
Bringing the event closer to home, local authors, Greg Jones (Walk A Crooked Mile) and Col Moyle (Indebted) will be talking about their journeys writing non-fiction, and will be facilitated by local author Dorothy Johnston (Through a Camel’s Eye). This is a great session to inspire all and gain a look into the success coming from just outside our doorstep. Local Voices goes down on Saturday May 19 at 10am.
Young Adult writing has taken the publishing and movie industries by storm in recent years, with YA stories becoming publishing sensations and huge Hollywood hits. If you’re interested in writing Young Adult fiction, then the YA Writing Workshop is for you. On Saturday May 19 at 1pm, award-winning author Cath Crowley (Words in Deep Blue) and renowned editor Alison Arnold will guide you in the trends, languages and themes in YA, to what publishers are looking for. There are limited numbers available so get in quick.
That’s only a snapshot of what you can expect at this year’s Queenscliffe Literary Festival. There’s so much more with four weeks of various literary experiences, including a foreign correspondent’s panel with Michael Brissenden and Hugh Riminton; the history of the Queenscliff Scooter Race with Shooting the Past’s Clare Wright; a talk on native gardening by the authors of the beautiful book Native: Art and Design with Australian Plants; Hugh White discussing his Quarterly Essay ‘Australia In The New Asia’; travel writing talks on Paris, Kyoto, Tokyo and New York; a talk on World War 1 Major-General Pompey Elliott by acclaimed biographer Ross McMullin; and more.
If you are a reader, you want to meet your favourite authors, discover writers you were previously unaware of, and enjoy chance meetings with people who share your passion for books, make sure to quickly grab tickets so you don’t miss out. Death over Dinner and Miles Franklin events already sold out.
The Queenscliffe Literary Festival will be held at various venues across Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale, all weekends in May. For more information go to: queenscliffeliteraryfestival.com.au.