The much-anticipated inaugural Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival will take place on 17 Friday and 18 Saturday. This is your last chance to grab tickets for some awesome panel discussions and workshops!
This year, the festival’s theme – “A Sense of Place” – encourages local and visiting authors and audiences to explore and be challenged by the past, present and future of the locales where we live, work and interact with others.
Friday, the Opening Night, will feature Hannah Kent’s keynote address at Belgrave’s Cameo Cinemas. On Saturday, a diversity of literary sessions will take place at the Belgrave Library and Belgrave Community Hub.
First up at the Library, Caroline Stills (A Gift from the Birds), Elle McFadzean (The Potion Experiment), Pauline Hosking (Ana and the Prophecy of the Bones) and Elizabeth Fensham (My Dog is a Winner) will share tips and tricks of writing for kids, the “toughest literary audience”.
Next, Paul Kennedy (Funkytown), Melanie Kanicky (The Weaver) and Amy Doak (What Have They Done to Liza McLean?) will discuss how to capture the young adult audience with local journalist and wordsmith Charisse Ede.
In the afternoon, Aaron Lamb (Cults Coffee and Close Encounters), Rose Michael (The Art of Navigation), Michael Prewer (R.E.Generation) and Marian Matta (Life, Bound) will explore the complexity of writing the climate change existential crisis.
Then, Kate Solly (The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up), Kelly Gardiner (Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective), Alison Goodman (The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin) and Kimberley Allsopp (Rise and Shine) will share experiences and insights in writing everyday drama.
Also to take place at the Library are two valuable workshops – “Self-publishing” hosted by Kathie Thomas, and “Storytelling and Place Setting in Games” hosted by Gideon Adams and Jennifer-Rose Holloway. In addition, there are drop-in writing sprints and free reading sessions of picture books, Puffing Billy and Aunty’s House.
Meanwhile, the day at the Hub will start with Dianne Dempsey (Saving Dragons), Madeleine Cleary (The Butterfly Women) and Alli Parker (Until the Red Leaves Fall), who will join Tamara Protassow Adams in exploring the writing of historical fiction.
Next, Lia Hills (The Desert Knows Her Name), Kerryn Mayne (Joy Moody is Out of Time), Mark Mupotsa-Russell (The Wolf Who Cried Baby) and Kate Mildenhall (The Hiding Place) will discuss how landscape shapes our stories, moderated by.
In the afternoon, Hannah Kent (Always Home, Always Homesick), Christine Newell (Five Seasons in Seoul: A life-changing year in South Korea) and Carly Findlay (Say Hello) will highlight the art and craft of life writing, facilitated by Sue Smethurst (The Freedom Circus).
Last but not least, Shelley Burr (Vanish), Matt Rogers (The Forsaken), Christian White (The Long Night) and Kylie Orr (The Eleventh Floor) will tackle people, places and the making of villains.
Tickets for the aforementioned panel discussions and workshops, as well as information about book swaps and book-signing events along the Belgrave Main Street, can be found at the festival website: dandyrangeslitfest.net/
