Booklovers Festival

It’s time to feed your curiosity to explore and unlock your voice: what excites you? What nourishes you? What can you discover about yourself?

YPRL’s annual Booklovers Festival is for readers and writers, for makers and doers, for anyone who wants to learn more about the world around them, for those who are curious about the world which existed before them. Whatever your interests are, we have something perfect just for you.

Pick literary sides with best-selling, acclaimed authors Christos Tsiolkas and Angela Savage as they discuss books which have influenced them as writers and readers and the books they can’t agree on. One of Melbourne’s most insightful and curious minds, Jeff Sparrow deep dives through the history of the environment and more while the brilliant Anna Snoekestra and Eliza Henry-Jones discuss how they approach their creative practice while exploring the magnitude of women’s voices and the ocean to create outstanding works of fiction. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s have always known that plants are the foundations of life on earth. Discover and celebrate the deep cultural significance of plants and shows how engaging with this heritage could be the key to a healthier, more sustainable future with First Knowledges: Plants co authors Zena Cumpston and Lesley Head. Listen to local authors Sue Gunnigham and Sabi Buehler discuss how they wrote their memoirs and the journeys they have taken as emerging writers. Celebrate the launch of a new children’s book amplifying local Muslim-Australian voices with the powerhouse Ozge Alkan and  Hazel Edwards.

For those looking to return to nature and create more peace and beauty at home through the joys of gardening, flowers, growing and making your own food, we have the inspired and brilliant Jaclyn Crupi and Jac Semmler guiding you through hands-on gardening and pasta-making workshops. Tune into your artistic side with the exceptional local artist Irianna Kanellopoulou as she guides you through hands-on art workshops as part of her extraordinary exhibition Find & Keep exploring flowers, trees, and books and how you can use what’s around you to express yourself and create your own art. Warm your heart and your ears by listening to the local father-daughter reading podcast, Wolf & Cub, and hear book recommendations straight from our collection for adults and children.

Join a wonderful creative writing workshop no matter where you are in your writing journey (even if you’ve never written before or simply want to try something new). Understand the basics of storytelling and fiction with Busybird Publishing and local author Les Zigomanis. Discover your own voice with the wonderfully insightful writer and critic Bec Kavanagh. Learn how to honour your diverse experiences of lived mental health through memoir writing with local mental health advocate, performer and acclaimed memoirist Heidi Everett. Write better non-fiction and human-centred blogs, family and local histories and more with the thought-provoking and outstanding Walkley Award longlisted Guardian Australia journalist Stephanie Convery. For First Nation’s children’s writers at any stage of experience, the wonderful Aunty Sharon Hughes will guide you through the basics of writing picture books for children and help you shape and create your story.  Enter The Grief Cocoon with multi-talented Gabriela Georges and safely explore grief, loss, and the impacts of isolation and anything else you would like to explore through creative writing and connecting with others.

There’s so much more to explore during this year’s Booklovers Festival. We can’t wait to see you!