A literary dream for Shakespearean speaker

THE FOURTH Queenscliffe Literary Festival (QLF) opens May 4-6 with two special keynote speakers pencilled in for a celebration of words.

John Bell founder of Bell Shakespeare will feature Saturday night during his keynote address “My life in Shakespeare” and acclaimed author Robert Dessaix will discuss his travels and writing during “A writer’s walk around the world” at Sunday’s lunch.

This year’s QLF theme is Exploration with acclaimed and emerging authors scheduled to feature across an array of events taking place every weekend in May.

The program includes a popular crime fiction panel with journalists and debut authors, a foreign correspondent’s panel with Michael Brissenden and Hugh Riminton and the history of the Queenscliff Scooter Race with Clare Wright from Shooting the Past.

There will also be A Young Adult writing workshop with award-winning author Cath Crowley, a talk on native gardening by authors of Native: Art and Design with Australian Plants and Hugh White will discuss his quarterly essay Australia in the New Asia.

Paris, Kyoto, Tokyo and New York will also be touched on during travel talks and acclaimed biographer Ross McMullin will uncover the story of World War I Major General Pompey Elliott.

This year VCE students and budding writers are also encouraged to enter in the QLF VCE Writing Prize with the winner announced during a special event at the Point Lonsdale Boardriders Club on May 10.

Students are encouraged to send in their writing works in any genre under 2000 words to [email protected] for their chance to win a place in an amazing writing workshop.

With The Death over Dinner event already sold out and limited tickets available for Miles Franklin more information on the schedule and venues involved can be found at queenscliffeliteraryfestival.com.au.