Local Word Writers Festival set to return with diverse program

The program for this year’s Local Word Writers Festival has been announced with a diverse range of sessions for book lovers, writers and creatives on offer.

Set across three days, the festival will include a variety of workshops, panel discussions, Q&As and social events aimed at celebrating and showcasing the creative and literary talent of Victoria’s south-west region, with most of the authors and presenters featured hailing from the G21 region.

The festival will run from Friday, August 23 to Sunday, August 25 across several libraries in the Geelong Regional Libraries network, including the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre and the soon-to-open Biyal-a Armstrong Creek Library.

“Libraries play an increasingly important role in both supporting local creatives and in bringing communities together,” Liz Pattison, Surf Coast Shire mayor and Geelong Regional Library Corporation board chair, said.

“Local Word Writers Festival is a great opportunity for writers and readers from our region to explore their craft, learn from experts, and to connect and collaborate with others.”

This year’s proceedings will kick off on the Friday with four writers’ workshops.

John Bartlett will consider the impact poetry has on world events at the Queenscliff Library and Cherie Gilmour will examine opinion writing at the Corio Library, while Heather Gallagher will break down picture book writing at the Colac Library and Christine Croyden will discuss writing for theatre and character development at the Waurn Ponds Library.

For the first time, the Local Word Writers Festival will also incorporate a free pop-up exhibition of rare Australian fairytales at the Deakin Waterfront campus.

The interactive showcase includes rarely seen treasures from Deakin Library’s historical children’s literature collection brought to life through animation.

The writers’ workshops will continue through Saturday, along with a presentation and Q&A at the Ocean Grove Library with author, teacher and family coach Andy McNeilly.

Attendees will learn about building connected relationships and walk away with simple strategies to help their children learn the skills necessary to become more resilient and face the challenges of today’s world.

A special evening event celebrating the words and music of Nick Cave will also take place on Saturday, with canapés and drinks provided.

Held at Geelong Regional Library & Heritage Centre, the event is centred around the anthology “Into Your Arms – Nick Cave’s Songs Reimagined” and will feature readings from three local writers who contributed to the collection.

Sunday will then feature a series of five panel discussions, all held at Geelong Regional Library & Heritage Centre, including a conversation on the growth of the self-care genre, a deep dive into crime fiction and a look at the newly published “My Backyard” booklet, a depiction of what happened to the local Wadawurrung people after white settlement and colonisation.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, head to grlc.vic.gov.au/localword