In this special gala closing event you’re invited to experience 90 mins of inspiring conversation with four of Australia’s leading writers and thinkers: We’ll start with a conversation between Kate Grenville and Clare Wright. Then it’s time for this year’s Stella Prize winner Alexis Wright to talk to Stella 2024 judge Yves Rees.

Find out how George went about researching and writing his Survival Guides series. And find out about his upcoming non-fiction history book.

Chef and food writer turned farmer, Matthew Evans, writer and merino farmer Maggie Mackellar talk to food writer Richard Cornish to look at the changing face of farming and how the agricultural and dairy industries have evolved over time.

What happens to our national story when three unconventional historians listen to people, country and the archives in new and challenging ways?

Find out in this fun and practical workshop where you will create and play with your own unique children's book character, in a series of settings. Build your folio, and/or just enjoy experimenting! Suitable for illustrators and adults who love to draw at any stage.

Can you understand the heart of a nation – and its narrative – through the public and personal relationships which have forged a path to both conflict and compassion?

Exit stage left – and enter page one! Join three of Australia’s most exciting voices in stage and screen to find out what happens when acclaimed playwrights become novelists?

Join Daniel in a hands-on making and creating session to discover why he starts each story with a compelling character and have a go at creating one of your very own.

Kon Karapanagiotidis, alongside his mum Sia, has created a beautiful cookbook full of Greek, vegetarian and vegan recipes. Philoxenia, meaning ‘to welcome a stranger’ is the name of the new cookbook and a perfect sentiment with which to begin a discussion.

Bendigo Writers Festival’s new pop-up venue! The Big Top in the Dudley House garden, right in the heart of the festival precinct.

For his latest book, The Soul: A History of the Human Mind, award-winning historian Paul Ham embarked on a never before attempted quest: to restore the idea of the soul to the human story.

There is a belief that it will take fifty years to heal country from the damage done by colonisation. Fortunately for us we have some wonderful people leading the way in healing country and providing opportunities to educate the broader community on how we can all do better.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, this session has been cancelled

How do three writers play at the heart strings of migration and belonging through the power of their words in novels, poetry and memoir?

Join Carmel in storytime and then create cat shaped masks. Parents are welcome to assist with the colouring/assembly. All materials supplied.

Dumawul Art Market, showcasing Djaara (Dja Dja Wurrung First Nations Australians) Creative Art & Craft.

View a selection of artworks created by children under the age of 12 and inspired by the books they love.

Strap on your skates, step on to your board, click on your helmet and join award-winning author Andrea Rowe and illustrator Hannah Sommerville for the first ever Creative Kids Storytime on wheels!

Writing is typically considered a lonely, isolated pursuit. But what happens when two people share that lofty garret? How do kith and kin collaborate on producing a single work of literature?

Kate Grenville (Restless Dolly Maunder) and Ross McMullin (Life So Full of Promise) share the research and inspiration behind the biographies they've written with Sam Kane.

Is there a more perfect way to start your day than a meander through Rosalind Park Gardens on a weed walk with Caroline Parker from The Cottage Herbalist? We think not.