Lucy Sussex discussing her book Outrageous Fortunes (co-authored with Megan Brown)

Lucy Sussex discussing her book Outrageous Fortunes (co-authored with Megan Brown)

Bookish is Bendigo's local independent bookshop and will run the Bendigo Writers Festival bookshop during the festival.

For a taste of what’s to come, kick off your festival experience with the ABC Radio Outside Broadcast!

Every book you buy helps feed people in our community, supporting Bendigo Foodshare’s mission to fight food insecurity across Central Victora

Young people, aged under 12 years, were invited to submit an artwork inspired by a book they love for an exhibition, which will be part of Creative Kids at Bendigo Writers Festival 2025.

Schools Day: Come along to see and hear how Matt Stanton creates his uniquely quirky, cackle-inducing tales.

Suitable for grades 3-6

Schools Day: Three of Australia's best known and busiest illustrators share their tips, tricks and techniques for creating illustrations.

Suitable for grades F-2

Schools Day: Steven Herrick will read poems, tell stories and everyone will be sure to have a ton of fun.

Suitable for grades 3-6

Schools Day: Aunty Munya Andrews will introduce students to the six seasons on her country and teach tips for how best to survive in the bush.

Suitable for grades F-2

Chef Helly Raichura will talk to Jennifer Alden about how the book, Bhartiya Bhojan, came to be and what her most favourite parts of sharing Indian food with others are.

Schools Day: The stories and research behind Felice Arena's acclaimed historical fiction novels.

Suitable for grades 3-6

Schools Day: Steven Herrick and Robbie Coburn will talk to Pip Harry about the joys and challenges of writing in verse.

Suitable for years 7-12

Schools Day: Three of Australia's best known and busiest illustrators share their tips, tricks and techniques for creating illustrations.

Suitable for grades 3-6

Schools Day: Pip Harry will speak about the extraordinary backstory behind Drift and delve into how personal experiences can inspire and shape the stories we share with others.

Suitable for years 7-12

Four leading thinkers and activists from all corners of Australia offer game-changing ideas for our collective future.

SOLD OUT

Young people, aged under 12 years, were invited to submit an artwork inspired by a book they love for an exhibition, which will be part of Creative Kids at Bendigo Writers Festival 2025.

Every book you buy helps feed people in our community, supporting Bendigo Foodshare’s mission to fight food insecurity across Central Victoria

Bookish is Bendigo's local independent bookshop and will run the Bendigo Writers Festival bookshop during the festival.

Local Stories Lounge begins with a performance from local singer/songwriter Ryan McPartlane

An interactive session featuring Felice Arena's joyous books PASTA!, CHEESE! and My BIG SECRET…

Cities of Literature Book Club: Jacinta Le Plastrier, Grace Yee and Solli Raphael explore how at the core of the poetry collection are tenets to hold on to: deep bonds of love; the renewal children offer; a hunger for social justice; and the sharp reality that nature presents us with, if we are willing to look.

Russell Holdaway delves into themes of grief, friendship, family, and loneliness, but above all, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Disappearances. Secrets. Escapes. Flights of fancy. Hidden histories and historical mysteries. Through fact and fiction, three authors bring us a spectacular cast of spirited women.

Our expert panel, Rodney Carter, Aunty Munya Andrews, Ben Shewry and Helly Raichura, with Neane Carter, will discuss why it is important to be highlighting native ingredients, the beauty and unique nature of indigenous food and the broader health benefits to country and community.

Juno Harvey has written seven cosy crime stories set in the fictional town of Mulbury, where the bodies keep piling up.

Join Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng for a fun-filled, hands-on creating and making session.

Join Jaclyn Crupi and Julie Gibbs as they discuss the complex world of cookbook publishing; from who owns a recipe to what a good pitch looks like.

Ita Mehrotra visits Bendigo from India to speak about her two non-fiction graphic narratives, both centered around representing people's movements and democratic rights through the comics format.

What do golf balls, language revitalisation and radical acts of diplomacy have in common? They have all happened – and are still happening! – on country. Unceded sovereign country.

Cities of Literature Book Club: Join Michelle Scott-Tucker, Bonny Cassidy and Paul Daley as they discuss the evocative, witty and technically daring novel of small-town life.

Grace and Di will explore what it means to write about the Chinese diaspora and read from their works.

Join the creator of the best-selling book series Fluff, Funny Kid, Bored and The Odds, Matt Stanton for a hilarious writing and drawing workshop.

As Donald Trump’s presidency reshapes the global economy, expert commentators Richard Denniss and Satyajit Das offer new perspectives on Australia’s place in the new world order. Sally Warhaft, host of The Fifth Estate, will interrogate what essential reforms Australia needs to make to withstand the turmoil and prepare for an unpredictable future.

Cities of Literature Book Club: The wildly imaginative story of justice, passion, and murderous revenge, Querelle of Roberval, will be the catalyst for a great conversation between host Tara Calaby, Sam Elkin and Kylie Mirmohamadi.

Cities of Literature Book Club: Chair Madison Griffiths with Cher Tan and Kate Larsen gather to discuss the profound legacy left behind by the young writer, Victoria Amelina.

Michael Leach will read a selection of his health poems, and preface each reading with information on process and inspiration.

Ben Shewry speaks with Michelle Symes, Curator of Bendigo Writers Festival City of Gastronomy sessions.

Join Katrina Nannestad, author of The Travelling Bookshop series as she talks about how the right book might just change your life.

Mary Pomfret is a writer whose creative work and poetry has been published in newspapers, magazines, literary journals and anthologies.

Join three acclaimed writers as they confront the ongoing legacies of violence and racism through their fiction and creative biography.

Join Alla Wolf-Tasker AM, Shannon Martinez and Benjamin Cooper as they discuss how our tastes and preferences have changed over time and how that impacts the choices chefs make when designing menus and opening restaurants.

Cities of Literature Book Club: Alice Pung and Nathan Curnow, with host Kate Mildenhall, come together to discuss the international best-seller and instant classic. Described as a popular masterpiece the novel weaves together romance, mystery, gothic horror and melodrama.

Young people, aged under 12 years, were invited to submit an artwork inspired by a book they love for an exhibition, which will be part of Creative Kids at Bendigo Writers Festival 2025.

Every book you buy helps feed people in our community, supporting Bendigo Foodshare’s mission to fight food insecurity across Central Victoria

Bookish is Bendigo's local independent bookshop and will run the Bendigo Writers Festival bookshop during the festival.

Sunday's Local Stories Lounge commences with music by Tara Muscatello, a singer, songwriter, rapper and guitarist.

Join Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng for a fun-filled, hands-on creating and making session.

Join panellists Helly Raichura, Shannon Martinez and Jennifer Wong, alongside moderator Jaclyn Crupi as they grapple with the impact their childhood food memories have had on their lives.

Cities of Literature Book Club: Hosted by Bernard Caleo, Sarah Firth, Ita Mehrotra and Rachel Ang through a discussion on graphic novels and the power of the artform to change a climate crisis.

Bigger Than My Body is more than a brave, honest account of every parents’ worst nightmare. It holds a message for everyone stuck in desperation and drowning in despair: Take heart. You’ll be ok. You too can process grief in your own way and learn to love life again.

How do you rebuild a life after the death of a much loved one? What brings solace, peace and maybe even pleasure as the living are left to carry on? A new lover? A pub? A rabbit?

Join Aunty Munya Andrews, Clare G Coleman and Neane Carter as they discuss the beauty of being on country, the role it plays in healing, in ceremony and reinforcing family and community.

Join Lucinda Gifford for a workshop to learn how to craft crazy, cute and eye-catching characters.

Many of Australia’s most iconic places wouldn’t exist without women, but chances are, you’ve never heard their names.

Cities of Literature Book Club: Host Kelly Gardiner talks with Fiona Hardy and Jock Serong about justice, redemption and the blurred lines between right and wrong.

The Power of Uncomfortable Conversations: In this raw memoir, Gayle invites readers to walk alongside her through the darkest corners of family struggle.

Join journalist Lucie Morris-Marr, author of Processed: How the processed meat industry is killing us with the food we love as she talks through her cancer battle and what she's learned about our love affair with processed meats.

Violence against women in Australia is escalating. In this session we ask the questions: how have we allowed this crisis to happen? And what will it take to fix it?

Join Chris Kennett for a fun-filled session where you’ll help Chris invent a book character and watch as that character comes to life.

In this session Penny Davies and Beverley Amy will discuss the value of writing groups, together with the advantages and opportunities offered to attendees at Bendigo Writers Council's monthly workshops.

In a seemingly fact-free world, what is the value of evidence? Is there advantage in uncertainty? How to weigh up the argument: on data or opinion? Intellect or intuition? And by what authority is vested the algorithm?

In this performance/reading/happening, Amanda and Dave will take you into poetic spaces and open the windows to let in the breeze.

In this distinguished double-header, Jeanine Leane, a Wiradjeri writer, poet, essayist, critic, academic and activist talks with Claire G Coleman, and Robert Dessaix, a writer, translator and broadcaster reflects with Clare Wright.