We are showing ONE HUNDRED & TWELVE literary festivals planned throughout Australia for 2023! Victoria and New South Wales are set to host thirty-nine festivals this year, with fifteen planned in Queensland, Western Australia should have eleven, and South Australia, Tasmania, ACT and NT share the remaining festivals. At this stage there are definite dates for fifty-eight festivals with the remaining sixty-four to have dates confirmed. Many of these are in the latter half of the year and we fully expect these will all proceed. We are aware of some festival committees who have been defeated by the pandemic years and we hope they may return to the lit fest calendar in time.

Victoria is host to an amazing number of literary festivals this year – as mentioned, we are showing thirty-nine writers festivals planned across our state!

Sixteen of these occur will in and around Melbourne, with the Melbourne Writers Festival a literary highlight for readers, writers and thinkers. Some festivals are curated by specialist organisations such as KidsLitVic, Melbourne Jewish Book Week, and the Emerging Writers Festival with others being put together by incredibly dedicated teams at our local library services or amazing volunteer committees.

Regional Victoria is host to a staggering twenty-three writers festivals this year. The towns of Mildura, Daylesford, Apollo Bay and Clunes have each been hosting brilliant literary festivals for more than twenty years, and in 2023 Bendigo will host its twelfth annual festival and is a highlight of the literary calendar.

In more recent times festivals have emerged in the coastal region of Queenscliff; in the the Macedon Ranges with the inaugural Mountain Writers Festival in 2022; the Grampians played host to the inaugural Dunkeld Writers Festival, also in 2022. We are pleased to share the news that two further festivals will join our busy calendar this year: The first is the Mansfield Readers and Writers Festival, brought together by a volunteer committee and to be held over March 4th and 5th in the stunning regional town of Mansfield. In addition to author events, poetry readings and writers workshops, there is a short story competition. The second festival to join in the fun is the Sorrento Writers Festival, to be held in April this year, curated by the wonderful Corrie Perkin in the delightful seaside town of Sorrento and promising a stellar line-up of guests. Early bird tickets for the Sorrento Writers Festival are on sale until March 31.

Literary tourism is alive and well!

In 2023 we can expect in-person events to become the norm once more, although it would appear online offerings will continue at some festivals for both audience and guests, something we have all come to appreciate in recent times. Please head to our calendar of literary festivals for details of festivals in Victoria, as well as all the other states of Australia.

Click here for a list of Melbourne based festivals.

And click here for a list of regional festivals.

Please note photo in header is Sarah Winman at Sydney Writers Festival 2022. Image by Prudence Upton