Newstead Young Writers Festival

08/08/2026

Squishy Minnie Bookstore will still be our favourite children’s bookshop on October 11 @ Newstead Young Writers Festival, so be sure to show them some love and take home a book from your favourite author.

Mark your calendars! Love Your Bookshop Day 2026 is Saturday 10 October.

We’re excited to officially launch this year’s campaign and reveal our 2026 theme: Ask a bookseller. Shake up your shelf.

This year, we’re celebrating the important role booksellers play in helping readers discover new books, new authors and unexpected favourites. Whether you’re looking to shake up your usual reading, get back into books or simply don’t know what to read next, ask a bookseller.

This year’s artwork is by illustrator Bill Hope, whose wonderful illustrations capture the joy of finding your next great read and, in his words, “show booksellers as a tour guide to your next literary adventure”.

On 10 October, bookshops across Australia will be celebrating Love Your Bookshop Day in all sorts of wonderful ways. It’s an invitation to visit your local bookshop, connect with a bookseller and ask them to recommend something you might not have picked up yourself.

For now, save the date, follow along and get ready to shake up your shelf.

02/08/2026

💛 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐃𝐚𝐲

Friendship is one of life's greatest stories.

It's written in shared adventures, quiet conversations, unexpected kindness and the people who walk beside us through every chapter.

Today we're celebrating the friends who make our stories richer, our laughter louder and our lives brighter 💛

🙏🙏🙏

01/08/2026

✍️ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐖𝐞'𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬.

The 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 is now open for entries from students across Australia, in Years 7–12.

Whether your story makes us laugh, keeps us guessing, challenges the way we think or takes us somewhere we've never been, this is your chance to share it.

John Marsden believed in the power of young voices. This prize celebrates that legacy by encouraging the next generation of Australian storytellers to write boldly, honestly and originally.

📅 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝟏 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

Know someone who should enter? Share this post with them.

🔗 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫:
https://www.newsteadyoungwritersfestival.com/story2026

25/07/2026

✨ 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥!✨

We are delighted to welcome Gabrielle Wang Author, Australian Children's Laureate (2022–2023), to this year's festival.

Gabrielle's stories have inspired thousands of young readers to imagine boldly, embrace curiosity and discover the joy of storytelling.

From magical adventures to unforgettable characters, Gabrielle has written beloved books including:

📚 The Silken Thread
📚 Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon
📚 A Ghost in My Suitcase
📚 Ting Ting the Ghosthunter
📚 The Garden of Empress Cassia
📚 The Pearl of Tiger Bay
📚 The Beast of Hushing Wood
📚 Little Paradise..and many more, including the much-loved Pearlie and Poppy series.

If your child loves books filled with wonder, mystery, friendship and imagination, this is an author they won't want to miss.

📅 𝟏𝟏 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
📍 Newstead Arts Hub

24/07/2026

OK, (ageist alert!) Graphic novels weren't really a thing when I was a child, but I know that without comics like The Phantom, Batman and Robin, Tarzan, Ritchie Rich and the like, that as a child with a reading disability, I would never have been transported to those fantastical worlds and places.
I may not have read every word on the page, but that didn't stop my imagination from going into overdrive.
Comics, graphic novels and now zines, play an important role for struggling readers to access literature and their impact should not be underestimated.
If you want to learn how to write zines, then get along to Newstead Young Writers Festival on October 11.

24/07/2026

Letting others hear your story is the next step on your journey. Come along and share your stories.

24/07/2026

If Andy Griffiths won't grow up, why should the rest of us?

20/07/2026

✨ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

Stories help us understand ourselves.

They connect us.
They preserve our history.
They spark curiosity.
They ignite our imagination.
They inspire change.
They remind us what's possible.

At the Newstead Young Writers Festival, we celebrate storytelling in all its forms and we believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to discover, create and share their own story.

💛 We'd love to know.....what's your favourite story??

19/07/2026

✨ 𝟏𝟐 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠!

Till Newstead comes alive with 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘!

Authors.
Illustrators.
Poets.
Songwriters.
Readers.
Dreamers.
Curious minds.
A celebration of imagination, creativity and the joy of storytelling.

💛 We' d love to know where you'll be travelling from??

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥
📅 𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟏 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔