Willy Lit Fest

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Willy Lit Fest Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Willy Lit Fest, Festival, Williamstown Town Hall, Williamstown VIC, Msinga.

Williamstown Literary Festival
Boon Wurrung Country
June 12 – 14, 2026

Willy Lit Fest (est 2003) brings together readers and writers for an annual celebration of story-telling, author talks, panels and writing workshops at a historic seaside setting.

W***y Lit Fest and Holy Trinity Anglican Church combine to honour Ada Cambridge in the centenary year of her death. Join...
06/10/2026

W***y Lit Fest and Holy Trinity Anglican Church combine to honour Ada Cambridge in the centenary year of her death.

Join us for illustrated talks on her life and work, selected readings and the Launch of the Lit Fest's Writing Prizes, The Adas 2027.

This is A FREE event in the church.

Afternoon tea in the Parish Centre is optional – cost $10 (booking is essential)

For booking, please visit the link in our bio.

Thank you and see you there 💙

W***y Lit Fest is proudly supported by Hobson Bay City Council's Make It Happen Grant.

What a privilege it was to have Stephanie Alexander kick off the beginning of our 2026 program with The Making of ‘The C...
13/09/2026

What a privilege it was to have Stephanie Alexander kick off the beginning of our 2026 program with The Making of ‘The Cook’s Companion’ 👏

With a glorious anniversary addition to celebrate 30 years since its initial publication, Stephanie Alexander AO, was joined by the book’s original designer, Williamstown’s own Sandy Cull, editor Caroline Pizzey, and food writer and journalist Richard Cornish, to learn all about the creation of this indispensable kitchen bible 🥘

📸 Joseph Barrett, Alice Reid, Lis Grove

A new day, a new program ☀️Come walk with us through the final day of the 2026 W***y Lit Fest Program.📸 Brett MagnusonWa...
03/09/2026

A new day, a new program ☀️

Come walk with us through the final day of the 2026 W***y Lit Fest Program.

📸 Brett Magnuson

Wake up bright and early to join Camilla Hannan’s Across the Sea: An Audio Journey at the Crystal Steps 🌊

Just make sure you remember to plug in your earbuds to make the most of this immersive experience 🎧

📸 Jimmy Morris

After watching the sunrise over the coast, head over to Williamstown Swimming & Lifesaving Club for the Swimming Salon 🏊‍♀️

Listen to readings from Romy Ash, Thuy On and Luke Johnson on the themes of swimming, the beach, and bodies of water.

📸 Jimmy Morris

Then (if you’re feeling brave enough) get ready for a wintry morning dip! 💧

📸 Jimmy Morris

Had your breakfast ☕️ fill in the Ballroom?

Don’t forget about the (FREE) literary feast happening in the Supper Room!

2026 Children’s Laureate and funniest man in the world, Andy Griffiths, brings an hour of literary mayhem to the Town Hall 🤯

📸 Brett Magnuson

If you’re craving something a little more mature this morning, then head up into the Chamber Room for Matriarchs and Motherlines.

Join Toni Jordan (Tenderfoot), Lisa
Moule (Mother of all Calamities) and Alice Reid as they discuss restless mothers and the messy politics of friendship and family in their latest novels.

📸 Brett Magnuson

Pop into Meeting Room 2 for Poetry and Visual Art: The Craft of Ekphrastic Poetry 📝

Allow poet Rose Lucas to walk you through the ways poetry ✒️ and visual art 🖌️ intersect, and how art can inspire your writing.

📸 Brett Magnuson

Ready for another (FREE) children’s event?

Enter the Supper Room for St Mary’s Poetry Slam 🎤

📸 Brett Magnuson

Watch St Mary’s Williamstown’s finest Year 6 poets go head-to-head in a battle
of words 👊🏼

📸 Brett Magnuson

Visit the Chamber Room if you want to hear Voices of the Inner West 📣

Listen to Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sam Elkin, Konker Malual and Thuy On as they reflect on what it means to live and create in Melbourne’s inner western suburbs, and how place, people and community shape their creative work 🖊️

📸 Brett Magnuson

Head back on over to the Chamber Room for Women Who Won’t 🙅🏻‍♀️

Join Chloe Wilson (The Thornbacks),

Missed out on our 2026 program? let’s walk through it together, one last time ✨📸　Jimmy MorrisEnter the Williamstown Libr...
31/08/2026

Missed out on our 2026 program?

let’s walk through it together, one last time ✨

📸　Jimmy Morris

Enter the Williamstown Library Gallery at 10:15am and you will find Stories Across the Flyway 📖

Watch and engage with The Flyway Sisters (Anna Manuel and Rohini Vij) as they perform interactive multi-lingual tales from the 🇵🇭Philippines and 🇮🇳India

📸 Joseph Barrett

Or you may find yourself in Secrets and Survival 🔏, sitting in the hush of the Supper Room as Louise Milligan discusses her gripping new novel ‘Shellybanks’ with Sarah L’Estrange…

📸 Joseph Barrett

Following a short break in the Ballroom, you may enter the Imagined Worlds of spec-fic authors John Morrissey (Bird Deity), Romy Ash (Mantle) and Rhett Davis (Arborescence) — with Claire G. Coleman as your guide 🚀

📸 Joseph Barrett

Or perhaps you would prefer Journeys in Nature with Daryl Jones and Dave Witty?

A panel event proudly supported by The Friends of Williamstown Botanic Gardens 🌿

📸 Joseph Barrett

Then re-enter the Supper Room at 1pm with newfound vigour in Acts of Resistance ✍🏽

Where you can discover the ways your writing can help resist violence, displacement and erasure alongside Evelyn Araluen (The Rot) Micaela Sahhar (Find Me at the Jaffa Gate) and Andre Dao

📸 Jimmy Morris

Or maybe the Chamber Room will welcome you into the intimate space of Clara Brack: The Secret Landscape with Gabriella Coslovich 📚 And you might even walk away with a signed copy!

📸 Jimmy Morris

Could A Life of Crime 🔪 interest you instead?

Sneak into the Committee room and witness the twists and turns sure to emerge from the novel discussion between Luke Johnson (King Tide), Christine
Gregory (The Informant) and Sherryl Clark.

📸 Jimmy Morris

But what if you want to learn more about how to write your own story?

Sit across from eager memoir writers like you and learn from some of W***y’s best — Lucia Nardo and Vin Maskell — as they take you through the essence of memoir writing in Tell Me Your Story 📝

Sponsored by Writers Out West.

📸 Jimmy Morris

If you choose to Waltz into the Williamstown Library Gallery instead, get ready to compete in the Crossword Challenge ✏️

It’s a battle of

The leading literary festival for writers to gather with community and grow their creativity, the Emerging Writers’ Fest...
17/08/2026

The leading literary festival for writers to gather with community and grow their creativity, the Emerging Writers’ Festival is back across Melbourne, outer regions, interstate and online!

✍️ From poolside poetry readings and workshops across genres, to opportunities to pitch to publishers and a whole weekend of industry insights, there’s something for every kind of writer at .

The full program is now live, running from 10 to 18 September 2026. Low-cost and Pay-What-You-Wish tickets are now available at emergingwritersfestival.org.au.

21/07/2026

From jazzy tunes to Afro beats to 80s pop and Aussie rock, Vin Maskell and the Stereo Stories band lit up our festival stage with yet another unforgettable night of music 🎶 and memoir ✍️

Storytellers Maxine Beneba Clarke, Lisa Moule, Donna Jackson and Konker Malual joined festival favourites, Lucia Nardo, Andy Griffiths and Smokie Dawson, sharing captivating tales about the songs that have shaped their lives.

While Band members Martina Medica, Chris Phillips, David Barton, Laura Sheridan, Matt McGrath, Julie Merritt, David Oke and Stephen Andrew set the tone for each performance with striking chords, melodic riffs and stunning harmonies.

Truly, a night to remember 🌟

You can purchase Stereo Stories Volume 1: Lili Marlene by Lucia Nardo and Stereo Stories Volume 2: Before Too Long by Darren ‘Smokie’ Dawson from Williamstown’s Book and Paper 📚 and relive the night in the comfort of your own room.

Until next year!

And that’s your winter reading sorted ❄️📚 If you attended W***y Lit Fest this year, you are eligible to enter our book g...
29/06/2026

And that’s your winter reading sorted ❄️📚 If you attended W***y Lit Fest this year, you are eligible to enter our book giveaway! Titles include recent releases from 2026 festival guests Dave Witty, John Morrissey and Dennis Altman, plus many more fiction and non fiction gems. Here’s what you need to do:
✍️ Fill out our online feedback form and tell us what you thought of this year’s festival. Link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckPKMfaWwD6nKv54KRmGrzdvlvOj0Zsuui9L9QEXuPMWvvvA/viewform

That’s it! The lucky winner will be notified by email in July. Good luck, and thank you for your valuable input - it will help us shape W***y Lit Fest for years to come.

Due to popular demand we have opened up balcony seating for our much anticipated and well-loved Stereo Stories event.Gra...
12/06/2026

Due to popular demand we have opened up balcony seating for our much anticipated and well-loved Stereo Stories event.

Grab tickets via link in bio or at the box office (before you enter the Town Hall Ballroom). Hurry, only while tickets last!

—-
📚 W***y Lit Fest
12-14 June 2026
willylitfest.org.au
See you there!

Address

Williamstown Town Hall, Williamstown VIC
Msinga
3016

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