Nearly there!

It's Wednesday and the literary weekend begins on Friday, so we're almost there!

We've had such a terrific response to our sessions that we've had to move everything which was listed to be at Blarney Books & Art across the road to the Reardon Cinema. This gives us a lot of hope for future festival planning! And we thank you for your support, interest and enthusiasm.

Helen and Des Bunyon of Customs House Gallery (Hawkesdale) have been at Blarney Books & Art all week and late into the night hanging their 30th annual Australian Children's Picture Book Illustration exhibition, "Illustrating Imagination", which is just STUNNING. We implore you to please take some time over the weekend to view this show - it's absolutely phenomenal! Over 100 works, by Australia's top illustrators and artists, most of which have graced the pages of well-known and awarded children's picture books! Extraordinary, uplifting work.

We've had some slight changes to our program. We don't have Grace Chan coming this year, and Maya Linnell has also had to withdraw. We wish them both well and hope to see them back on our festival list in the future! The panels that Grace and Maya were on will continue - but as one-on-one conversations rather than panels, which means a deeper engagement with their works.

The Literary Dinner booked out very early on! We've been able to add the poet Susie Anderson to the guest list for the Literary Dinner, and she and Tony Birch will be able to read some of their poetry to the gathered crowd.

The Opening Night program is going to set an exhilarating tone for the entire weekend. Hugh Mackay speaking on a topic close to our hearts - Kindness - followed by Jayne Tuttle's high voltage performance of Paris or Die, followed by a Q&A with Jock Serong. We'll have a bar running, there'll be books and merch available, there'll also be hot dumplings available via Jet's Dumpling van just outside the cinema! And that's just the Friday night. Programs available around town, and at Blarney Books & Art.

We look forward to seeing everyone there! And we once again thank the wonderful Fletcher Jones Family Foundation, and the Moyne Shire, for their financial support which has made this festival possible.

Jo Canham

Director

Port Fairy Literary Weekend 2023