Scrublands author Chris Hammer to open Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival
Meet our keynote speaker for the 2026 Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival!
Chris Hammer, one of Australia’s leading Australian crime fiction writers and author of the hugely successful and award-winning novel Scrublands, will launch an expanded Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival in October.
Hammer, who has sold more than 1.5 million books around the world and won the prestigious UK Crime Writers Association John Creasy Award for best debut crime novel, will deliver the opening address at Cameo Cinemas on Friday, October 9.
He will also be part of a Crime Fiction panel on Saturday, October 10, where he will discuss his latest novel, Full Circle, released just weeks earlier.
His first stand-alone thriller, it’s described as “a thrilling, epic and unforgettable story of intrigue and revenge, love and redemption” that has “echoes of Succession and The Big Short, and a dusting of The Great Gatsby”.
Hammer’s appearance follows last year’s hugely successful inaugural Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival, where hundreds flocked to Belgrave to immerse themselves in all things literature, including two sell-out sessions with award-winning author Hannah Kent.
Literature lovers will have even more reason to attend in 2026,
with this year’s Festival expanded to three days.
It will feature some of Australia’s best writers, with new sessions dedicated to new topics including:
🖤💛❤️ Indigenous storytelling
🫶🏽🤟🏻💋 Romance
🖊️🦸🏽📚 Graphic novels
🎥📓🎬 Screenwriting
There will also be a series of lead-up events, including a self-publishing workshop in July and two events for children during Book Week in August and the September school holidays (dates TBC).
Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival Chair Marian Matta said Chris Hammer was a huge literary talent and would continue the impressive line-up set last year.
We are delighted to welcome Chris to the Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival, and are excited to hear him regale audiences with stories as good as his fast-paced thrillers,” Marian said.
“We have put together a broad and lively Festival program that will captivate and inspire audiences and bring more people to the Hills.”
The full Festival program will be released on August 27, and tickets will go on sale on August 28.
More author announcements will come in the next few weeks.
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