Planning for the inaugural Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival began in early 2024 when a handful of people with a shared love of literature met in a small room in the Tecoma Uniting Church.
Over the next 18 months a core group steadily developed an inaugural festival with a vision to celebrate writers in the Dandenong Ranges, inspire and teach new writers, showcase all literary styles, and ignite literary debate and conversation.
The committee aimed to establish an ethical and environmentally sustainable festival; establish the festival with integrity; provide a safe and respectful environment for all participants and attendees; pay guest speakers/talent from the outset; and demonstrate that speakers are valued.
Key to the Festival is the people. Our goal is to be an event that is inclusive of Dandenong Ranges residents, writers, authors and readers from outside the region, anyone interested in writing, literature and ideas, tourists, publishers, local businesses and councils, and people of all ages, genders and backgrounds.
Over the next 10 years we hope the Festival becomes a fully sustainable event that runs over several days across multiple villages and venues in the Hills, attracting hundreds of writers and thousands of people to the region and becoming a fixture on the annual Hills calendar and further afield.
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