Hannah Kent to open new literary festival in the Dandenong Ranges
From Arthur Streeton to Andy Griffiths, the Dandenong Ranges have long been a source of creative inspiration and now a new literary festival aims to highlight the way a place can inform and inspire writers and readers.
The inaugural Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival launches this October in Belgrave, with the theme of ‘Sense of Place’.
Award-winning Australian author Hannah Kent will open the event with a keynote address on Friday, October 17. Kent, the author of the highly acclaimed Burial Rites, recently released her memoir, Always Home, Always Homesick.
A host of panels and workshops covering a range of genres and topics will be held on Saturday, October 18, including Historical Fiction, crime, biography/autobiography, Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Junior Fiction, how to self-publish and advice on approaching publishers.
Local authors already confirmed for the Festival include Lia Hills, Kate Mildenhall, Elle McFadzean, Kylie Orr and Alison Goodman, as well as journalist and writer Paul Kennedy.
Festival Chair Marian Matta said an event celebrating writers, both local and from across Australia, was long overdue in the Dandenong Ranges.
“The Dandenongs have a wealth of writers, including successful published authors and aspiring writers of all genres. The Ranges also have an engaged and creative community who embrace local events and people, ensuring a vibrant and inspiring event for all ages,” Ms Matta said.
“This Festival will help bring a focus on the Dandenong Ranges as a place of inspiration and creativity, its history and the writers and readers who have and continue to live and work here. However, the theme can equally be applied to any place, and the role it plays in literature of all forms.”
Ms Matta says they want the community to get behind the Festival and have organised a number of free community events, including a street ‘book swap’ through Belgrave, where locals can swap and share books.
While the Festival will be held in venues across Belgrave this year, Ms Matta says they hope to expand over the coming years and host events in townships across the Ranges.
“We want this Festival to become an important annual event that enables locals and literature-lovers from further afield to come together and hear from a broad range of writers, while bringing visitors to the Hills for our local businesses,” she said.
Marian Matta is available for interviews.
Tickets for the Festival are on sale now: