Festival 2024 Program

Schedule
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Reading Event:

ACON Salon.

Roxy Gallery.
6:00 PM
Featuring: Ivan Crozier
Tickets: This is a free event, no need to register.
This is a 90-minute event.
18+ only.

ACON Salon is a reading event aimed at raising awareness of HIV and STI prevention for people who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies aged 18 and over. Ivan Crozier will read excerpts from gay fiction (Jonathan Kemp’s 26) before opening up to the audience to discuss HIV, STIs, risk and sexual health in relation to the stories. The session will provide local, up to date information about accessing sexual health services, testing, prevention, treatment, and stigma-reduction around HIV.

Primary Schools Event:

Enchanted Ink with Melaina Faranda.

Bonalbo Central School,
Woodenbong Central School.
Contact the school for times
Featuring: Melaina Faranda.
Tickets: Free for school-aged children.
Each school-based workshop will run for 90 minutes.

Join Melaina Faranda for a dynamic storytelling workshop aimed at primary school students. Melaina grew from being a dreamy, barefoot country kid to writing over fifty young adult and children’s books, published nationally and internationally — with many of her books used in schools across Australia. A highly engaging, energetic, and empathic presenter and facilitator, Melaina is passionate about sharing inspiring, practical, and fun creative writing, editing, and storytelling skills with students and helping to foster their talent.

Primary Schools Event:

Enchanted Ink with Melaina Faranda.

Kyogle Primary School,
St Brigid’s Primary School.
Contact the school for times
Featuring: Melaina Faranda.
Tickets: Free for school-aged children.
Each school-based workshop will run for 90 minutes.

Join Melaina Faranda for a dynamic storytelling workshop aimed at primary school students. Melaina grew from being a dreamy, barefoot country kid to writing over fifty young adult and children’s books, published nationally and internationally — with many of her books used in schools across Australia. A highly engaging, energetic, and empathic presenter and facilitator, Melaina is passionate about sharing inspiring, practical, and fun creative writing, editing, and storytelling skills with students and helping to foster their talent.

High School Program:

The Power of Words.

Kyogle Memorial Hall.
11:00 AM
Featuring: Melissa Lucashenko in conversation with Michael Burge.
Gary Lonesborough, Tim Baker in conversation with Ella Jeffery.
Corey Tutt in conversation with Kevin Markwell.
Tickets: Free for high school students.
Contact your school for details.
Doors open at 10:45am.
This is a 3-hour event, with a break for lunch.

This unique event provides an opportunity for high schoolers and teachers from the Northern Rivers to engage with writers who are at the forefront of literary innovation and creativity. Join us as they share their insights, experiences, and expertise. Participants will also have the chance to explore new perspectives, techniques, and trends that shape the literary landscape. The Power of Story: Melissa Lucashenko in conversation with Michael Burge.

Creating Compelling Voices: Gary Lonesborough, Tim Baker in conversation with Ella Jeffery.

Exploring Legends and Inspiring Futures: Corey Tutt in conversation with Kevin Markwell.

Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali, We Weave Together.

Roxy Gallery.
12:00 PM
Featuring: TBC
Tickets: Free, no need to register.
This is a 3-hour event.

The Kyogle Readers and Writers Festival, in conjunction with Arts Northern Rivers, is very proud to present this workshop showcasing the age-old traditions and contemporary practice captured in Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali, We Weave Together. 

Inviting you to a unique opportunity to engage with Bundjalung weavers, celebrating traditional knowledge and techniques through the skilful, patient hands of experienced weavers who were celebrated in the recent Bulaan Buruugaa Ngali, We Weave Together publication. This book intricately weaves stories of Elders and weavers, describing historical materials, and traditional plant species and techniques. Participants can immerse themselves in the cultural practices and weaving techniques featured in the book, learning directly from the weavers. 

Who are we?

Discovering the Creative Industries in the Northern Rivers

Roxy Gallery
3pm
Featuring: Jane Fuller of Arts Northern Rivers and Tandi Palmer Williams of Patternmakers
Tickets: Free, no need to register.
This is a 20 minute event.

They say there are more creatives here than any other region in Australia, outside of major cities. They also say we are the ‘home of festivals’. But who are we really? And how are recent events changing things? 

In this talk, Jane Fuller (ANR) and Tandi Palmer Williams (Patternmakers) discuss a two-year research project exploring the Northern Rivers’ creative sector – and what artists and audiences need to thrive in future.

Author Feature:

Daniel Browning’s Close to the Subject.

Roxy Gallery.
3:30 PM
Featuring: Daniel Browning, Melissa Lucashenko.
Tickets: Free, no need to register.
This is a 60-minute event.

Daniel Browning, host of ABC Radio National’s The Arts Show, has been a First Nations journalist for more than thirty years. Now, he’s decided the time is right to compile his first book — Close to the Subject: Selected Works. Daniel will be joined on stage by Melissa Lucashenko for a discussion of this collection of essays, chronicling his career as a journalist, radio broadcaster, sound artist, critic, and interviewer.

Kyogle Readers and Writers Festival

Launch Event.

Kyogle Library.
5:30 PM
Featuring:
Tickets: Free, no need to register.
This is a 90-minute event.

Join us to kick off The Kyogle Readers and Writers Festival for 2024 with sips, nibbles, and not too many speeches.

Kyogle Together Presents

Weaving the Voices of the Rivers and the Night Sky.

Kyogle Cinema
7:00 PM
Featuring: Duane Hamacher and Corey Tutt.
Tickets: Free. No need to register.
This is a 60-minute event presented by Kyogle Together’s Rivers and Sky Project.

Weaving the Voices of the Rivers and the Night Sky is a year-long, community-led project run by Kyogle Together and proudly funded by the Department of Regional New South Wales. The project uses storytelling to bring stronger connections between people, the rivers, and the night sky across the Kyogle LGA, to help improve the health of all.
Join Duane Hamacher, whose book The First Astronomers was guided by six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, takes us on a journey across space and time to reveal the wisdom of the first astronomers, pointing the way for a world looking to a future in the cosmos. Duane will be joined on stage by First Nations scientist Corey Tutt OAM for a discussion of his research.

Kids Workshop:

Bookmaking with Sarah Daley

Kyogle Library.
9:30am
Featuring: Sarah Daley.
Tickets: Free, no need to register.
This is a 90-minute workshop. All young people need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. If you are in a pinch, a moderately irresponsible one will do.

Something for the kids! Participants will be guided through a 6-part storymaking process to help inspire imagination and creativity using pictures and/or words. They’ll also learn how to do a super special origami fold to turn an A3 piece of paper into an 8-page book. 

Workshop:

Basics of Self-Publishing.

Kyogle Community Centre, Bloore Street.
9:30 AM
Featuring: Kylie Chan.
Tickets: This workshop is not included in the festival pass.
Tickets for this event are sold separately through our website.
This is a half day workshop to This is a half day workshop and will finish at 1pm

Thinking about beginning your writing journey? Or do you have a book already completed that you would love to put out into the world? Whatever stage you are at, this is the workshop for you, as Kylie guides you through the basics of self-publishing, outline the differences between print and digital self-publishing, and explain channels, discounts, and regional restrictions. Learn what it takes to produce a book that you can be proud of.

Panel:

Writing the Diaspora.

Roxy Gallery.
10:30 AM
Featuring: Yen-Rong Wong, Siang Lu and chair Mirandi Riwoe.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

These three writers embody the diversity and depth of contemporary Australian literature, pushing boundaries and challenging readers to see the world through new eyes. With their distinct voices and powerful storytelling, Yen-Rong Wong, Siang Lu, and Mirandi Riwoe continue to leave an indelible mark on the literary landscape and festival audiences alike.

Panel:

Gardening by the Book.

Fellowship Centre
10:30 AM
Featuring: Maria Hitchcock OAM, Linda Woodrow, Phil Dudman, and chair Kevin Markwell.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

Ever since Yates Garden Guide was first published in 1895, Australians have had an insatiable appetite for books, magazines and, more recently, blogs on gardens and gardening. This panel gets their hands dirty as they explore the influence that ‘hort porn’ has had on Australian garden design, fashions, and trends. What’s your favourite gardening book?

Panel:

Writing While Black.

Kyogle Memorial Hall.
11:00 AM
Featuring: Mykaela Saunders, Gary Lonesborough, Ellen van Neerven and chair Grace Lucas-Pennington.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

First Nations writing has enjoyed a long overdue blossoming in the last decade. This genre is a vibrant tapestry of storytelling, rich with cultural connections to land and community, while embracing razor-sharp contemporary insights. This panel brings together four different perspectives to our main stage for a discussion of the best contemporary Black writing. An event not to be missed.

Workshop:

Performance Poetry.

Laneway Community Space.
11:00 AM
Featuring: Sarah Temporal
Tickets: This workshop is not included in the festival pass.
Tickets for this event are sold separately through our website.

In this workshop, you are invited to uncover your authentic voice through poetry. Join prize-winning poet Sarah Temporal in a supportive group setting to create your own poem for page or stage (perhaps to read at the open mic later on at the Kyogle Golf Club) Through creative exercises and examples, we will explore what gives poetry its potent revelatory power. Suitable for beginners as well as those with writing experience, ages 16+.

Workshop:

Zines with Benjo.

Kyogle Library.
11:30 AM
Featuring: Benjo Kazue.
Tickets: Free, no need to register.
This is a 90-minute workshop.

Zines (pronounced “zeens”) are self-published, independent, do-it-yourself publications about anything —from personal stories and artwork to political commentary, gardening, family, and DIY guides. Made using simple materials like paper, photocopiers, glue, scissors, and staplers, they often have a handmade aesthetic. Come and learn the many folds of zine making. They’re the most accessible and experimental art form there is, and they never go out of style, with no rules and maximum self-expression, for any age, any artist, at any level.

Panel Event:

Writer in Residence.

Roxy Gallery.
12:00 PM
Featuring: KRAW Writer in Residence, in conversation with Jessie Cole, Michael Burge.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

The Kyogle Readers and Writers is very proud to run a biennial Writer in Residence Program. This year’s applications were open to all emerging writers with a connection to Regional New South Wales with the winning recipient enjoying a week-long residency in Kyogle. Come along as they chat with members of the selection committee, Michael Burge and Jessie Cole, about what they have been up to.

Panel:

Song of the Snake Man.

The Fellowship Centre.
12:00 PM
Featuring: Kevin Markwell, Richard Wells, Kate McGain, and chair Nancy Cushing.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

“Australian Snake Man” Eric Worrell is best known for establishing the Australian Reptile Park on the NSW Central Coast. He was also a prolific writer, publishing 11 books (including Song of the Snake) and over 100 articles on reptiles, wildlife, Indigenous cultures and even the quirky life of sideshow alley ‘carnies.’ Join the panel as they explore Worrell’s writings and talk about The Eric Worrell Archive Project.

Read more about this panel

Movie:

The Crossing Project.
Tinnie Heroes.

Kyogle Cinema.
12:00 PM
Featuring: Locals.
Tickets: Tickets $10 each on the door.
This event is not included in the festival pass.
This is a 60-minute event.

Join us for a screening of two very different Northern Rivers films.

Headliner:

Melissa Lucashenko in Conversation with Daniel Browning.

Kyogle Memorial Hall.
12:30 PM
Featuring: Melissa Lucashenko, Daniel Browning.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
The only way you can guarantee seeing Melissa is by purchasing a festival pass.
This is a 60-minute event.

Join us as one of Australia’s most beloved authors Melissa Lucashenko talks to old friend Daniel Browning about her latest novel, award-winning epic, Edenglassie.

Workshop:

Making it Good Enough to Publish.

The Laneway Community Space.
1:30 PM
Featuring: Melaina Faranda.
Tickets: This workshop is not included in the festival pass.
Tickets for this event are sold separately.
This is a half day workshop to This is a half day workshop and will finish at 4.30pm.

What’s the difference between a good story and a good story that will be published?
Often it comes down to simple mistakes that mark out the amateur from the pro. Race through a dynamic, non-stop self-editing workout that gets results! Take a shortcut and save yourself twenty years of slog with this invaluable distillation of an author’s real-life experiences working with twenty editors from ten major publishing houses. Learn how to keep up pace and hurdle common literary pitfalls, as well as helpful pointers for creating three-dimensional characters and enriching stories with sensory writing to achieve a personal best. Train yourself to recognise flaws in your writing and troubleshoot in order to win the trifecta: an addictive story with a great plot, pacing and characterisation. Strenuous self-editing exercises will enable you to dig beyond stereotypical story slush to find true gold!

Author Feature:

Ellen van Neerven’s Personal Score.

Roxy Gallery.
1:30 PM
Featuring: Ellen van Neerven, Grace Lucas-Pennington.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

Award-winning writer Ellen van Neerven played football from a young age, learning early on that sport can be a painful and exclusive world. The more they play, the more they realise about sport’s troubled relationship with race, gender and sexuality, and question what it means to play sport on stolen sovereign land, especially in the midst of multiple environmental crises. Ellen will be joined onstage by Grace Lucas-Pennington for a discussion about their ground-breaking examination of sport’s troubled relationship with race, gender, and sexuality, Personal Score.

Panel Event:

Developmental.

The Fellowship Centre.
1:30 PM
Featuring: Dave Heilpern, Sue Higginson, Ella Jeffery, and chair Nancy Cushing.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

Australia is at a crossroads. Our current housing disaster coupled with the climate crisis looms heavy in the headlines. It’s clear we need to change how we live, and quick. On the other hand, we are all protective of our own patch of grass, and the histories embodied in both the built and natural landscapes. So how do we transition to a more ethical society without scaring the NIMBYS?

Panel Event:

Local Books with Andy Spencer.

Kyogle Library.
1:30 PM
Featuring: Andy Spencer, Dimitri Tishler, Judith Light and Jayne Miller.
Tickets: Free, no need to register. Though Andy does love a cupcake.
This is a 60-minute event.

Love local books? Come have a look at what these locals have been up to.

Headliner:

Costa Georgiadis in Conversation with Angela Catterns.

Kyogle Memorial Hall.
2:00 PM
Featuring: Costa Georgiadis, Angela Catterns.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
Subject to availability, there will be a very limited number of individual tickets available for purchase from our box office on the day.
The only way you can guarantee seeing Costa is by purchasing a festival pass.
This is a 60-minute event.

Beloved host of the ABC’s Gardening Australia and Australia’s favourite hairy man is appearing on our main stage. Come join us for a captivating one-on-one discussion with Costa about all things weedy, buggy, planty and composty. Costa, the author of Costa’s World, Home Gardening for the Soil is a winner of a Silver Logie and an AACTA Award, and this chance to see a bona fide Australian icon shouldn’t be missed. Costa will be joined on stage by the ABC’s Angela Catterns.

Read more about this event...

Author Feature:

Mirandi Riwoe’s Sunbirds.

Roxy Gallery.
3:00 PM
Featuring: Mirandi Riwoe, Naima Brown.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

Mirandi Riwoe’s Sunbirds is a dazzling tapestry of intrigue and resilience set against the lush backdrop of colonial-era Queensland. In this richly woven narrative, Riwoe invites readers into a world where love, betrayal, and the quest for freedom intertwine. With prose as luminous as the tropical landscape it evokes, Sunbirds is a mesmerising tale that illuminates the strength of the human spirit amidst adversity. Mirandi will be joined onstage by Naima Brown.

Panel Event:

Change Your Mind?

The Fellowship Centre.
3:00 PM
Featuring: Dave Heilpern, Tim Baker, Sally Breen.
Tickets: Included in the festival pass.
If there is space in the venue there will also be individual tickets for sale from our box office on the day.
This is a 60-minute event.

Overcoming adversity doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all prescription. Some of us have to look outside the box and into our creative practice and alternative therapies in an effort to better understand our own minds, have some fun, or to treat chronic pain. Join us as acclaimed author Sally Breen guides this unique discussion about what happens when you try and change your mind.

Community Event:

Page & Stage Poetry.

The Kyogle Golf Club.
4:00pm.
Featuring: Alasdair Carter, Sarah Temporal, Rosemary Nissen-Wade. Presented by Vincent Stead.
Tickets: Free. No need to register.
This is a 120-minute event.

Join us for a showcase of both written and spoken word poetry. Featuring performances by Sydney poet Alasdair Carter, the current Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup Champion, former winner Sarah Temporal, and renowned poet Rosemary Nissen-Wade. Readings by local poets from their new collections and an Open Mic with a wide range of poetry styles represented.

Community Event:

Literary Trivia with Odette.

The Kyogle Golf Club.
7pm.
Featuring: Odette Nettleton.
Tickets: Just bring along a gold coin and join a table.

Come along as we wrap up the festival with a couple of drinks, music, some laughs, and trivia with local good sort Odette Nettleton
Trivia Newton-John is already taken, so you’ll have to come up with another witty team name 😉