When the weather gets cold, my thoughts turn to afternoons in a warm room, cup of coffee or glass of red at the ready, and some writing. Warm and embracing environments sometimes make the words come a little easier, even when I’ve come back after a break.
Luckily, Central Victoria is full of events for writers. Here, in approximate date order, are just a handful of the writerly delights we can expect over the colder months.
June 8-11–14th Woodend Winter Arts Festival
Now in its 14th year, the Woodend Winter Arts Festival is a major event on the calendar. This year, there will be events for those interested in writing, music and poetry, to name but a few of the arts that will be featured. Of particular interest to me is the Write right now poetry workshop with award-winning Australian Poet Emilie Zoey Baker; the booking page notes it will be an ‘intensive writing workshop with live prompts, exercises and take-home plans’.
June 19-29–Emerging Writers’ Festival (Melbourne CBD)
EWF is a favourite of mine. I have fond memories of taking time off work, buying a Golden Ticket and wandering around inner-city Melbourne, from panel to workshop to author event for several days straight. A highlight for me was the two-day National Writers’ Conference, occurring on the weekend of the festival. Now, as a parent, I don’t have a lot of time, particularly not on weekends, but I’m looking forward to any remote, free events I can take advantage of. And of course, I’ll be monitoring the twitter hashtags.
August 10-12–Bendigo Writers’ Festival
I must admit, this isn’t a favourite–yet–because I’ve never been to Bendigo Writers’ Festival! But I might try and make it this year. Keep checking at the BWF website for event and ticketing details when the festival program becomes available in June.
August–Words in Winter
This sizeable writers’ festival occurs in Daylesford and other towns across the centre of the state, about an hour out of Melbourne. A highlight for me last year was the ‘Writing in cafes’ event, where Trentham writers met up in a cafe for chat, sharing their work and writing. I’m hoping for a little free time to catch some of the free events in 2018.
