Bookmark the 17th through 28th of May for this year’s mind-morphing Latrobe Literary Festival.
A crime fiction double act, featuring Stephen Johnson and Hugh McGinlay interrogating each other about their latest books, will launch this year’s festival on 17 May at Traralgon Library
The Sydney Writers Festival will then be broadcast at Traralgon Library over the weekend of 20 to 22 May.
The headline event on Saturday 21 May will feature true crime queen, Vikki Petraitis, in conversation with Claire Halliday.
Recently announced as the winner of the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime Fiction Prize, Ms Petraitis’ novel ‘The Unbelieved’ will be published in August.
The talented author has been writing true crime books for 25 years and her first podcast series, The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron, based on her first book, The Phillip Island Murder, has led to an ongoing collaboration with the internationally successful Casefile podcast.
On Sunday 22 May Ms Petraitis and Ms Halliday will lead a discussion on the livestream of the Sydney Writers Festival sessions, including that of hugely popular Australian writer Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and Apples Never Fall).
In the lead up to National Reconciliation Week, the festival will also host Gunaikurnai woman and winner of the 2022 Victorian Premier’s Prize for Literature, Veronica Gorrie, who will discuss her memoir of racism and resilience, Black and Blue via Zoom on Monday 23 May.
A creative writing workshop ‘Writing Intriguing Characters’ will be delivered by Gippsland-based Amy Espeseth, who featured in the local author salon at the 2021 festival, at Traralgon Library on 28 May.
Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said writers’ festivals promoted more than just books.
“A festival is a cultural and social celebration of ideas,” Cr O’Callaghan said.
“Our own festival program will bring together local readers and writers, with published authors who can challenge, inspire and entertain.
“Having the opportunity to broadcast the great minds and writers from the Sydney Writers Festival is a genuine joy. We get to hear from some of the world’s great thinkers, who can express notions about humanity and leave us pondering life with new perspective.”
For more information and to book tickets, visit www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/latrobeliteraryfestival