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Events >

Upcoming events

June

Southern Highlands Writers’ Festival 
(23–26 June)

July

International Publishers Congress
(5–9 July)
Mildura Writers Festival
(16–19 July)
Q-Lit
(16–19 July)
BookUp 
(22–23 July)
Melbourne Rare Book Week 
(23 July–1 August)
Apollo Bay WORDfest
(24–26 July)
Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Conference and Trade Day 
(24–25 July)

August

Byron Writers Festival 
(14–16 August)
Aotearoa NZ Children’s Book Week
(15–21 August)
Children’s Book Week
(22–28 August)

September

Blak & Bright
(3–6 September)
Whitsundays Writers Festival
(13 September)

October

Frankfurt Book Fair 
(7–11 October)
Brisbane Writers Festival 
(8–11 October)

Events

Festivals

Conferences

View upcoming and past events

 

Byron Writers Festival 2026 program announced

Wednesday, 17 June 2026
Byron Writers Festival has released the line-up for this year’s program, running from 14 to 16 August in Bundjalung Country, Byron Bay, NSW. Festival organisers said that with the theme...

Melbourne Rare Book Week announces 2026 program 

Rare Book Week Thursday, 11 June 2026
Melbourne Rare Book Week (MRBW) returns on 23 July, running until 1 August 2026 with a line-up of events, exhibitions, talks and lectures. Book experts will explore topics including the...

Big Day of Books Perth 2026 program announced

Wednesday, 3 June 2026
At Big Day of Books Perth on 20 June, Western Australian radio presenters will chat to Australian authors about their new books during a live broadcast literary show. Hosted by...

Willy Lit Fest 2026 program announced

Willy lit fest logo Wednesday, 3 June 2026
Willy Lit Fest will run in the Williamstown Town Hall, Melbourne, from 12 to 14 June under the theme of “reflections”. The event will feature 40 sessions and almost 80...

NT Writers Festival 2026 festival opens

Thursday, 28 May 2026
The NT Writers Festival will return to Garramilla/Darwin today, running from 28 to 31 May under the theme “Navigating”. Panels, workshops and conversations will include appearances by writers Omar Musa,...

SWF 2026 “the most successful” ever 

SWF Box office Tuesday, 26 May 2026
The 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF), which this year ran 17 to 24 May, recorded a second consecutive year of record-breaking attendance and ticket sales, making it “the most successful...

AWF26 breaks box office, bookstall records 

Monday, 25 May 2026
Ticket sales for the 2026 Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi o Tāmaki (AWF26), held in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from 12 to 17 May, were up 15% on the previous year, representing...

Q-Lit 2026 program announced

Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Q-Lit has announced the program for this year’s festival, to be held in Naarm/Melbourne from 16 to 19 July, with the theme “queer nostalgia”. The opening gala at Kensington Town...

Island Readers & Writers Festival 2026 program

Logo of the Island Readers & Writers Festival, Nipaluna / Hobart, 28 May to 1 June 2026 Tuesday, 19 May 2026
The inaugural Island Readers & Writers Festival, which will run from 28 May to 1 June, has announced its event program. Presented across 7 series – in conversations, panel discussions,...

Booksellers Conference and Trade Day 

Wednesday, 13 May 2026
In Aotearoa New Zealand, the annual Booksellers Conference will be held on 24 July and the Auckland Trade Day on the following day. Organisers describe the event as “a unique...

Whitsundays Writers Festival announces 2026 program

Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Whitsundays Writers Festival has announced the program for its one-day event, to be held on 13 September 2026. Festival director Richard Evans said the 2026 program elevates local storytelling. “This...

ALIA National Conference 2026 program announced

Rosehill NSW Wednesday, 8 April 2026
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) will hold its national conference on 11 to 14 May 2026 at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. ALIA has decided not to have an...

Words on the Waves 2026 program announced

Wednesday, 1 April 2026
The program for the Words on the Waves Writers Festival, to run from 27 May to 1 June on the NSW Central Coast, has been announced. The festival’s opening address,...

Newcastle Writers Festival kicks off tomorrow

Newcastle Writers Festival Thursday, 26 March 2026
Newcastle Writers Festival (NWF) runs from 27 to 29 March, with an opening night event featuring London-based Australian author Kathy Lette, who will reflect on “her writing career, resilience, and...

ABA 2026 conference program announced

Thursday, 26 March 2026
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has released the program for its 2026 conference, to run from 13 to 15 June at in Canberra at the QT hotel (pictured). Sessions at...

BookUp conference and research day dates announced 

Wednesday, 25 March 2026
The 2026 BookUp publishing conference will run in Melbourne on 22 July, the Australian Publishers Association (APA) has announced. Now in its sixth year, BookUp in 2026 “will focus on...

Local bookshop numbers double for 2026 “crawl” 

logo for Global Book Crawl Wednesday, 25 March 2026
Following the inaugural Global Book Crawl (GBC) in 2025, 140 Australian bookshops have signed up for this year’s event. In 2026, 12 separate book crawls will take place in Australia,...

Fitzroy Writers Festival 2026 program announced

Fitzroy Writers Festival logo. Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Yarra Libraries has released the program for this year’s Fitzroy Writers Festival, running on 18 April. To be held in inner Melbourne’s Fitzroy Town Hall, sessions are set to cover...

Apollo Bay WORDfest 2026 line-up announced

Apollo Bay WORDfest logo. Monday, 16 March 2026
The Apollo Bay WORDfest has released the program for its 2026 festival, to be held in the Victorian coastal town from Friday 24 July to Sunday 26 July. Authors scheduled...