Port Fairy Literary Weekend

03/09/2026

26/08/2026

Also coming to our festival in a couple of weeks, Jane Caro is on the just-announced shortlist for the Ned Kelly Crime Fiction Awards!

The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the 2026 Ned Kelly Awards shortlists.

The shortlisted titles in each category are:

Best Crime Fiction

Liar’s Game (Jack Beaumont, Allen & Unwin)
Lyrebird (Jane Caro, Allen & Unwin)
The Other Child (Susi Fox, Penguin)
Mad Mabel (Sally Hepworth, Macmillan)
The Ghost Walk (Karen Herbert, Fremantle Press)
Fire in the Head (Daniel Oakman, Black Inc.)
The White Crow (Michael Robotham, Hachette Australia)
The Casino (Iain Ryan, Ultimo Press).

26/08/2026

Coming to Port Fairy in a couple of weeks ...

Blending fiction and family memoir, the author’s second novel pays tribute to the lives and labour of his parents and their community of postwar Italian immigrants in Australia

18/08/2026

Individual tickets for the opening Friday night program are SOLD OUT! Thank you for your support! Other events are selling quickly - so please make sure you've got tickets to what you want. (Please note, weekend pass purchasers will still be able to get into the Friday night program.) www.pflw.com.au

14/08/2026

Our Sunday program (13 September) features some of the country’s very best writers! Individual tickets or weekend passes available via our website! www.pflw.com.au

12/08/2026

Over the Port Fairy Literary Weekend, we are also offering two creative workshops on the Friday, 11 September. One's a Creative Journal Writing Workshop with Dr Stephanie Dowrick, and the other is a Narrative Art Workshop with Jane Farnan. Both are filling up quickly - so you might want to book in quickly if you are interested. And, if you're super keen, you can do BOTH!

11/08/2026

Shortlisted for the 2026 Prime Minister's Literary Awards AND is a guest of our festival in September! Congratulations, Moreno Giovannoni! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

10/08/2026

Our Saturday (12 September) program is huge!
There’s a free children’s Community Bank Port Fairy & District program featuring Lorena Carrington, Olivia Coates, Judy Horacek, Thomas Mayo, and artist Shelley Knoll-Miller will be graphically recording the event - all at the Port Fairy Library!

There’s a middle-grade author panel featuring Alex Dyson and Dr Helen Edwards, with Troy Hunter moderating, at Blarney Books & Art.

There’s Jane Caro and Louise Milligan talking to Jock Serong.

There’s Christine Balint, Maame Blue, Moreno Giovannoni and Christopher Raja talking to David Francis about stories that travel.

There’s Troy Hunter, Allee Richards and Mark Smith talking about pulling no punches in writing for young adults to Fiona Hardy.

There’s Brendan Colley, Wayne Marshall, Jordan Prosser and Michael Winkler talking about taking fiction to the edge of reality (and beyond) with Kate Mildenhall.

There’s Clara Brack, Andrea Goldsmith, Dani Netherclift and Claire Thomas talking over their shared themes of art and grief with Anne Connor.

And then there’s Hana Assafiri, Jane Caro, Thomas Mayo and Marika Sosnowski who are, with Hilary Harper, going to tackle the big question of how to maintain hope (and humour) in such difficult times.

Tickets are selling fast! Don’t miss out. Single sessions available, as well as weekend passes.

06/08/2026

Friday 11 September: the first day of our literary weekend program. We have through the day two different workshops - one writing, one visual art - presented by two extraordinary women.

Our Friday night program at the Reardon theatre begins at 6pm with welcome drinks and nibbles, and a meet and greet for our invited guests and (any) ticket holders. At 7pm, we’ll officially launch Hana Assafiri’s selected works exhibition which will be on show in the foyer of the Reardon.

Then we’ll head inside and listen as the Port Fairy Choir opens the weekend for us, to be followed by Dr Stephanie Dowrick’s short keynote. Then settle in as the legendary fashionista and wordsmith Tim Rogers will talk to Jock Serong about his brand new book, A Suitable Man - the story of the eccentric man behind the Fletcher Jones empire!

17/02/2026

The inaugural Port Fairy Writers Fellowship has just opened for applicants! Eligible for writers 18+ living in the Moyne Shire at any stage of their career. The successful applicant will have mentorship over a six-month period with an experienced writer working in a similar field, two one-week blocks of self-contained accomodation in Port Fairy to provide time and space to do focused work, and participation in the Port Fairy Literary Festival over 11-13 September. Entries via our website. www.pflw.com.au