Constellations - Children's & YA Readers & Writers Day

Spend the day with a star-studded constellation of Children's & YA authors and illustrators.

Join us at Burnside Ballroom and Burnside Library for a packed program filled with a constellation of international, national and local literary talent, with something for all readers and writers of children's and YA literature.

Mostly Books will be selling books with the option for signing by the authors and/or illustrators at this event.

9.30 am The Big Book Bungle:

Someone has made a big mistake and mixed up all the books. Can you help us fix the big book bungle before all our authors and illustrators run away?

An interactive storytelling and craft adventure for small readers, featuring Katrina Germein, Alice Lindstrom, Andrea Rowe and Danny Snell.

11.30 am Tall Tales with a Twist of Truth-Telling:

Birds that spy, submarines that fly, shipwrecks, mysteries and mending superpowers. How diverse voices and true stories can spark magical adventures for newly confident readers.

Middle Grade In Conversation Panel featuring Clayton Zane Comber, Gisela Ervin-Ward, Connor McCammon and Beverley McWilliams. Chaired by Dr Helen Edwards.

1-2 pm Trusting Our Teens: Why Young Readers are Shaping the Conversation:

YA In Conversation Panel featuring Olivia De Zilva, Will Kostakis, Gary Lonesborough and Jared Thomas.

2.30-3.30 pm Children’s Books as Activism In Conversation Panel Session:

In the age of AI our children and society in general need to hear stories that centre truth, reality and justice more than any other time in history. How do we harness the power of storytelling to support them as critical thinkers, while still protecting them from the chaos unfolding around them?

In Conversation Panel Session featuring Charlie Archbold, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Leila Boukrim (from Berlin, via Zoom) Lara Cain Grey and Sara Haddad . Chaired by Bethany Clark.

Please book for each session you wish to attend and for all attendees.

AUSLAN interpreters will be present at all sessions courtesy of Deaf Connect.

Please allow additional time for parking as spaces are limited.