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General release tickets on sale from February 28.
Wednesday April 23
11.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
A Child’s Life
Wednesday April 23
12.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
A Cook's Life
Wednesday April 23
3.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
Wednesday April 23
3.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
A Biographer’s Life
Wednesday April 23
5.00pm
120 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
Don’t Shoot The Messenger
Live Podcast
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT
Wednesday April 23
5.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Bunurong On The Peninsula - From the Beginning of Time
Thursday April 24
8.00am
45 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
The Morning Feed
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
This session is supported by Pitcher Partners
Thursday April 24
8.00am
45 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Art Stream (1)
In Conversation: Patrick McCaughey
This session will be in Halcyon Hall, with Patrick joining us live via Zoom
This session is supported by OTOMYS.
Thursday April 24
9.00am
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
My First Book 1
Three new writers discuss their work practice, their stories, and their lucky break
Thursday April 24
9.00am
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
All Fired Up
How books change children’s lives
This session is supported by the Mornington Peninsula Foundation
Thursday April 24
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
In Conversation
Ben Shewry
Thursday April 24
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
Peter FitzSimons
Thursday April 24
9.00am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
In Conversation
Robbie Arnott
Thursday April 24
9.00am
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
You Can Be In My Gang
Exploring the powerful dynamic of friendship groups in fiction
Thursday April 24
9.30am
45 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Shakespeare Unpacked
Act 1
A special event for Mornington Peninsula secondary school students and festival goers.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
Thursday April 24
10.30am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Art Stream (2)
My Family and Art
This session is supported by OTOMYS
Thursday April 24
10.30am
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Richard Scolyer
Thursday April 24
10.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Does History Repeat?
(And if so, should we be nervous?)
Thursday April 24
10.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
The Ghosts Are Here
First Nations perspectives on European explorers
Thursday April 24
10.30am
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Between Us
Annie Smithers & Virginia Trioli
Thursday April 24
10.30am
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
The Good, The Bad And The Seriously Disturbed
How to create memorable characters
Thursday April 24
10.45am
45 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Shakespeare Unpacked
Act 2
A special event for Mornington Peninsula secondary school students and festival goers.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
65 Years Since Green Eggs and Ham
And other children’s classics we love
This session is supported by the Mornington Peninsula Foundation
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Our Modern World, In My Book
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
How A Faraway Place Inspired My Story
Exploring the importance of setting
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Di Morrissey
This session will be in Halcyon Hall, with Di Morrissey joining us live via Zoom.
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Why We Love A Strong Woman Story
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Art Stream (3)
After 65,000 Years, Forever New
Indigenous art and its impact
This session is supported by OTOMYS
Thursday April 24
12.00pm
120 mins
The Baths Sorrento
The Political Lunch
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Art Stream (4)
Max Dupain in Focus
This session is supported by OTOMYS
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Media Moguls, The Old And The New
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Grey Nomads On Tour
And other reasons to discover Australia
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
Books v Screens
The Great Parenting Challenge
This session is supported by the Mornington Peninsula Foundation
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Meet My Family
Memoir writers discuss how their own tribe’s story became a good book
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Kitchen Controversial
Why restaurant life is not for the faint-hearted
This session is supported by Hotel Sorrento
Thursday April 24
1.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
My First Book 2
Three new writers discuss their work practice, their stories, and their lucky break
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
It Takes A Village
The role of small-town communities in fiction
This session is supported by the Sorrento Chamber of Commerce
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
The Next Gen
Meet our hottest new writers
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Barry Jones
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Walking Together
The potential of First Nations culture to enhance our lives
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
Gallipoli 110 Years On
What does this controversial military campaign tell us about ourselves and our current world?
Peter FitzSimons, Amanda Laugesen and Steve Vizard with Michael Veitch (M)
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Dear Son
Talking about fatherhood, families and raising boys
Thursday April 24
2.30pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Art Stream (5)
How ‘Blue Poles’ Forever Changed Australia’s Gallery Landscape
This session is supported by OTOMYS
Thursday April 24
4.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Re-Imagining The Past
How I found my historical
novel
Thursday April 24
4.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Writers On Writing
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
Thursday April 24
4.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
What I Learned
Three biographers explain the impact of writing another person’s life story
Judith Brett, Helen Ennis and Anthony Sharwood with Jane Montgomery Griffiths (M)
Thursday April 24
4.00pm
120 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
The Barry Jones Oration
by Julia Gillard
The Barry Jones Oration by Julia Gillard
And the Sorrento Writing Prize announcement, followed by Opening Night Drinks
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT
Thursday April 24
5.00pm
45 mins
Sorrento Museum
The Sorrento Boys - Lost at Fromelles
NHS ANZAC Eve Event
This event is ticketed by NHS.
Thursday April 24
6.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Drinks With The Crime Writers
Thursday April 24
6.15pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Talking Footy
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Sorrento
Spreading the Word
The role of books in faith
Stan Grant and Greg Sheridan with Laura Macdonald
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Come Together
How books can create connections between black and white Australia
Anita Heiss, Thomas Mayo, Margo Neale and Tasma Walton with Corrie Perkin
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Why Are Our Kids Anxious?
And Other Perplexing Parenting Issues
This session is supported by Coote Family Lawyers
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Up Close and Personal
The trials and triumphs of writing biography
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
The Whitlam Legacy, 1975
Why Australia was never the same again
Jenny Hocking, Tom McIlroy, Henry Rosenbloom and Anne Summers with Tom Wright (M)
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Migration Stories In The Round
How human journeys impact storytelling
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
In Conversation
Michelle de Kretser
Friday April 25
1.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Nature, My Great Escape
Tales of growing, re-wilding and rejuvenating
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Food As Solace
How cooking helps me through the bad times and the good
This session is supported by Hotel Sorrento
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church of Sorrento
I Talk To The Trees
In praise of nature’s enduring force
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
It’s About The Optics, Stupid
Unpacking the 2025 Election
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
The Great Gatsby 100 Years On
Is it the great American novel?
This session is supported by Coote Family Lawyers
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Bad Guys I Have Known
Murder mysteries and how to write them
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
In Conversation
Kim Williams
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
In Conversation
Anne Summers
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Sometimes My Imagination Just Runs Away…
Friday April 25
2.30pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
It Started With A Dot
Understanding melanoma and other cancer stories
Friday April 25
4.00pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
When The Past Invades Our Present
Three novelists discuss their style of historical fiction writing
Friday April 25
4.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
I Wrote A Bestseller – And Then What?
Friday April 25
4.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Drinks With The Publishers
Friday April 25
4.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
How To Handle Europe, and Other Urgent World Issues
Friday April 25
4.00pm
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
Stan Grant
Friday April 25
4.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Your Life, My Words
The art of telling someone else’s story
This session is supported by Village Glen
Friday April 25
5.00pm
90 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Barefoot Bowls and Read Out Loud
Our speakers read and recite some of their favourite passages, poems, speeches and soliloquies
Friday April 25
5.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Limeburners, Convicts, Drunkenness and Death
Point Nepean 1835-40
Friday April 25
5.30pm
90 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Words & Music Act 1
The Voice in Music
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT - Presented by the Musical Enrichment Program for the Children of the Mornington Peninsula
Friday April 25
5.30pm
90 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
The Evening Feed & Drinks With The Journos
This session is supported by Pitcher Partners.
Friday April 25
7.00pm
45 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Sir Ian Rankin
This session will be in Halcyon Hall, with Sir Ian Rankin joining us from London via Zoom
Saturday April 26
8.00am
45 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Breakfast With Jane Austen - On Her 250th Birthday
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday April 26
8.00am
45 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
The Morning Feed
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
This session is supported by Pitcher Partners
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Joe Aston
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
1975
The Dismissal: The moment Australian politics changed forever
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
From Laptop To International Bestseller
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
I’m Still Here
Getting to 90 – and knowing you're 90
This session is supported by Village Glen
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
In Conversation
Grantlee Kieza
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Imagination On Steroids
Speculative fiction, magic realism, fantasy and imaginary worlds in fiction.
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Healing Power of Nature
Saturday April 26
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Writing About Me
How hard was that, anyway?
Saturday April 26
10.20am
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
What’s Your Agenda, Mark Zuckerberg? Masculine energy, manarchy culture, and aggression in the workplace
Saturday April 26
10.30am
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
When and Why Did Climate Fall Off The Election Agenda?
Saturday April 26
10.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Island of My Mind
The role of Flinders Island in my writing
Saturday April 26
10.30am
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Ta Da! Introducing, Our New Books
Saturday April 26
10.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
Helen Garner
This session is supported by Coote Family Lawyers
Saturday April 26
10.30am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
From Mashed Peas to Smashed Peas
How Australian family food has evolved in 50 years
Saturday April 26
10.30am
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Between Us
Stan Grant and Marcia Langton
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
In Conversation
Kate Grenville
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Writers On Writing
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
From Lamingtons to Legacy
AWW’s Culinary Influence
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Nothing Personal
How to imagine characters who are not like you (or your mum, or your boss, or your best friend)
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
Sorrento Portsea RSL
How Do You Write a Dictionary?
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
World War Fiction
For novelists,
It’s an ongoing rich and dramatic landscape
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Josh Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg with Cameron Stewart (M)
Saturday April 26
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
If Rupert Dies, What Next? The Future of News Ltd and the great dynasty crisis
This session is in partnership with Human Cogs Podcast
Saturday April 26
1.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
In Conversation
Richard N Haass
This session will be in Halcyon Hall, with Richard N Haass joining us live from New York via Zoom
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Dear Prime Minister, What Are You Scared Of?
How social media and other technologies are undermining democracies
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
2025
The Year The World Goes Nuts: What does our global landscape look like in 2025?
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
Inside The Boardroom
Who is running our corporate world and are they up to the job?
This session is supported by Thomson Geer
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Telling Australian Stories Via The Big and Little Screen
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Are Aussie Men Okay With Women?
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
The History Of Music In 256 Pages
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
In Conversation
Dervla McTiernan
In Conversation and Book Launch
Saturday April 26
1.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Writers On Writing
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
Saturday April 26
3.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
Shining Light In Dark Corners
Is investigative journalism an endangered species?
Presented in partnership with The Wheeler Centre
Saturday April 26
3.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
The First 100 Days
Donald Trump’s second presidency
Saturday April 26
3.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
1975 Then, Now and Beyond 50 Years of Feminism in Australia
Saturday April 26
3.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Lust, Love and the Whole Courtship Thing
Publishing’s gift that keeps on giving
Saturday April 26
3.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Between Us
Thomas Mayo and Kerry O’Brien
Saturday April 26
3.00pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
I Grow, I Cook, I Eat
In praise of the veggie patch
Fiona Brockhoff, Jaclyn Crupi (M) and Paulette Whitney discuss
Saturday April 26
3.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
Origins - Mornington Peninsula - In Photographs
A look back at our region’s early days
Saturday April 26
4.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Outside The Box
Why our writers like to experiment and play with form
Saturday April 26
4.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
David Marr
Saturday April 26
4.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Writers On Writing
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
Saturday April 26
4.30pm
90 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Drinks With The Sportswriters
This session is supported by Kay & Burton
Saturday April 26
4.30pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
The Unlikely Hero
From the flawed to the failed to the fluke, these characters give thrillers their spark
Saturday April 26
4.45pm
75 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
The Greer Effect
A read-through of Vanessa O’Neill’s play-in-progress
Saturday April 26
5.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Museum
The Great Land Grab, George Coppin, Father Of Sorrento - Or Was He?
Saturday April 26
6.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Let’s Talk Love
Diving into the heart of fiction
Saturday April 26
6.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
From Podcast To Platform
Exploring new ways to tell stories today
This session is supported by ArtFuel
Saturday April 26
6.30pm
120 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
Words & Music Act 2
Countdown, 50 Years
And, The Screamin’ Eagles playing the hits of 1975.
THIS IS A SPECIAL EVENT
This session is supported by Kay & Burton
Sunday April 27
8.00am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Breakfast With The Bard
The Political Plays
Sunday April 27
8.00am
45 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
The Morning Feed
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
This session is supported by Pitcher Partners
Sunday April 27
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
Smooth Runs The Water
The impact of swimming, surfing, waves and coastlines on my writing
Sunday April 27
9.00am
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Is Australia a Racist Country?
Sunday April 27
9.00am
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Our Political Parties
Where to from here?
Sunday April 27
9.00am
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
From Newsroom To Bookshelf
Sunday April 27
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
Geraldine Brooks
Sunday April 27
9.00am
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Yeah, Nah, Just Joking, Mate
Are Australians as eloquent and hilarious as we think?
Sunday April 27
9.15am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
The Art Of The Cookbook
Sunday April 27
10.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
John Lyons
Sunday April 27
10.30am
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Reimagining Australia
How to make this next quarter of the 21st Century really matter
This session is supported by the Sorrento Chamber of Commerce
Sunday April 27
10.30am
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
In Conversation
Robert Dessaix
Sunday April 27
10.30am
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Stop Hurting Women
Enough is enough
Sunday April 27
10.30am
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
The DEI Dilemma
How corporate Australia might handle the backlash
This session is in partnership with Human Cogs Podcast
Sunday April 27
10.30am
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
Who’s Better
Bach or Mozart - and other ridiculous musical provocations
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
All In The Family
Some of fiction’s best plots happen under the one roof
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Writing Memoir
The art of the autobiography
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Portsea RSL
The Great Australian Nightmare
Housing in crisis
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Between Us
Andrew Knight and Steve Vizard
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
Where To, America? (Or, How Gaga is MAGA?)
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Room 1, Sorrento Masonic Centre
Where Is All The Big-Picture Thinking? Talking political leadership, visionary policy and new ideas
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Elon, AI, No Boundaries, No Truth. Where To For The Media?
This session is supported by ArtFuel
Eric Beecher, Paddy Manning, Josh Taylor with Amanda Smith
Sunday April 27
12.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Telling the Truth About Australia’s History
Sunday April 27
1.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
My New Book
Three writers discuss their latest novels, and the journey from idea to bookstore
Sunday April 27
1.30pm
60 mins
Sorrento Bowls Club
Writers On Non-Fiction Writing
THIS IS A FREE EVENT - However, you still need to book a ticket
Sunday April 27
1.30pm
60 mins
Room 2, Sorrento Masonic Centre
My Life and India
A conversation about the nation, its people and its great diaspora
Sunday April 27
1.30pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
The Craft of Murder
Sunday April 27
1.30pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental
Simmer Down
The role of civilised conversations in a healthy democracy
This session is supported by Thomson Geer
Sunday April 27
1.30pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Mother Nature – and Why She Needs Our Help
This session is in partnership with Human Cogs Podcast
Sunday April 27
3.00pm
60 mins
Ellen Grant Hall
Australian Writing, From Where I Sit
Sunday April 27
3.00pm
60 mins
The Ballroom, The Continental
Between Us
Andrew Rule and John Silvester
Sunday April 27
3.00pm
60 mins
Sorrento Community Centre
In Conversation
Gina Chick
Sunday April 27
3.00pm
60 mins
Halcyon Hall, The Continental