2026 Festival
Speaker Profile
Sally Rippin
Sally Rippin is a best-selling and beloved author for children, and the eighth Australian Children's Laureate. Her most popular series include Billie B Brown, Hey Jack! and School of Monsters, and she has over 10 million books in print worldwide. She has also written one book for adults: Wild Things: How We Learn to Read and What Can Happen If We Don’t. Sally is currently working with an Australian production house to adapt her work for screen and was the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2024/2025.
World Book Day: Why Books, Bookshops, Libraries and Writers Festivals Matter
John Boyne, Barry Jones and Sally Rippin with Inala Cooper
Our Festival kicks off with an acknowledgement of World Book Day and a discussion about the role of books in our lives, and importance of book-connected activities, discussions and debates
The Attention War: Can books lure kids off their screens?
Scott Gordon, Sally Rippin and Norman Swan with Francesca Carter
The book’s biggest competitor is the screen. And despite new social media bans, kids are still finding companionship and entertainment via the laptop or iPhone. How can parents encourage book reading in ways that are meaningful and bring results?
This session is supported by Coote Family Lawyers