16-25 October 2026

Schools Program 2026

500 students. 4 authors. 1 exciting week!

Our Schools Program is back in 2026 from May 11-18 and we're thrilled to be welcoming the following authors and poets to town to present to students from every childcare, kindergarten, and primary school in the Borough of Queenscliffe.

Dr. Mark Carthew
Mark is an award winning Australian children’s author, poet, musician and educator whose work celebrates language, humour, and wordplay. Dr Mark’s book, The Thing That Goes Ping, was the 2021 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year.
Dr. Shona Innes
Dr Shona is a nationally recognised forensic and clinical psychologist, consultant, peer supervisor, speaker and workshop presenter, author and media commentator on mental health issues. Dr Shona will present her Big Hug Books.
Claire Saxby
Claire writes award-winning fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. Her work is published in Australia and internationally. Recent books include Tree and Secrets of the Saltmarsh.
Emilie Zoey Baker
Emilie is an award-winning Australian poet, educator, slam nerd and spoken-word performer. She is also a co-founder of Out Loud, Victoria’s first-ever teen team slam, as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Dr Shona Innes is also hosting a session for parents. Little Moments, Mighty Conversations explores how children communicate through behaviour and emotion, and how adults can safeguard through building shared understanding and boundaries in developmentally appropriate ways.

This session happens on Tuesday 12 May from 7-8pm at Point Lonsdale Primary School, and tickets are just $5.

Buy your ticket here.

2025 festival

QLF's 2025 festival featured award-winning writers, thinkers and experts, and included for the first time an international author.

The list of outstanding Australian authors who attended our festival included Marcia Langton, Peter Greste, Bob Brown , Virginia Trioli, Alice Zaslavsky, Brian Nankervis and Melissa Leong, as well as 2025 Miles Franklin-winner Siang Lu and two previous Stella Prize-winners, poet Evelyn Araluen and novelist Heather Rose.

QLF hosted our first-ever international guest in Egyptian-Canadian journalist Omar El Akkad, in conversation with Australian journalist Antoinette Lattouf about global flashpoints including Black Lives Matter and the genocide in Gaza.

Footy fans enjoyed Geelong Cats champion Zach Tuohy and ABC broadcaster Catherine Murphy in conversation about their book The Way of the Irish.

Mystery afficianados attended sessions with Sydney author Jane Caro and local crime writers Mark Smith, Christine Keighery and Tanya Scott, and true crime lovers relished a conversation about podcasting with veteran crime reporter Andrew Rule and ABC investigative journalist Rachael Brown, in which they unpacked our fascination with the true crime genre, and mushroom murders.

At our 2025 festival we also -

marked Jane Austen’s 250th birthday with a lively panel discussion, afternoon tea and sparkling wine, and a Regency dance lesson;
hosted a play-reading of a new work about Germaine Greer ;
offered budding writers a half-day workshop with award-winning romance writer Marion Lennox;
celebrated real life and stories with a special Better Off Said event created by Marieke Hardy and Emilie Zoey Baker and featuring Antoinette Lattouf, Hannie Rayson, Brian Nankervis, Andrew Rule and Shokoofeh Azar, with music by Sarah Carroll; and
featured discussions on Indigenous art, memoir, gardening, politics, America, journalism, the wellness movement, food and more!

QLF 2025 was a brilliant, captivating and highly engaging celebration of community and culture. We look forward to creating another vibrant and enriching festival for 2026!