Book in for a novel two-day extravaganza for booklovers, families and aspiring authors at this month's Festival of Stories.
Festival of Stories 2025 will be held at Citylibraries Aitkenvale on Friday March 28 and Saturday March 29 with a jam-packed program full of talks, activities and live entertainment.
MasterChef winner Julie Goodwin, Indigenous writer Bruce Pascoe and inaugural Australian Children's Laureate Boori Monty Pryor will share their stories with attendees as part of the stellar two-day program.
Joining them will be some of Australia's bestselling authors including Cheryl Leavey, Kellie Byrnes, Candice Fox, Chris Hammer, Simon Cleary, Melanie Saward and Peter Greste.
Townsville authors and poets will be well represented too, with a range of locals sharing their stories and top storytelling tips.
Ms Goodwin said she was excited to be joining the lineup for Festival of Stories.
"It's our stories that connect us, that allow us to understand one another and build our community," she said.
"I look forward to being a part of this festival that brings us together to celebrate our stories."
Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said the event brought the best in Australian literature to Townsville.
"Townsville is a city that fully embraces arts and culture, especially for stellar events like Festival of Stories. This two-day event is a celebration of literature and literacy, two things that Council continues to promote as far and wide as possible," Cr Greaney said.
"We have a huge community of readers who make Festival of Stories an incredibly special event by attending workshops, sharing recommendations, participating in activities and meeting with special guest speakers.
"Everyone will have something to enjoy at Festival of Stories, from activities to spark your child's imagination and hone their creativity to a full day mapping out a novelist's journey from the first idea to a published work with bestselling national and local authors.
"If you're interested in heading along, jump onto Council's What's On Townsville website to see the full program, which includes crime fiction panel discussions, storytimes with Captain Hook and Elsa, writing workshops for young people, Q & As and more."
