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An invitation to pitch your book to publisher Annette Barlow of leading Australian press, Allen & Unwin.

If you’re a writer with a finished manuscript who’d like a shot at the Australian publishing industry, Allen & Unwin’s Annette Barlow will be actively scouting for new literary talent at the festival, and she wants to hear from you! A total of 12 face-to-face author pitches of 10 minutes’ duration are up for grabs. Come prepared with a compelling pitch, pop your name into the hat, and you’ll be in with a chance to spend 10 minutes summing up your story for her, in a private, face-to-face session.

Over the decades, Annette has worked with a litany of successful Australian authors, including Alex Miller, Kate Morton, Holly Throsby, Tony Jones and Fleur McDonald. She is also responsible for the annual Vogel award and teaches at the Faber Writing Academy. Known for discovering and nurturing new writers, Annette is widely and affectionately regarded as one of Australia’s most experienced and supportive publishers. These sessions are an unmissable opportunity for all writers aspiring to take their work to that next step.

Places for the author pitches will be randomly drawn on both days of the festival. To go into the running your name must be entered into the ballot at the Festival Hub between 10-11am. Eligibility is for writers with completed manuscripts only and will be spread across two separate hour-long sessions.

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You can’t have a Writers’ Festival without writers! We hope that you are as impressed as we are with the quality and quantity of local talent.

Derwent Valley Arts believes it is important to recognise that not all “writers” favour the written word. Oral storytelling pre-dates written material by many thousands of years. In this country, it has played a significant role in the continuity of Indigenous culture and we wanted to recognise that by expanding our definition of writing to include other forms of story telling as well.

See all Panel Discussions

Jerry Seinfeld said, “A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.” Writers’ festivals, by extension, are one of the places that we get to see that thought in action, and in panel discussions we get to see it and take part. At writers’ festivals, panel discussions are also a way for audience members to get a sense of what their favourite authors are like in person, to hear their thoughts, and to be reminded that writers are still people, albeit ones with a passionate need to tell stories.

The individuals we have gathered together to form our panels tell their stories in a variety of different ways, and have a wealth of personal experiences to share. We promise that the discussions they bring you will not only entertain, but will be elucidating and thought provoking as well.

See all Workshops

We’re thrilled that some of our authors will be sharing their skills in small, informal workshop settings.

Tasmania’s literary talent is nothing short of remarkable – and that extends to our festival guests, too! Flex your creative muscles at one of our workshops, where you can learn what makes a fantastic young adult novel, experience the complexities of early colonial history, or hone your storytelling skills for performance in front of a live audience.

Our workshops are all three hours or under, and a steal at just $35 per head. Find out more at the links below, and make sure to book in quick – these are bound to sell out.

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Since November 2020 Derwent Valley Arts has been running a film society beneath the Memorial Hall in New Norfolk.

This wonderful subterranean cavern feels like it was custom built to host films and we have established a dedicated audience in that time.

We are very excited that the Writers’ Festival provides us with an opportunity to introduce even more people to this fabulous location.

Over the course of the festival we will be showing a selection of literary themed movies for free!

The majority of these will be for children with show times at 11am and 2pm on both days. Adults are welcome to attend with little ones or

If there are other festival activities you would like to attend, children over the age of 8 can watch the movie unchaperoned.

Booking is required and remember to bring some money to spend at the Tuck Shop!

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