16-25 October 2026

January pop-up with Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein

UPDATE: SOLD OUT WITHIN 72 HOURS

In a special QLF pop-up event on 22 January 2026, three of Australia’s most celebrated writers — Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein — will discuss their book The Mushroom Tapes with Hannie Rayson.

The Mushroom Tapes is a true-crime book like no other — a unique study of convicted triple murderer Erin Patterson and our collective obsession with her strange and terrible crime — that's been described as 'a cultural inquisition with psychological heft' and ‘the non-fiction book of the season.’

Why not wash off the sand and sunscreen on 22 January and join these remarkable women for a fascinating conversation about the case that stopped the nation and its sinister and complex themes: love, hate, jealousy, revenge, marriage, money, mycology and murder.

Where: Queenscliff Town Hall
When: Thurs 22 January 2026, 6–7pm (QLF cashless bar open from 5.15pm)
Tickets: $45/35 concession
Bookings: h ere.

We can't wait to see you there.

2025 festival lineup announced

We’re rapt to unveil the lineup for our 2025 festival, featuring award-winning writers and household names and, for the first time, an international author.

The stellar Australian list includes Marcia Langton, Peter Greste (sold out), Bob Brown (sold out), Virginia Trioli, Alice Zaslavsky (sold out), 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 will host its first-ever international guest in Egyptian-Canadian journalist Omar El Akkad, who’ll be talking with Australian journalist Antoinette Lattouf about global flashpoints including Black Lives Matter and the genocide in Gaza. (Sold out.)

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

Mystery afficianados will enjoy sessions with Sydney author Jane Caro and local crime writers Mark Smith, Christine Keighery and Tanya Scott, and true crime lovers will relish a conversation about podcasting with vereran crime reporter Andrew Rule and ABC investigative journalist Rachael Brown, in which they’ll unpack our fascination with the mushroom murders.

We’ll also—