Since 1993, we’ve been gathering as a town under one roof in winter to listen to Australian writers speak about their craft. This event was started by Fiona Nelson in conjunction with Apollo Bay Arts and became known as Warm Winter Words. A cosy Sunday afternoon event, on the last weekend in July, to discuss contemporary books and writing. The hot coals were transferred to Jane Gross, who kept the words and writers coming for over two decades, gathering in cafes and pubs around town. In 2016, Jane handed the reins to Pete Mawhinney and Apollo Bay Writers Festival was born: a weekend-long programme encompassing Warm Winter Words. Still the last weekend of July, still enjoying warming words in winter, but expanded to include a spoken word evening, community debate, and an offering of writing workshops. In 2019, as Pete’s creative projects multiplied, he stepped aside to allow a local collective to reimagine the weekend as Apollo Bay WORDfest.

Apollo Bay WORDfest is spoken words, debated words, workshopped words, and Warm Winter Words. For three decades, Writers Victoria and the Colac-Otway Shire have generously supported the endeavor of bringing considered and thought-provoking words to Apollo Bay.

Check out our Gallery of Friends & Events HERE

Kgshak Akec · David Astle · Emily Zoe Baker · Desh Balasubramaniam · Catherine Bateson · Tony Birch · Carmel Bird · Anna Kate Blair · Sonia Borg · Mark Brandi · Kevin Brophy · Jeff Brownrigg · Lauren Burns · Julien Burnside · Susan Carland · Isobelle Carmody · Belinda Castles · Shankari Chandran · John Clarke · Sally Cockburn · Claire G. Coleman · Rijn Collins · Alison Corke · Steve Cromb · Robin de Crespigny · Diane de Vere · Greg Day · Catherine Deveny · Barry Dickens · Mick Dodson · Tenpa Dugdak · Bruce Elder · Adrian Feldmann · Martin Flanagan · Clementine Ford · Kate Grenville · Lisa Gorton · Kerry Greenwood · Jordan Gould · Margaret Hickey · Terry Jaensch · Paul Jennings · Kooshyar Karimi · Jenny Kemp · Graeme Kinross-Smith · Lee Koffman · Ramona Koval · Heather Le Griffon · Shelton Lea · Doris Leadbetter · Michael Leunig · Robert Lorenzon · Myron Lysenko · Meme McDonald · Shayne Maloney · John Marsden · Phillipa Martin · Sophie Matterson · Kate Mildenhall · Alex Miller · Robynne Nelson · Catherine Noske · Paddy O’Reilly · Bruce Pascoe · Jack Pascoe · Sue-Ann Post · Bram Presser · Richard Pritchard · Alice Pung · Anouk Ride · Mirandi Riwoe · Bev Roberts · Craig Robertson · Robyn Rowland · Eva Sallis · Angela Savage · Claire Scobie · Jock Serong · Mark Smith · Anna Snoekstra · Janis Spehr · Spike · Victor Steffensen · Geoff Swayne · Lucy Treloar · Les Twentyman · Nolan Tyrell · Michael Veitch · Chi Vu · Chris Wallace-Crabbe · Charlie Ward · Beth Wilson · Penny Woodward · Alexis Wright · Nadia Wheatley · Arnold Zable · Matt Zurbo