In Week 3, a group of us were privileged to be selected to attend the 2025 Melbourne Writers Festival. The primary program was held on Monday the 5th of May and the secondary program on the 7th of May. We went with Ms Hashim and Ms Gee on the trains to the city as it was held at the State Library of Victoria.

We love the one and only Reece Carter! He told us an insane story about how he was haunted by a ghost. Yes, you have heard that right! On that day, he spoke about the bone-chilling experience that inspired the character of Corpse from his bestselling ‘Elston-Fright Tales’ series.

Next, was the amazing Nat Amoore whose session was energetic and funny. Did you know that Nat doesn’t like showers? That is why she created her bestselling book series ‘Showerland’.

Author Jess Sanders touched everybody’s heart with her sad story of her growing up as a very tall girl and how it inspired her to make an all-inclusive book about embracing our uniqueness. Meanwhile, Nabeel Khan demonstrated how to make connections between numbers, patterns, shapes and everything else around us.

“All the authors were inspirational! They had their own interesting story to tell.” Nuvein 6B

“The thing I liked about the Melbourne Writers Festival was the magic counting by Nabeel Khan. The presentation was so interesting!” Smaiya 6E

“My favourite part is when I met Jess Sanders because I have her book and I learnt about the reason and meaning behind it.” Rhythm 5A

“My favourite author on that day is Reece Carter. I enjoyed listening to him talk about how he got his ideas for his book. He also taught us how to create our own characters. It is fascinating listening to the questions being asked and the responses he gave.” Avleen 5E

Rose Hashim

Learning Specialist

On Wednesday the 7th of May, eight students from Year 7-9 attended the Melbourne Writers Festival. We got the chance to meet four amazing authors, ask about their experiences and what inspired them to write their stories.

My favourite part was exploring the library with my friends. The library was architecturally beautiful and the view from the dome was really cool. Dania 9I

First, we heard from Robyn Dennison, who published her debut novel ‘Blind Spot’ in 2023. She shared that an interest of hers was wondering how others experience the world and she uses this wondering to create her characters.

I really liked hearing the authors talk about their experiences. They told us we shouldn’t be afraid to write and to write freely. It’s ok to write what you live, and you don’t have to stick to just one genre or perspective. Jaskaran 9G

Next, we heard from American author Neal Shusterman, who had an interview with another well-known Australian author, Amie Kaufman. The interview style of the talk was unique and interesting to hear two authors discuss their craft. Neal has published over 50 titles, including some co-written with his son, and there were so many interesting stories that we wanted to read.

During lunch, we went to explore the State Library of Victoria, which was huge, and it made sense that it’s the third most visited library in the world! We took the lift up to the top of the library and the world-famous dome. It was super cool to see all the old books and imagine what it would be like to study there one day. It was peaceful.

In the afternoon session, we heard from two more authors. Gary Lonesborough, who is a proud Yuin man, talked about how his experiences growing up and feeling isolated in his identity, inspired him to write stories featuring characters like him.

My favourite author was Gary Lonesborough, because he wrote a lot about his own experiences and he used them to create really good stories. I started reading one of his books that day and it’s a really interesting story. Kirsten 8F

The afternoon ended with a talk by Solli Raphael, who is a famous poet and speaker. I’d seen him in photos and videos before so it was awesome to see him in person. He helped us understand what poetry is and how to write. His first book was published at the age of 13 which seemed unbelievable! He also performed one of his poems which was so impressive, especially as he remembered it all.

It was interesting to see how the authors came up with ideas for their stories. They talked about the stories with such passion, it was really inspiring to see and it made me want to write my own stories. Joyce 9G

Throughout the day, we had the opportunity to buy the authors books, get them signed and take photos. My favourite was Solli Raphael because his confidence was inspiring and he started so young. We had a great day and would highly recommend the experience to students in future years. Tabisha 8G

Joanna Gee

Year 9 Spanish Teacher

Truganina College Learning Expo