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Hobart LitFest – Saturday Program

Presented by Salamanca Arts Centre

Celebrate Hobart’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature at Hobart LitFest!

Join us for a dynamic program showcasing Tasmania’s finest writers, with engaging panels, book launches, interactive workshops, and intimate readings. This is an incredible opportunity to connect with the literary talent that makes Hobart unique. The festival will culminate in an exciting Independent Book Fair, where you can discover and support local independent authors and publishers. Don’t miss out on this celebration of words, culture, and creativity in the heart of Tasmania.

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Saturday Program

Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 12:00PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Opening Lines and Unresolved Issues: How to begin and how to end a really good story
Katherine Johnson, Kathryn Lomer and Robbie Arnott are all Award-winning Tasmanian authors, who will be sharing some insights as to how they set their opening scenes, what to say at the end, and what might be best left unsaid.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 1:15PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

People are so Gullible: Do Facts in History even matter anymore?
Our world is full of heavy words and grand proclamations hurled with such passion and force because someone wants us to believe them. But saying something does not make it so. Esteemed Tasmanian historians Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Robert Cox and Alison Alexander remind us of the value of Fact and Evidence in Writing History.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 2:30PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Short stories and Long shots: Weaving the improbable with the credible (in under 5,000 words)
The short story has been a valued and favoured form for writers and readers for hundreds of years. What art is there in fashioning an engaging tale without the freedom of unlimited length.  Cameron Hindrum, Leigh Swinbourne and Mallika Naguran have each published collections of short stories, and will share their thoughts on how to tame big ideas in order to reveal all that the reader needs to know, sometimes in only a few pages.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 3:45PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

Burning Bridges, Burning Books & Burning Issues
We have always lauded a writer’s courage to say what needs to be said. With subtlety and satire, history’s sacred cows have been subjected to scrutiny. Award-winning Tasmanian authors, including Adam Ouston, Gina Mercer, and Ben Walter ponder the rights and obligations of the contemporary writer to say what they wish to say in an increasingly complex world.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 5PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

A Distillation of the Language: Why Poetry is the highest form of writing.
In this provocation, Pete Hay, Anne Kellas, and Sarah Day; three of Tasmania’s most highly regarded poets, will share why Poetry is their chosen form, and how Poetry, alone, allows human concerns, both personal and universal, to co-exist, and to be articulated within the most economic use of the English language.

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Saturday 5^th April 2025 – 7:30PM
Saturday Ticket / Full Festival Ticket

The Great Debate – Plotting vs Pantsing
Are you a Plotter or a Pantser? Is it better to plot out every story point, every twist, every action, every scene? Or fly by the seat of your pants and go where the story or characters flows? Everyone does it differently, some do a little of both. Join us for a panel of Pantsers and Plotters as they debate whether it is better to plot out your novel or fly by the seat of your pants!

The Panelists

Lissa Bilyk
I’m Lissa, an Australian indie author and proud advocate of the Oxford comma! After spending a few years living in the UK, I now currently reside in the breathtakingly beautiful Tasmania/lutruwita with my husband and a black cat/feral gremlin. Armed with a BA (Hons) in English Literature, I craft bold, cinematic stories packed with heart-pounding action, thrilling adventure, and just the right amount of kissing! My debut novel, The Edge of Darkness, was published in 2011.

Ruth Amos
RJ (Ruth) Amos worked as a lecturer in chemistry for ten years before deciding that she’d much prefer to write for a living. She started her writing with some cosy mysteries, bringing in the drama of the academic world, and has moved on to experiment with science fiction. She has also written two self-help books: My Year of Saying NO and Boots That Fit, that share the lessons she learned as she simplified her life. She hopes that others will also experience the joy of a life that fits them perfectly.
Ruth is married to Moz, and they have two grown-up children, two children-in-law and three delightful grandkids. She loves reading, is a relatively unskilled knitter, and enjoys walking along the beach (pretty much any beach will do).

Mark Mannock
Amazon bestselling author Mark Mannock writes the successful Nicholas Sharp Thrillers sold in over 50 countries worldwide. Sharp is a complex character who turned his back on his life as a US Marine sniper to seek solace in his beloved piano. Despite his best efforts, Sharp’s insatiable curiosity combined with his inability to turn his back on those in trouble leads him into situations fraught with danger.
Mark’s new series, The Lachlan Byrn Thrillers, explore the fine line between an assassin, a vigilante, and a serial killer. Byrn’s escapades take the reader on an interesting journey into one man’s dark psychological make up.

DK Girl
Danielle K Girl is an Aussie living in stunning Tasmania with her three furkids, cats Luffy, Sweetie and Ren, and feathered fowl; hens, Calliope and Hyacinth. She has just completed an 8-book historical fantasy series with queer romance, set in Victorian England. When she’s not listening to Kpop, D K Girl is reading up on all the mythologies of the world to find inspiration for more stories of the supernatural and strange.
Come say Hello on the socials! instagram – daniellekgirl facebook – DKGirlbooks

Lou Powers
Ex soldier, sports coach, former IT professional, previously unemployed bum and one-time pizza delivery driver, Lou Powers weaves aspects of his entire life into his stories, often drawing on real-life experiences for inspiration. The author of the Jimmy Eyebrow – Budget Hitman series of books, Lou plots his stories out at the highest level, but once the writing starts, the chaos begins. He knows where he’s going, but hasn’t a clue how he’s going to get there, which is then ultimately reflected in the shambolic journey that Jimmy Eyebrow and his cohorts inevitably find themselves embarking on in each book.
In full understanding that his works are as likely to win a literary award as he is of being appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lou instead hopes simply that his readers get enjoyment out of his stories and read them through the same ridiculous lens with which they were written.

David Webby
David, originally born in New Zealand, has lived in various parts of Australia and currently lives in the beautiful Huon Valley in Tasmania, with his wife, two labradoodles, and a few chooks. He is a man of many talents; juggler, photographer, and bee keeper, to name a few, and loves hiking the wilds of Tasmania. A self-confessed ‘Foot Magician’ (aka Podiatrist), by day. David loves the life balance of work and home life. It gives him time for personal and creative pursuits, including writing.
David has been writing for over ten years. After a hilarious incident, when two mice jumped out of the car upon their return from a Bunya Mountains holiday, his wife, Victoria, said ‘that was so funny. You should write a story about that!’ Thus, the adventures of Harry and Larry were born. Including stories originating from an extended camping holiday around Australia in 2016, the trilogy ‘The Misadventures of Harry and Larry’ was produced. It was officially published in 2022.

Simon Thiessen
I am Simon James (S.J.) Thiessen. I live in Hobart, Tasmania with my wife Jane, and have four children. I started writing Aether to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing a novel. My writing was a hobby, a distraction from my work as an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, author of business books and podcaster – which is why Aether took so long to write!
As I wrote, I realised I didn’t really want to write a novel. I wanted to be a novelist and so the DI Stratton series will continue to expand.
My stories are inspired by a love of mysteries and overlaid with themes I am passionate about: Tasmania, dyslexia, triathlon, inclusiveness and equity, and a healthy dose of anti-establishment-ism.
Like DI Terry Stratton, I am an enthusiastic, rather than talented, triathlete and have represented Australia twelve times in age group world championships in Beijing, Auckland, Chicago, Cozumel (Mexico), Adelaide and Montreal.
My favourite authors include Ian Rankin whose evocative description of Edinburgh makes me feel I have lived there despite never (yet) visiting, and Reginald Hill for his wonderful characters and intriguing plots. I hope the influence of both is apparent in my writing.

Cary Lenehan
Cary Lenehan is a former trades assistant, soldier, public servant, cab driver, truck driver, game designer, fishmonger, horticulturalist and university tutor – among other things. His hobbies include collecting and reading books (the non-fiction are Dewey decimalised), Tasmanian native plants (particularly the edible ones), medieval re-creation and gaming. He has taught people how to use everything from short-swords to rocket launchers. He met his wife at an SF Convention while cosplaying and they have been together since that time. He was born in Sydney before marrying and moving to the Snowy Mountains where they started their family. They moved to Tasmania for the warmer winters. Looking out of the window beside Cary’s computer in Hobart/nipaluna is a sweeping view of Mount Wellington/kunanyi and its range of mountains.

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Our Sponsors

Salamanca Art Centre’s Hobart LitFest is supported by the City of Hobart’s Event Grants Program.

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support.