THIS YEAR’S Whitsundays Writers Festival is gearing up to be a fabulous feast for lovers of the written word.
The long list of exciting festival events includes a community writing competition, memoir writing workshops, and the unique ‘Love Letter to Queensland’ event.
There are also outstanding, award-winning authors visiting the region including Dr Anita Heiss, Hedley Thomas, Matthew Condon and Steve MinOn.
The Whitsundays Writers Festival returns to Airlie Beach on Friday, September 12, 2025.
It is being held at the Whitsunday Sailing Club and features daytime memoir workshops and the unique ‘Love Letter to Queensland’ event with keynote speaker Dr. Anita Heiss, an internationally published, award-winning author of more than 20 books.
Dr. Heiss’s books include non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction and children’s novels.
She is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation of central New South Wales, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland.
Other speakers at the ‘Love Letter to Queensland’ event include Gold Walkley Award winner Hedley Thomas, Queensland Literary Award winner Steve MinOn, and prize-winning Australian novelist and journalist Matthew Condon OAM.
As well as reading their personal love letter to Queensland, the authors will discuss their latest works in a panel format and be available for book signing, following the event.
The evening also includes Member for Whitsunday Amanda Camm MP reading her love letter to the Sunshine State.
And there will be a special performance by local performer and the Australian voice of Siri, The GPS Girl® Karen Jacobsen, who will be singing a love song to Queensland.
Submissions are open for the community to express their own love letter to Queensland in 300 words. They close on August 31.
With outstanding prizes, the ‘Love Letter to Queensland’ community writing competition includes a $1,000 voucher from Daydream Island for over 18s, and a $500 gift certificate from Tropix Photography for under 18s.
And for the younger writers, there’s a gift from Street Library Australia and Kitten Vintage Mackay.
Visit the Whitsundays Writers Festival website to submit a love letter.
Festival Patron Mayor Ry Collinswill read the winning Love Letters at the evening event, as well as announcing the winners in the Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards writing competition.
The festival received a high number of quality submissions of manuscripts vying for The Gloria Burley Award for Unpublished Fiction Manuscript and the Short Story Award for writers under 18.
Winners of the Whitsundays Literary Heart Awards will be announced, with cash prizes made possible by the Roderick Centre.
“The Whitsundays Writers Festival continues this year in our commitment to spotlight the success of Australian authors and showcase the extraordinary talent within our literary landscape,” festival president Karen Jacobsen said.
The festival also includes Memoir Writing Sessions with Dr. Lindsay Simpson,on Friday, September 12, at the Whitsunday Sailing Club.
Dr Simpson is an award-winning author, investigative journalist and co-ordinator and founder of the Master of Arts (Writing) and Bachelor of Multimedia Journalism at James Cook University.
The workshops are designed for aspiring writers interested in telling their own stories.
To buy tickets and subscribe for updates and offers visit: www.whitsundayswriters.com.
