A vibrant new creative festival in Central Victoria for young writers of all ages
The Newstead Young Writers Festival is a biennial festival for young storytellers in Central Victoria, held at the Newstead Arts Hub.
The Festival launched in 2024 and was an enormous success with most tickets selling out in the first two hours! And no wonder…
Our 2024 lineup included:
JOHN MARSDEN . CHRIS KENNETT . TRACE BALLA . LORENA CARRINGTON . ANDY JACKSON . CATE KENNEDY . LUCINDA GIFFORD . DEE WHITE . CARMEL BIRD . LORENA CARRINGTON . ADAM WALLACE . BRIDGET FARMER . PENNY TANGEY . LACHLAN WALTER . NELLE PIERCE and more!
We aim to bring top notch storytellers to regional Victoria, to share their expertise with the next crop of keen writers and illustrators in a huge program of workshops in writing, drawing, comics, poetry and much much more.
There’s also Author Talks, Mentoring and feedback, Story telling under the Faraway Tree, Art Demos, the Squishie Minnie bookstall, live music and plenty to eat and drink.
Sign up to our newsletter and join our socials to get news updates, including ticket releases.
The festival is FREE, but tickets for some events will be strictly limited so signing up is the best way to get advance notice of releases and program news.
And don’t forget to sign up to volunteer to help us bring the festival to life.
See you in October!
The NYWF 2026 team
About the Festival
Where is Newstead, you ask?
Situated on the stunning Loddon River, Newstead is a small, vibrant town with charm and character aplenty. There are cosy cafe's such as Dig Cafe, our busy community art gallery (The Arts Hub) and professional community art workshop called the Red Shed, local hotels, wineries, artist studios and more.
Newstead is a wonderful little secret nestled in the central goldfields. Wherever you’re travelling from, we can’t wait to welcome you!
The Arts Hub precinct will come alive on festival day, inside and out. The historic, and beautifully restored railway station will host workshops and give visitors a chance to browse some of the art on show. And the outdoor precinct will provide a wonderland of spaces including workshop and event marquees, food vans, free play and plenty of surprises in store to keep kids entertained for the day.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Newstead and our region, please visit here.