Pre-Festival Events
Pre-Festival Events
Golden Landmarks: An
Authoress in the Priory
Local History Seminar & Exhibition
Date: Saturday 18 Oc tober
Time: 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Venue: Greenough Museum and Gardens
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
The I rwin Distric ts H istorical Societ y
invites you to a special event reflec ting on
50 years of the regional history Ancient
Landmarks by Sister Mary Albertus Bain.
Enjoy discussion by a talented panel of
local historians, followed with afternoon
tea. Discover Golden Landmarks: An
Authoress in the Priory exhibiting at the
Dongara Public Library from 13 Oc tober -
8 November 2025.
Playing to Win: Australia and the 1972 Ashes
Barry Nicholls, in conversation with Glenn Barndon
Date: Tuesday 21 Oc tober
Time: 6.00pm - 7.30pm
Venue: Geraldton Regional Library
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
In April 1972 the inexperienced
Australians, labelled the worst team ever
by the English press, arrived in England
full of swagger. The intriguing Ashes
series that followed, and the simmering
disquiet about how the game was being
administered, transformed Test crick et -
no matter what was at stak e, including
the Ashes. Includes book sales and
signing.
Twilight Story Time
Stories and Songs for Little Kids
Date: Thursday 23 Oc tober
Time: 5.00pm - 5.45pm
Venue: Geraldton Regional Library
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
Twilight Story Time is back again for 2025! Bring your favourite “cuddly” and get ready for lots of fun. Come dressed in your pyjamas and slippers, ready to listen to stories, sing songs and rhymes. With special guest, children’s author Kristy Nita Brown.
Suitable for ages 2-6 years.
Pre-Festival Events
Please note: We request that children are accompanied by a parent/carer for this session.
FOGL Secondhand Book Sale
Date: Saturday 18 Oc tober
Time: 9.00am - 12.00pm Venue: QEII Seniors and Communit y Centre
Secondhand book sale run by the Friends of Geraldton Library (FOGL) volunteers, with all proceeds donated to the Library. Qualit y recycled titles on offer.
Pre-Festival Events
Painting in Reverse Art Workshop
Presented by Cynthia Fletcher
Date: Friday 24 Oc tober
Time: 10.00am - 1.00pm
Venue: Geraldton Regional Ar t Gallery
Tickets: $25 (booking details pg4)
Enjoy this fun and creative session with
local ar tist, Cynthia Fletcher. Suitable for
all abilities, 16 years plus.
Whilst visiting the Ar t Gallery, check out
our latest exhibitions - Genesis 2025
and Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Spiders of
Paradise.
by Cynthia Fletcher
POP-UP FESTIVAL BOOK SHOP
Dates & Times: Saturday 25 Oc tober, Queens Park Theatre Foyer, 9.00am - 4.00pm Sunday 26 Oc tober, Geraldton Regional Library, 9.00am - 12.00pm
Artwork
Big Sky Short Story Prize 2025
Congratulations to all our entrants in the
2025 Big Sky Shor t Story Prize! Winners
will be announced at the Festival Opening
Night. Our 2024 Prizes were awarded to:
2024 Winner - Sarah Jane Greenlees
2024 Runner-up - Marc Christoffersen
2024 Highly Commended
Annie Chandler, Samantha Chant, Darcy
Hay, Carrie Puzzar and Annette Sellers
Friday 24 October
FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT
20 Years of Big Sky: a Celebration of Stories
Date: Friday 24 Oc tober
Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Venue: Geraldton
Regional Library
Tickets: FREE event,
limited tick ets (booking details pg4)
It ’s par t y night at the
Library! Kick off Big
Sky 2025 in st yle. Meet
our special guests, enjoy live music, fun, laughter and light
refreshments.
Saturday 25 October
BOOK SIGNING SESSION
with Festival Guests
12.30PM - 1.00PM
QUEENS PARK THEATRE, FOYER
A Musical Storytelling Adventure
Join in with Kristy Nita Brown
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 10.00am - 11.00am
Venue: Geraldton Regional Library
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
In this lively, interac tive workshop,
par ticipants will explore the ar t of storytelling through music-mak ing
ac tivities with Kristy Nita Brown. Create
your own k azoo, learn to whistle, and
discover the world of independent
publishing — all while having fun! The
session ends with a joyful “k azoo choir”
per formance you won’t want to miss!
Suitable for ages 5-10 years.
Please note: We request that children are accompanied by a parent/carer for this session.
Artist Floor Talk
With Amelia Jajko
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 10.00am - 11.00am
Venue: Geraldton Regional Ar t Gallery
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
Join us at GRAG for an exciting Ar tist
Talk with Amelia Jajko. As a self-taught
ar tist living in Rubibi/Broome WA, Jajk o
is inspired by the remote Kimberley
landscape, using colour and light to
capture the interconnec tedness of the
land and communit y.
Still, you give by Amelia Jajko
Saturday Talk Fest
Welcome to the Queens Park Theatre!
Opening Remarks by Jon Doust
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 9.00am - 10.15am
Venue: Queens Park Theatre
Tickets: FREE event. Pre - ordered lunches
from Tar ts and Co available. (order details pg4)
Saturday 25 October
Session One
Tasma Walton andCatherine Greer, in conversation with Gillian O’Shaughnessy
A dynamic panel of women writers whose work spans genres and generations.
From fic tion that reimagines the world to memoirs that reveal its truths, join
Tasma Walton, Catherine Greer and Gillian O’Shaughnessy as they share
their journeys, creative processes, and the
stories behind their stories.
Saturday 25 October
Session Two
Plot versus Character
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 10.30am - 11.30am
Venue: Queens Park Theatre
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
What drives your story? Is it a riveting plot, a fascinating cast of charac ters, or both? What is it that gives narrative depth and meaning? In this the 20th year of Big Sky, what k inds of stories still resonate with us the most?
Join Michael Trant, in conversation with Dave Warner, Mabel Gibson and Stefanie Koens as they discuss how they craft their work for maximum impac t.
Tweaking the Truth
Writing Workshop, presented by Jon Doust
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 10.30am - 12.30pm
Venue: Queens Park Theatre
Tickets: $25 (booking details pg4)
How often have you said, or heard someone say,
‘I could never write that story. It would upset too
many people’?
Jon Doust has written three novels based on
his life and the lives of people around him. In
Tweaking the Truth, he shows how to star t
with truths that can’t be told, then t weak and
t wist them to create a work of fic tion that can
sometimes reveal deeper truths.
Includes morning tea.
Saturday 25 October
Session Three
Storytelling for Grown-ups
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 11.45am - 12.30pm
Venue: Queens Park Theatre
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
Who says the k ids should
have all the fun? Storyteller
ex traordinaire Glenn B. Swift
will get you moving as you join
in with storytelling hijinks!
Saturday 25 October
Book Smart Lit Quiz
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 1.15pm - 2.00pm
Venue: Queens Park Theatre, Foyer
Tickets: Free, no book ings required.
How well do you k now your Shak epeare
from your Stow? Test your sk ills in this
fun and interac tive lunchtime session.
Grab your pre - ordered lunch from the QPT bar (see pg4 for details).
Celebrating Stow: En Plein Air Painting Workshop
With Amelia Jajko
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober Time: 2.00pm - 5.00pm
Venue: Meet in the Stow Gardens, behind the old Merry- Go -Round
Tickets: $45 (booking details pg4)
In 2025 Randolph Stow’s iconic novel The Merry-Go -Round in the Sea
celebrates 60 years of publication (Right: 1965 cover design). Capture
the emotional and sensory dimensions of Stow’s beloved Geraldton
Foreshore by joining Amelia Jajko for an open air painting workshop.
Bring your own paintbrushes and a sk etchbook. Selec tion of oil paints provided.
Session Four
Imagination in Focus
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 2.15pm - 3.30pm
Venue: Queens Park Theatre
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
United by their love for showcasing beautiful
landscapes and exploring everyday stories
through the lens, learn how our panel transform
fleeting scenes into compelling visual narratives.
Join Michael Haluwana, Tamati Smith and Karl Monaghan, in conversation with Trudi Cornish.
Saturday 25 October
Saturday 25 October
Book Club Night In!
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 6.00pm - 7.30pm
Venue: Geraldton Regional Ar t
Gallery
Tickets: $15 (booking details pg4)
Engage and share your love of reading with new friends and
old. Create and Sip! Join us in
celebrating all that is Book Club and
all that is Big Sky in our inspirational
Gallery space.
Create your own journal cover in
the company of special guests, Catherine Greer and Stefanie Koens.
Materials and refreshments included
Sisters in Crime Launch of the new WA Chapter
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober
Time: 4.00pm - 6.00pm
Venue: Batavia Brewery
Tickets: FREE Launch event (bookings pg4).
For dinner, please book directly with Batavia
Brewing, 60 Fitzgerald Street. Phone: 9921 8296
Email: bookings@bataviabrewing.com.au
Join Co -Convenors and WA crime fic tion
authors, Dawn Farnham (Per th), Lisa Ellery (Kalgoorlie) and emerging local fic tion talent, Sam McKinnon, in conversation as we
launch the new Western Australian Chapter
of Sisters in Crime Australia, connec ting
women crime fighters and writers with all
readers and viewers across the State.
Then step inside the world of real life crime -
solving with an exclusive conversation
with women speak ers from the local police
communit y, as we get the low down on what
it really tak es to k eep Geraldton safe and find
out whether truth is stranger than fic tion.
Saturday 25 October
Saturday 25 October
Riff and Rhyme - Poetry at the Club
Date: Saturday 25 Oc tober Time: 6.30pm
Venue: The Merc Lounge
Tickets: $45 (booking details pg4)
Rock it out at the Mercantile with iconic Aussie punk and new wave musician and songwriter, Dave Warner From the Suburbs and guitarist Tony Durant. Get set for a lively, perhaps even slightly chaotic, atmosphere where poetry tak es centre stage. Includes Open M ic with M/C’s Glenn B. Swift and Michael Trant. Canapes by Flow. Bar by The Merc Lounge.
Short and Sweet: Finding Your Voice in Flash Fiction
Presented by Gillian O’Shaughnessy
Date: Sunday 26 Oc tober
Time: 9.15am - 11.15am
Venue: Geraldton Regional Library
Tickets: $25 (booking details pg4)
Flash-fic tion is the per fec t entry point for
writers to find wings in a crowded literary
space. But how do you star t, and what
do you write about? Is there a ‘right ’ way
to create flash-fic tion, and where do you
send or publish it when it ’s ready to go?
In this workshop, award-winning flashfic tion polymath Gillian O’Shaughnessy
tak es you through the ins and outs of flash-fic tion, illuminating ways in which
to write, dream and uniquely express
yourself. Along the way, she’ll show you
all that sometimes a few words are all you
need to create a stirring, compelling piece of work.
Includes morning tea.
Sunday 26 October
Exhibition Floor Talk
With Michael Haluwana
Date: Sunday 26 Oc tober
Times: 10.30am - 11.30am
1.00pm - 2.00pm
Venue: Museum of Geraldton
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
Michael Haluwana is an internationally
acclaimed, award-winning
Cinematographer and Photographer,
specialising in documentary filmmak ing,
landscape visuals, and wildlife
cinematography. Learn about his
exceptional work at this fascinating floor
talk of his exhibition Walking With Colour.
Sunday 26 October
Speed Dating with the Authors
Featuring special guest authors Tasma Walton, Catherine Greer,Michael Trant, Mabel Gibson, Dave Warner and Jon Doust.
Date: Sunday 26 Oc tober Time: 10.00am - 11.30am
Venue: Geraldton Regional Library
Tickets: $30 (booking details pg4)
Enjoy fast paced conversations over delicious morning treats. Discover what inspires our special guests and maybe find your nex t great read! Have your questions ready as our special guest authors come to you.
Festival Finale
Readings on the Green
Date: Sunday 26 Oc tober Time: 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Venue: Greenough Museum and Gardens
Tickets: FREE event (booking details pg4)
Spend a glorious afternoon wandering the beautiful grounds and bask ing in the ambience of the historic Greenough Museum and Gardens. Sit back, relax and enjoy our Festival Finale, with a selec tion of readings from special guests. Featuring Stefanie Koens, Gillian O’Shaughnessy, Catherine Greer and Mabel Gibson plus local authors, Serena Moss and K.T. Downs.
Geraldton Tree Canopy Advocates annual ar t exhibition Birds in Trees will be on display in the Communit y Hub. Enjoy afternoon tea provided by the Communit y Group of Greenough.
Kid’s Sunday Funday
Join in for a morning of FUN and GAMES at the Library, for all Kids (big and little), Sunday 26 October
Ac tivities 9.30am - 12.30pm under the tent @ Library carpark, Chapman Rd. Free event, no book ings required. Get craft y and creative!
** Storyteller Ex traordinaire, Glenn B. Swift - Live, crazy tale telling** ** K rist y Nita Brown - Musical adventures **
ARTS and CRAFTS, Storytelling, GAMES, Facepainting
Please note: We request that children are accompanied by a parent/carer for this session.
56 Beans Coffee van on site
Duck on a Bike - Story and Scoot!
Bring your bik es or scooters to Edith Cowan Square and enjoy a lively reading of David Shannon’s charming book, coupled with ac tive par ticipation. As we turn each page, we’ll scoot to the nex t spot, embracing the joy of movement and storytelling.
FREE event (booking details pg4) - Suitable for k ids aged 4 to 7.
Pre-Festival Special Guests
Tina Wilson (OAM), Matt Ottley, Per th Symphony Orchestra Members, Barry Nicholls,
Glenn Barndon and Cynthia Fletcher.
Festival Team
Our special thanks to all our team members (staff and volunteers) who have work ed so hard to mak e
this festival a success!
Trudi Cornish, Lily Valdez, Dawn Holland, Shauni
Norman, Holly Bolt, Joanne Morgan, Bec Edwards,
Briony Bray, Keely Grieve, Erin Cleghorn, Andrew
Frith and QPT Staff, Fred Block, Deb Sutherland,
Sharon Sorensen, Silvia Borracci, Ayrah Mabitad,
Hannah Auld, Diane McDonald, Esper Windsor,
Ben Marsh, Kaitlin Ajduk, Issy Cornish, Deb
Yeatman, Melinda Norman, Susan Smith, Jenni
Hargrave, Lorraine Chapman, Anne Williams, Leigh
O ’Brien, Elizabeth Spencer, Bruce Bask er ville, Gary
Mar tin, FOGL Volunteers, Jacqui Dixon, Lee -Ann
Neill and Robbie Gar vey.
• Geraldton Regional Library
37 Marine Terrace, Geraldton. Ph: 9956 6659
• Geraldton Regional Art Gallery
24 Chapman Road, Geraldton. Ph: 9956 6750
• Greenough Museum and Gardens
11 Phillips Road, Greenough. Ph: 9926 1890
• The Merc Lounge
159 Marine Terrace, Geraldton
• Museum of Geraldton
2 Museum Place, Geraldton. Ph: 9431 8393
• Queens Park Theatre
Cnr Cathedral Avenue and Maitland Street, Geraldton. Ph: 9956 6662
• QEII Seniors and Community Centre
88 Durlacher Street, Geraldton. Ph: 9956 6636
• Dongara Public Library
9 Waldeck Street, Dongara. Ph: 9927 1859
• Batavia Brewing
60 Fitzgerald Street, Geraldton. Ph: 9921 8296
• Geraldton Grammar School
134 George Road, Geraldton. Ph: 9965 7800
For more information or directions, please don’t hesitate to ask Festival Staff, or phone the Library on 9956 6659.
Festival Venues
Audio Live Streaming
If you can’t come along in person, why not enjoy some sessions online. The following sessions will be
Audio Live Streamed free from the
Queens Park Theatre on Saturday 25 October.
Check the Library Facebook page for the LINK on the day!
9.00am - 10.15am
Session One
10.30am - 11.30am
Session Two
11.45am - 12.30pm
Session Three
2.15pm - 3.30pm
Session Four
We’d love to k now if you joined in. Leave a comment or lik e.
