ALL DAY ALL DAY ALL DAY YA YA Lights.

Nina Kenwood (whose novel Unnecessary Drama was one of our top books for 2022 Full of joy & fab characters- it made our faces ache from smiling!) will be discussing love stories with Leanne Yong, Jenn Guillaume & Alice Boyle.

Katrina Nannestad will be chatting about writing history with Amelia Mellor. Katrina's book We Are Wolves was a top ten in 2020 for our booksellers and book clubbers. Set during WWII, it's a harrowing story but still so full of hope.

For some science-based excitement, the explosive Cristy Burne will be talking about volcanoes!

And James Foley will be chatting about junior fiction with Jasmin McGaughey and Adrian Beck. James' Secret Agent Mole is hugely funny and super silly. We loved it!

Saturday, 27th of May, sees some very exciting panels, including some of our faves!

Lili Wilkinson will be discussing fantasy and world-building with Lynette Noni & Amie Kaufman. Lili wrote one of our faves (& bestsellers), The Erasure Initiative, a few years back and her new book, A Hunger of Thorns, an exciting, rich fantasy adventure, will come out midApril The world-building panel was so popular that it has been extended to another session! Gary Lonesborough (who wrote another of our faves in 2021, The Boy from the Mish) will be talking about writing authentic YA experiences and the unique challenges facing youth today. (With Will Kostakis, Felicity Castagna, Shirley Le & Tegan Bennett Daylight.)

We'll have a special separate family day stall at the Blacksmith's workshop on Sunday, so come along, grab a book and have a chat with us about all the great stuff you ' ve seen and learnt. See you there!

Tully can’t believe her luck. Dene is famous. Everyone loves her. Being best friends with Dene Walker is a dream come true. Tully is soon hardly aware that her long-time bestie, Kira, exists, as she shapes her own interests and cares to be the person worthy of Dene’s attention. And she’s not prepared for the heartache and confusion when Dene’s friendship is not all she imagined it to be. (12+)

Tommy Dees is in the weeds - restaurant speak for beyond overwhelmed. He’s been working at Sunset Estates Retirement Community to get the experience and he also needs a letter of recommendation from his sadistic manager. In exchange for the letter, Tommy has to meet three conditions. One of which includes training his old crush from summer camp. Can Tommy keep it all together or is it a recipe for disaster? (12+)

Selly has saltwater in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails to adventure in the north seas. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with telltale magician’s marks on his arms commandeers her ship under cover of darkness. Selly has no desire to escort a spoiled prince anywhere, but the journey ahead might just bring two strangers together, closer than ever. (14+)

Hannah Kemp is dealing with a traumatic accident for which she was responsible. Struggling to come to terms with her guilt, she is ostracized in a community that condemns her. She deals with this by rebelling and pushing away anyone that offers kindness. She comes across a mobile library bus where every book is the true story of someone’s life, and realizes that judgement of others is almost always shallow and uninformed. When she finds her own book, she also finds that her past can reshape her present. (14+)

Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees—until she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. Luckily Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap—for good? (8-12)

Mieri is an awkward, nerdy college student with no dating experience, and her previous crushes on fellow butch women have all ended in disaster. That all changes when she meets Ash and has her feelings returned for the first time. But when first love turns to first heartbreak, Mieri will do everything possible to win Ash back. (14+)

High-school senior and notorious wallflower Hawkins finally works up the courage to remove her mascot mask and ask out her longtime crush: Regina Moreno, head cheerleader and allaround popular girl. There’s only one teensy little problem: Regina is already dating Chloe Kitagawa, athletic all-star. Regina sees a perfectly self-serving opportunity here, and asks the smitten Hawkins to tutor Chloe free of charge, knowing Hawkins will do anything to get closer to her. Before long, romance does start to blossom…but not between who you might expect. (Ages 8-12)

This is a powerful, hopeful and timely story about the real effects of climate change: two young people, Yuki and Sami, on different continents whose lives are catastrophically changed by global warming. Beautifully realised and punchily told. (10+)