Festival Day 1 - Friday 2nd October 2026

10am - 10.30am Registration

10.30am Welcome

11am to 3pm Workshop Program

Bookworms Workshops (Ages 5-8)

11am Hijack! - Andrea Rowe, Emma Bowd and Daniel Barnett-Gray

12 pm Animal Antics - Caz Goodwin

12.30pm Musical Storytelling - Julianne Negri

12.45 Lunch Break (Aussie wildlife, author book signings, face-painting and more at the Festival Hub)

1.45pm Australian Animals (TBC) - Jess Rackleyft and Sarah Jane Lightfoot

Page-Turners Workshops (Ages 9-13)

11am Comical Comics - Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood

12pm Gameshow Storytelling: Adults vs Kids - Melanie La’Brooy

12.45pm Lunch Break (Aussie wildlife, author book signings, face-painting and more at the Festival Hub)

1.45pm Treeshare - Collages and storytelling through trees - Trace Balla

3.15pm Story Competition Showcase (All ages)

A Read-out-loud of all the shortlisted stories from the Kids Book Fest.

4pm Birrarung Wilam Heritage Walk with the Koori Heritage Trust

(Separate ticket required for the walk)

Festival Day 1 - Friday 2nd October 2026

10.30am Registration

11am to 3pm Workshop Program

11am Battle of the Illustrators! (All ages)

Watch some of Australia’s best illustrators battle it out live.

Bookworms Workshops (Ages 5-8)

12pm Precious and Important - Davina Bell and Jess McGeachin

12.45pm Lunch Break (Jafra Dabke dance performance, book signing, face-painting and more at the Festival Hub)

1.45pm Emergency! Stories Required! - Matt Shanks

2.15 pm Songs and Storytelling - Julianne Negri

Page-Turners Workshops (Ages 9-13)

12pm Haiku, Acrostic and Rhyming Poems Maxine Beneba Clarke

12.45pm Lunch Break - Jafra Dabke dance performance, book signing and more at the Festival Hub

1.45pm Zine Workshop - Jaidyn Attard / Digital Drawing Mitchell Toy

2.15pm Behind the Screen - Narul Sin