Literary legends take to Goulburn Performing Arts Centre stage for BookFest 2022

After a successful weekend filled with lively author talks and workshops, Goulburn BookFest concluded with a panel discussion on the life experiences of Australian writers.

BookFest coordinator Monique Hayes said it had been two years since they were last able to hold the festival and it was exciting to be back.

"Members of the audience were so fortunate to be able to hear from high profile authors about their lives as Australian writers," she said.

"We were even entertained by Thomas Keneally performing a rap he had written for his grandchildren.

"It was a fabulous way to finish off our Reader Writer festival, BookFest."

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Councillor Jason Shepherd was one of many attendees at the panel discussion and said it wasn't often you saw so many great authors come together at once.

"It's not often people like Bruce Pascoe come to town," he said.

"It's amazing for Goulburn and it really shows the flexibility of the Goulburn Performing Arts Centre with the type of events it can hold."

Mayor Peter Walker was also in attendance and addressed the crowd at the start of the discussion, thanking the authors for coming to Goulburn.

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Author and actor Bruce Venables chaired the discussion and said he was very pleased to be in such auspicious company.

"The thing about authors is when they're not holed up writing, most of them can't shut up," he said.

Audience members were engrossed in a riveting discussion with authors sharing personal stories about times they had been told they couldn't make it as writers in Australia.

Authors including Jackie French and Candice Fox also shared how fellow panel member Tom Keneally had inspired their own writing journeys.

BookFest 2022 marked the fourth instalment of Goulburn's Reader Writer Festival organised by Goulburn Mulwaree Library.

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