Totally Lit is Coming! Are you ready?

Sharon Flindell, Totally Lit’s Curator/Producer lets us know what’s in store starting 2 October!

Fremantle, you have just one week to recover from the excitement of the Grand Final – and then it’s Totally Lit!

Following the huge success of the inaugural festival in 2025, Totally Lit is returning to Fremantle/Walyalup with another hectic two-week program of live literature events, 2-16 October.

With more than 60 events on offer, Totally Lit is bringing live music, storytelling, conversations, book launches, panel discussions, treasure hunts, film screenings, wine tastings, poetry, a morning tea, and a little pirate mayhem to our Port City.

Once again, the many stories of Fremantle/Walyalup itself have provided the inspiration for our program.

This year we’re bringing Fremantle’s convict past and contemporary crime writing present together with a series of events at the Prison.

Visiting author Jane Caro, shortlisted for this year’s Ned Kelly Award for Fiction will be joining us for a special evening in the Prison’s East Workshops with WA crime and thriller writing favourite Sara Foster and Freo’s own Gillian O’Shaughnessy.

The following day, WA Premier’s Book Award-winning novelist David Whish-Wilson will join a panel of historians and non-fiction writers to unpack some of the lesser-known stories of the Prison. And if you’ve ever wondered whether you’re being watched the Aiding & Abetting session with Alan Carter and Assistant Police Commissioner Arlene Mavratsou will definitely give you food for thought!

If you feel like doing some time with us at the Prison then these are just some of the sessions you can choose from. Oh, and there’ll be crepes and coffee too!

There’s also an undercurrent of the spooky and the inexplicable rippling through some of this year’s events. Fremantle’s reputation for occasional ghostly vibes has provided the inspiration for special events such as ‘Room 19’at Warders Hotel, and also for the writers who have created this year’s ‘Writ Large’ stories which you can experience projected onto the wall of the Port Authority Building. This year’s Barefaced storytellers are also be leaning into “too weird to make up” to share their strange-but-true stories.

We also have another big program of free events for children and families, including ‘Stories from the Sea’ which includes a full week of free events taking place at Bathers Beach and the Maritime Museum. There’s also the Totally Lit Trail with some fabulous pirate artwork created by Fremantle’s own James Foley, guaranteed to deliver adventure – and booty! – to young explorers.

Grandparents take note – if you’re in charge of the kids these school holidays, we have activities that will keep them on their toes mixed with other, slightly calmer activities that willgive you some sit-down time.

But before we get to any of that, we have to launch the festival – and we aim to do it in style! So please join us, Gina Williams-Ghouse and the Kaya Choir for a unique celebration of ‘Stories in Song’ at Victoria Hall on 2 October. If you’ve previously had the pleasure of listening to Gina’s extraordinarily beautiful voice, you’ll know this is going to be a special evening.

See you there!

Here’s the Full Program.

*By Sharon Flindell, Totally Lit’s Producer/Curatot

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