Totally Lit 2026

Never one to snub a festival, especially when it’s about literature, Gayle merrily marched along to as many Totally Lit events as she could muster and offers her highest compliments to brilliant Sharon Flindell on the excellent festival now in its second year.

Here’s a snap from each of them.

6 October: *Borderlines* – Rashida Murphy, Mohammed Massoud Morsi, Sisonke Msimang, and Tineke van der Eeken reflected on the borders they crossed in their lives to get here and the boundaries they continue to face in their efforts to be recognised and published in a world of upheaval.

This powerful talk was an eyeopener for me, believing that the contemporary Australian publishing scene was more progressive and less conservative than experienced by the authors. I walked away from Ode to Sirens with a pile of signed books and determination to read more widely.

8 October: *Inspired! A Tale* – Dr Linda Martin discussed her debut A Tale of Two Publishing Houses alongside fellow authors Casey Mulder and Sabrina Dudgeon-Smith at Fremantle Library. My friend Rebecca and I really enjoyed listening to them and learning about the fascinating stories behind the stories, and they were wonderful to talk to during booksigning.

9 October: *Poetry in Motion* – Terence and I boarded the Fremantle Ferris wheel to listen to poetry read by Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes inches away from us first in the original Ethiopian then in English. Breathtaking. Soaring and inspiring. This may be my favourite Totally Lit event, if not one of my favourite events ever. I bought a copy of his book as soon as possible. Even T loved it!

11 October: *The Batavia and Hougomount*, united in a single book launch by Lynsey McDonnell & Stefanie Koens at the Shipwrecks Museum. Rather fitting as my bookclub had just finished discussing Peter Fitzsimmons’ Batavia that afternoon and Jase & I were curious to hear another take on it. I am looking forward to reading Bailey Street, meanwhile Jase picked up a copy of Daughters of Batavia.

11 October: *Backyard Truth Telling* in White Gum Valley – a wonderful afternoon where the audience was trusted with deeply personal and often ironic stories of courage, resilience, and change.

14 October: *Room 19* – an intimate and moving night where 10 local authors read out 10 short stories from within the supposedly haunted room of the old Warders Cottages, now a beautiful hotel. I recognised a few of the authors and adored the poetry or prose they prepared for this night.

PS – Instead of attending more Totally Lit events on the Saturday, I visited the Stormy Mills exhibition at AGWA at last and I can highly recommend it! Go take a look!

*By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!

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