Local and international reading advocates join the line up for this year’s National Reading Symposium.
Author and city-maker, Jess Scully, returns to host the first day of VOLUME, looking at the ‘big picture’ around building reading rates in Australia, while educator, author and speaker, Megan Daley, will host day two, focusing in on young readers, schools and families.
We’re honoured to have leading Indigenous writers, publishing professionals and reading advocates Larissa Behrendt AO, Rachel Bin Salleh (Magabala Books) and Ben Bowen (Indigenous Literacy Foundation) joining us to discuss First Nations approaches to building reading communities and the power of storytelling.
Internationally, we have Jamaica Book Festival Director, cultural strategist and literacy champion Latoya West-Blackwood joining us, alongside Director of the Manchester City of Literature, Dr Debbie Challis, to share successful reading programs and approaches from overseas.
Local reading champions Shay Leighton (Tough Guy Bookclub), Jing Xuan Teo (Amplify Bookstore), Veronica Sullivan (Melbourne Writers Festival), Andrea Lewis (Storyfest) and Amie Kaufman, will share effective approaches to building reading communities in Australia.
Helping us delve into kids and family reading, we have Australian Children’s Laureate and beloved author Andy Griffiths delivering a keynote, alongside insights from other leading authors including Sally Rippin, Kristen Darrell and Karys McEwan.
Find out more and join us for two days of conversation, inspiration and action around reading.
VOLUME is free to attend and will be held online on Wednesday 21 October and Thursday 22 October. Stay tuned for further speaker announcements and the full program.