2026 Festival Pass

Friday 29 May 2026 from 7pm - 9pm at KBSC

Evening - Live music by Kate Mahood, canapes, Local History and Mysteries Panel with Phil Hore from Time Safaris, Peter Roper from Capricorn Coast Historical Society and Mark Avery from Coorooman Press.Hosted by Dales Whyte.

Saturday 30 May from 9am - 5pm 

Local History and Mysteries 

Friday 29 May From 7pm at Keppel Bay Sailing Club

Evening - Live music by Kate Mahood, canapes, Local History and Mysteries with Phil Hore from Time Safaris, Peter Roper from Capricorn Coast Historical Society and Mark Avery from Coorooman Press. Hosted by Dales Whyte.

2026 CCWF Festival Opening & Student Short Story Awards

Saturday 30 May 2026 from 9am to 9:40am at SALT Yeppoon Meeting Centre

Free event, Bookings encouraged.

Join us for the Announcement of the 2026 Student Short Story Awards. Student finalists will be notified prior to the festival and invited to attend. The winner of each age category will be announced on the day. Attendees will also be the first to hear the new theme for the 2027 Student Short Story Competition. 

Student Short Story Workshop with James Manning

Saturday 30 May 2026 10am to 11am at Salt

Start planning your next short story on the day the new theme is announced in this practical workshop designed to get students creating a character, setting and scenario for an untold adventure. The theme for the 2027 Student Short Story Competition will be announced at the opening to the 2026 Capricorn Coast Writers Festival. 

This workshop will ensure students know what is required to write a great short story for the next Capricorn Coast Writers Festival competition, their next school assessment or a competition that they haven't even heard about yet.

Note: Parents of primary students (Years 1- 6) are welcome to accompany their child to the workshop.

Developing Winning Short Stories with Paul Garrety

Saturday 30th May 10am to 12:30pm at Keppel Bay Sailing Club

Short story writing is a skill that can be learned. 
 
In this two-hour introductory workshop we’ll be exploring the craft of writing short stories and how the elements of character/s, setting and word choice can combine to produce something entirely new and exciting. Using examples drawn from contemporary collections, participants will be invited to apply these stylistic principles in short, but immersive, practical exercises that will be fun as well as providing a solid foundation to build on following the course.
 
The facilitator, Paul Garrety, is a novelist as well as winning many prizes for his short stories, both in Australia and overseas. In addition to his novels he has also been published in ten short story anthologies. 
jackgarrety.com
 
“Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”
― Ray Bradbury

Does Anyone Actually Talk Like That? With Amanda Hock

Saturday 30 May 2pm to 3pm at SALT Yeppoon Meeting Centre

A workshop that puts an author’s dialogue to the test … with real life HUMANS!
 
This practical, interactive workshop invites writers to experiment with their own dialogue and test whether it truly sounds like something a human being would say.

Dialogue often behaves beautifully on the page — until it’s spoken. In this session, we’ll put written dialogue under theatrical pressure, exploring how rhythm, word choice, intention, physicality, and silence affect whether speech feels naturalistic or manufactured. Participants will be guided through exercises that move dialogue from text into voice and body, revealing where language flows, where it resists, and where it quietly betrays the writer.

Through playful experimentation and sharp analysis, we’ll refine lines that feel “written” into speech that feels lived-in. Expect a room that thinks deeply, laughs occasionally, and treats dialogue as something to be tested, not protected.

Because realism in dialogue isn’t about copying life — it’s about convincing us it could be happening right now.

Bring a water bottle, comfortable clothing, pencil, highlighter, notepad and some of your own written dialogue if applicable.

A Songwriter's Toolkit with Kate Mahood

Saturday 30 May  2026 2pm to 3pm at KBSC

Have you ever wanted to write a song but weren’t sure where to start?

​Or maybe you began in a moment of inspiration, only to get stuck after one verse and chorus?
Perhaps you’ve already written a few songs and want to learn new tips and techniques to expand your writing.

Join Kate Mahood for a supportive songwriting workshop where she shares her songwriter’s toolkit, a series of tools and techniques she uses in her own practice to generate ideas and lyrics, shape song structure, and work through the dreaded writer’s block (yes, it’s a thing for all of us!).
Suitable for all levels and focused on creativity and authentic expression, this session offers practical exercises and gentle guidance to support you wherever you are in your songwriting journey. You’ll leave with new tools you can return to anytime you start to feel stuck in your songwriting process.

Dungeons and Dragons Introductory Workshop with Millennium Comics & Collectables

Saturday 30 May 3:30pm to 4:30pm at SALT Yeppoon Meeting Centre

'Never laugh at live dragons ...' – ​ J. R. R. Tolkien

Delve into the world's most popular tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, in an introductory workshop hosted by Millennium Comics and Collectables.

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) involves story-telling, character creation, world-building and more. In this introductory workshop, participants will explore the adventure and lore that has made D&D the oldest and most popular commercially available tabletop roleplaying game in the world.

The workshop is designed for beginners and those unfamiliar with the game. More experienced players, including Dungeon Masters, might also enjoy the workshop for its nostalgia and as a practical lesson on explaining the basic concepts to new players. It's sure to be an adventure.