Meet our 2026 Guest Curator

Dr Melanie Saward is a proud Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman. She is a writer, editor and academic based in Tulmur (Ipswich), Queensland. She’s the author of two novels Burn and Love Unleashed and has co-written a new book for young adults with Brooke Blurton called A Good Kind of Trouble.

Walk us through your curated events for the Festival and what inspired them. 

What does the 2026 Festival theme Show Me The Truth mean to you? 

How can books and reading bring people together? 

What events, other than your own, are you excited to see at the Festival? 

Last, now, next. (What book you just read, what you’re currently reading and what you’ll read next.) 

Is there a book you wish you could read for the first time again? 

What are your favourite reading spots? 

Other than writing novels, you’re also a lecturer at the University of Queensland. How does your teaching practice influence your writing?