Melbourne’s Spring Fling Festival Returns With An Unmissable Line-Up

Melbourne, get ready to immerse yourself in a world of books, music and art, because The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas has just unveiled its Spring Fling event series.

Taking place across Melbourne in October, this year's Spring Fling theme is 'Above and Beyond' and will feature over 60 writers, musicians, performers and thinkers hosting a series of panel discussions, podcast recordings and intimate conversations.

The event features local talent including Pia Miranda, Hannah Diviney, Jen Cohler, Santilla Chingaipe, Melissa Lucashenko and Leigh Sales, plus international guests Hernan Diaz, Rebecca Makkai, Ed Yong and Caroline O'Donoghue.

The Wheeler Centre's Head of Programming, Veronica Sullivan, said in a press release that this year's lineup offers something for everyone.

"Spring Fling is for everyone in Melbourne and Victoria who is hungry for nourishment from storytelling, ideas, and conversation as we emerge from the cold winter months," Sullivan said.

"Last year, our inaugural Spring Fling program drew almost 5,000 audience members to Melbourne’s CBD. This year, we hope even more audience members join us at Spring Fling 2023 for inspiring and thought-provoking events with an incredible array of writers and thinkers."

One of the biggest highlights of the festival, which will run from October 2-14, is the opening night panel discussion which features Indigenous singer and songwriter Emma Donovan, writer and disability advocate Hannah Diviney, Zimbabwean-Australian singer, actor and writer Rufaro Zimbudzi, and former Australian tennis champion Jelena Dokic.

On October 5, author and historian Santilla Chingaipe will deliver the annual E.W Cole Lecture on who gets to write history, and on October 6, author and Miles Franklin Literary Award winner Melissa Lucashenko will discuss her new novel Edenglassie, which explores Queensland’s colonial history.

Other highlights include Sentimental Garbage's Caroline O'Donoghue discussing her new novel, The Rachel Incident, and hosting a live version of the podcast with Myf Warhurst, and American author Rebecca Makkai discussing her new novel, I Have Some Questions For You.

The full Spring Fling program and tickets to events are available on the Wheeler Centre's website.

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