Words in Winter 2026: Festival Recap & Feedback Survey

And just like that—Words in Winter 2026 is a wrap.

What a week. What a town. What a community.

To every author, artist and storyteller who shared their words with us—thank you. To every volunteer who showed up, set up, packed down and made it all possible—thank you. And to every single person who came through the doors, joined a waitlist, grabbed a last-minute ticket or simply wandered through town and got swept up in it all—thank you.

Over 2,000 tickets were sold across the festival, most events sold out and more than a few had to move to bigger venues to fit everyone in. The sun came out and stayed out, and somewhere between the Town Hall and The Convent and Back Bar and the streets in between, something really special happened. We saw it in the conversations that spilled out onto the footpath, in the authors signing books outside in the sunshine, in strangers becoming friends over a shared love of stories.

‍

This is why we do it. We hope to see you in 2027 for our 25 year anniversary!

‍

One last thing—we'd love to hear from you. Please take a moment to fill out our feedback survey. It means the world to us and helps make next year even better.

As a little thank you, everyone who completes the survey goes into the running to win a bottle of Dilworth & Allain Pinot Noir, a $100 voucher to The Surly Goat and a $50 Paradise Bookshop voucher.

‍