LitUp author touring program to reach 31 NSW and Queensland communities in 2027

Australia Reads has named the communities that will host more than 100 author and illustrator events in the first half of 2027.

Australia Reads has named 31 communities in New South Wales and Queensland that will host its LitUp author touring program in 2027, with more than 100 events featuring Australian authors and illustrators planned between January and June.

LitUp funds and trains communities to run their own live literature events, with a focus on rural and regional areas and on people facing social, geographic or financial barriers. More than 110 schools, libraries, bookshops and community centres will take part.

Twenty-two of the communities are in NSW, among them Broken Hill, Bourke, Cessnock, Coffs Harbour, Gunnedah, Inverell, Maitland, Narrabri, Port Macquarie and Yass. The nine Queensland hosts are Beerwah, the Brisbane Youth Education & Training Centre, Cairns, Goondiwindi, Ipswich, Mornington, Redland, Townsville and Toowoomba.

The program is backed by Writing Australia at Creative Australia and the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. Create NSW has joined as a funder this year, doubling the number of regional NSW communities able to host a visiting creator. Funding amounts were not disclosed, and the 2027 creators have not yet been named.

The 2026 pilot drew more than 6,000 students and community members to 82 events with 13 authors and illustrators across 16 communities. Writing Australia director Wenona Byrne said meeting an author "is a rare treat, especially for children in regional areas."