Festival Conversations 2 Long Listen Festival 2025

Event: Festival Conversations

Genre: Words & Music

Time: 9:00–10:00 AM

Venue: The Little Book Nook, Forecourt Homegrown Cafe, Palmwoods

Wet Weather Venue: QCWA Hall, 11 Main St Palmwoods 

Tickets: FREE (registration required)

Program: End your festival weekend with an intimate morning of storytelling, culture, and insight. Meet with our exceptional festival literary voices, and authors. 

Ed Le Brocq - a writer, musician and broadcaster was born on the White Cliffs of Dover and began playing music at six years old. He studied music in Manchester, Berlin and London, played professionally in the UK and Hong Kong and moved to Australia in 2003. Ed is the presenter of ABC Classic’s Weekend Breakfast. Ed has written five books, including Cadence, about his journey by bicycle from England to Hong Kong with only a violin for company, Danger Music, describing his year teaching music in Afghanistan, and Sonam and the Silence, a children’s book about the importance of music. Ed’s books have been shortlisted for several prestigious awards, including the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Ed was born Emma and transitioned just before his fiftieth birthday. Better late than never.

Dr (Aunty) Hope O’Chin – Kabi-Kabi, Wakka-Wakka, Koa, Gugu-Yalanji Elder, educator, and author. Dr O’Chin presents Epistemology of Belongingness: Dreaming A First Nation’s Ontology of Hope, exploring Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural resilience, and the transformative role of art. Learn more

Emily Winter – Emerging writer, poet, and cellist. Raised on stories in suburban Brisbane, Emily blends creative writing, music, and history to capture the essence of human experience. Read more

Special Feature: Attendees will have the opportunity to hear live readings from the authors and take part in a book signing session after the discussion.

About the Event: Festival Conversations offers a chance to engage directly with authors, discover new perspectives, and explore the intersections of words, music, and culture.

Notes for Attendees:

• Free registration is essential to secure your place.

• Arrive early for seating in the cozy Little Book Nook forecourt reserved for this festival event.

• Arrive early to purchase your morning coffee, tea and sweet or savoury pastries from Homegrown Cafe and relax in the garden.

• Our wet weather venue is the cute QCWA Hall, opposite Palmwoods Hotel, 11 Main St.

This project is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, Queensland Arts Showcase Program, and the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Sunshine Coast Council supporting local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

This project is supported by the generosity of individual donors who supported our BOOST donor campaign matched by the Australian Government through the Australian Cultural Fund. Our fundraising partners are Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation and the Australian Cultural Fund.