Common Questions, Answered!
March 22 +23 Clunes comes alive with 120+ book traders, author talks, workshops, live music, kids activities, and a movie night.
The weekend is a celebration of the book filled with author talks, presentations and thought-provoking conversations in the beloved historic Victorian township of Clunes.
Yes, you need a ticket to enter the Festival precinct – only $10 with kids under 16 free.
All author talk/panels/workshops are ticketed.
Yes, but…
…if you can, you should buy your tickets now. Every year our Saturday night evening entertainment, workshops and over half of our author talks were completely sold out before the event even began.
Yes! Ticket packages are available!
These packages offer a discount over buying the component tickets.
You can buy a pack and then supplement with additional talk, workshop or movie night tickets.
This year we are thrilled to be bringing our booktraders back to Fraser Street and across the town in historic buildings.
Over 120 specialist book traders will offer an extraordinary range – new and second-hand, antiquarian and contemporary, rare and popular – covering every imaginable topic and theme.
There are also several resident booksellers in Clunes who will be trading across the weekend.
Details on all booktraders is available on our website.
Yes.
Author signings for speakers will occur after each talk. These are hosted in the Readings marquee on Fraser Street. You are welcome to bring along books for signing, or to purchase them on site.
Many visitors choose to stay and enjoy both days of the event, and explore our amazing region.
Local B&B and accomodation options traditionally all sell out in Clunes in advance of our event, so book asap!
Within 15 minutes drive of Clunes are the lovely towns of Creswick and Talbot, and beyond that Ballarat, Castlemaine, Daylesford and Hepburn are all popular options once the options in Clunes are booked.
Within 15 minutes drive of Clunes are the lovely towns of Creswick and Talbot, and beyond that Ballarat, Castlemaine, Daylesford, Hepburn and Trentham are all wonderful places to explore.
Check out the Visit Hepburn website for information on regional highlights, events and attractions.
Yes.
You are welcome to bring your dog to our event. Dogs are:
- to be kept on a lead at all times inside the event precinct.
- not permitted inside our venues, aside from assistance animals.
- to be removed by the owners if requested by festival volunteers or staff.
Yes, just show your ID at the gate and you’re in!
Locals will still need tickets for our talks, workshops and the Saturday evening entertainment.
And, locals should be aware that parking will be impacted by the influx of visitors.
You may have difficulty accessing central Clunes by car and we encourage you to plan around this.
We also encourage locals to consider volunteering to help out during the event, by emailing us
All our amazing local restaurants and cafes will be open, and these will be complimented by food trucks and coffee carts offering a range of cuisines to fill your bellies!
Yes!
Our station is disability accessible with a raised platform and no steps. We offer a free shuttle bus from the Clunes Railway Station to the town centre (a 2 minute drive or 12 minute walk).
Check with VLine directly closer to the date for information on services.
There is a dedicated carpark at the Clunes Showgrounds.
From the showgrounds to the main gate is a 5 minute walk, and we also run a shuttlebus between the train station, showgrounds and entry gates.
We offer accessibility parking close to our festival entry on Bailey St next to Town Hall, and next to Attitude on Templeton Street.
Yes.
We offer accessibility parking close to our festival entry on Bailey St next to Town Hall, and next to Attitude on Templeton Street.
The map in our website shows all locations.
Yes.
We organise additional ATMs onsite during the event.
We strongly encourage pre-purchase of your Festival Weekend Pass and event tickets – and to bring a printed copy or screenshot with you.
We recommend bringing some cash in case of any network outages or issues on the day.
We can accept card payment at our gates, but the queues are greater for those paying at the gate.
Once inside the precinct some of our book traders will take card and some will take cash.
All food vendors will accept cards.
