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2025
Presenter Feedback
Now I'm finally back at my desk, I wanted to send you a huge thank you for such a wonderful festival - and I hope you can pass on my deep appreciation to the many, many people who made it happen. Thank you for the miracles I saw, and the ones I didn't see. Whitsunday Voices was a truly special event, and I had so many wonderful chats with beautiful students and your absolutely lovely teachers as well. It was so notable that even on shuttle trips (where I often sit in the front seat to avoid getting carsick) I'd end up talking books with the teachers driving me. The bookish culture runs through the whole school, which is rare and special. Thank you again for having me - I hope you're all having a really good rest before you even think about 2026!
Thank you again for having us at you amazing event! Thank you for having us again. Again, you put on an amazing event that, as an experienced vendor, I could not fault. Thanks again.
I must say my first Whitsunday Voices experience was brilliant, with my oldest boy using most of his pocket money to buy books from authors he had met. On the way to school this past Friday, our 4-year-old said, “Mommy, I am looking forward to seeing more authors today”- special and funny from our little one. Few 4-year-olds get to say that on their way to School, plus prior to this week, our little man did not know what the word “author” meant.
It was such an awesome experience and I certainly felt the love from the local community. Thanks so much for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. Thank you to Whitsunday Voices for giving me my first ride at the writers’ rodeo. God bless. Earl.
I had such an amazing time at the Whitsunday Voices Youth Literature Festival! The energy, passion, and professionalism of everyone involved both behind the scenes and stage were truly outstanding. The line-up of presenters was top-notch, inspiring, and incredibly engaging. It was a joy to be part of such an epic festival that celebrates storytelling, creativity, and literacy in such a powerful way. Massive thanks to Liz and Kristine and all the organisers and volunteers for making it a welcoming and enjoyable event. Hope to return again.
Thanks again for having me along to such a fantastic event. I had a ridiculously good time! Please also pass my gratitude on to the staff, volunteers and chaperones. Everyone was absolutely wonderful and I felt extremely well looked after.
It was an absolute BLAST! What an awesome bunch of peeps to hang out with! Huge thanks to the wonderful organisers of Whitsunday Voices. It was such a fab festival. Presentations were an awesome experience! Huge marquees crammed full of super enthusiastic kids!
All the authors loved it. It’s the best festival I’ve done. The kids were great. Hopefully, we’ve planted seeds of some ideas and possibilities and expanded their ideas about the possibilities for them in the world.
Wahoo! The future is in good hands. Today I managed three shows, one book launch, four venue changes, one signing session and even a bite for lunch. Thank you to the problem-solvers who stayed cool under pressure, supported me through rocket repairs, a minor chapel flood and were shot at on stage. I am so grateful! Spectacular day. Huge thanks to the team of student and tech experts and volunteers who made everyone so welcome. The campus is buzzing with ideas and creativity and experiences and perspectives. My heart is pretty full right now. What a lot of work . Thank you to the entire fabulous Whitsunday Voices team. What an ocean of ripples we have set in motion, a love of books and literacy and story and inspiring our young people to be brave and kind and creative.
Congratulations Liz! The Voices Festival was, by all accounts, a huge success and one that I’m so grateful to you for being part of.
Thanks so much, again, for such an incredible festival! It really is the best kids’ festival in Australia - so vibrant, so diverse, so full of ideas and creativity and stories and fun. I am just in awe of all you and your team did to pull it all together. Thanks for letting me be a part of it all - I met so many incredible kids and inspiring teachers along the way. I hope to get to be a part of the festival again sometime in the future.
I have been involved in many wonderful festivals over the years, but this one was a super special experience. The Whitsunday Anglican School and yourselves have created something magical on the children’s & youth literature festival circuit. Liz’s vibrancy & thoughtful attention to all aspects of the program’s detail was outstanding.
Now I'm finally back at my desk, I wanted to send you a huge thank you for such a wonderful festival - and I hope you can pass on my deep appreciation to the many, many people who made it happen. In a previous life I have experience pulling together festivals on this scale, and I know how many things are going on every minute of every day that the authors and students don't see -- both planned and unplanned! So thank you for the miracles I saw, and the ones I didn't see. Whitsunday Voices was a truly special event, and I had so many wonderful chats with beautiful students and your absolutely lovely teachers as well. It was so notable that even on shuttle trips (where I often sit in the front seat to avoid getting carsick) I'd end up talking books with the teachers driving me. The bookish culture runs through the whole school, which is rare and special. Thank you again for having me - I hope you're all having a really good rest before you even think about 2026!
What an incredible festival. I hope to see you again. It was such an honour to be part of the 2025 Whitsunday Voices cohort - what an incredibly inspiring bunch of creatives I was able to present alongside. And the kids! They were the best. Thoughtful questions, keen learners, and I hope I’ve converted a few into lifelong mystery and crime lovers. Big thanks to Liz and her team and all those brilliant volunteers for running such a well-organised and important event each year.
2023
Presenter Feedback
WOW! What a fabulous 3 days. Such a buzz - in the air, in the venues, in the signing queues and in my heart! This is a true celebration of books and words and stories and community.
Thank you so much for your effort and empathy in preparing an unforgettable festival experience. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to share my story with teenagers and see their respect and connection with presenters.
No words! What a superb job! What passion! All those smiles, laughs, insightful questions and books purchased to be READ - they are all because of Whitsunday Voices. The children’s lives are better for having you. Never want to leave!
Thank you so much for all that you give in making this festival happen. I so hope you know, that what you give to the people and students of Mackay is worth it. You are changing hearts and lives here! Thank you for inviting me to be a part of it!!
Thank you for having me. What a beautiful festival you have created. The opportunity for us to spend time with these amazing kids - there is just no other way this would be possible. You have given us an incredible gift - thank you. You are also changing the lives of these young people in ways you will never fully know. What an incredible impact. A forever memory.
Thank you so much for inviting me to your wonderful festival. It has been such a joyful experience. It’s wonderful seeing the children enjoying the sessions. Festivals like these are such a special opportunity. Thank you to the team for all your hard work, to the volunteers for their enthusiasm, and the student helpers for being so organised and reliable. Thank you Whitsunday Voices - you’re fabulous!
Thank you so much for a wonderful few days. It has been an absolute pleasure trading stories and experiences with hundreds of kind, intelligent, and very polite young people. We are so grateful to have such lovely supporters of Australian storytelling.
Once again, an amazing experience. I love meeting the other authors, meeting students, and talking literature to those who love it.
What an incredible event! It’s just so heartwarming and inspiring seeing the genuine enthusiasm for literature and storytelling, and the creative energy that runs through everyone involved, from the organisers to the smallest kindy kids in the audience. Amazing atmosphere, fabulous people. It was wonderful to be part of the magic.
What a great cast of Authors, Writers, Illustrators and helpers, and organisers. Wadda Mouli!
2022
Presenter Feedback
To the entire amazing team at Whitsunday Voices, especially the Purple Power People (gotta love a vollie!) Thank you so much for inviting me and letting me be a real author! With thanks, Richard Harris ‘Harry’
This is my second year at the Voices Festival. The students helpers were incredibly kind, informative and caring. My first session was with a group of students I had last year. They were even more enthusiastic, excited and passionate than I remember! Watching the Festival create space for young writers to grow has been a very beautiful experience. Being part of the Festival has been amazing! Thank you!
What an incredible experience! Thank you so much creating such a welcoming, nurturing and fun environment for all of us presenters. It is sad to be going so soon after spending four beautiful days with your amazing art staff, teachers and students! Thank you!
Thank you so much for having us back to this exceptional Festival! Performing for all these fantastic students is one of the biggest highlights of our year! This is a truly special Festival! The shake & stir team: Zoe, Chris and Blake
To the lovely team at Whitsunday Voices, I loved the first time I came because of the wonderful community! So honoured to be asked again! Best! Melina
It’s been another bubbly (effervescent even!) Whitsunday Festival, and I love to see the enormous work done to promote and perpetuate reading in this next generation. Thank you!!
What an incredible experience I have had, becoming part of this literary community. The atmosphere has been incredible and I’ve had so many amazing conversations with students and authors alike. This is something special and I will forever remember my time here, celebrating the power and joy of storytelling. Thank you for everything! Love Cath Moore
WOW! Wow! Wow! What an incredible Festival! And what an honour and privilege it’s been to be part of it! Thank you and thank you to all the kids and teachers too! Kate Foster xx
Thank you for the invite!! Such an amazing vibe up this way. A massive shout out to the entire WSV team for all the support! Congratulations on another stellar festival. Lucas 2022
Dearest Lovely and Wonderful Whitsunday Voices (with an extra hug for Tracey and Liz),
Thank you so much for having me! Since my very first book, WV was up top of my list of Festivals I wanted to do! So now it’s official… I’ve made it! :) So stoked to be here! Love Nat Amoore
To the team at Whitsunday Voices,
Thank you for inviting me to your epic festival! Special thanks to all the legendary volunteers whose hard work has lead to so many happy and inspired kids. Warmly, Jack Heath
2021
Festival Feedback
As an educator, I have co-ordinated our school visits and attended Whitsunday Voices for a number of years. The professionalism of the organising body and the quality of the presenters is second to none. Our students always return to school sharing wonderful stories about their favourite authors as well as an eagerness to try some of the key strategies, for excellent story writing presented by the authors.
The Whitsunday Voices Youth Literature festival is a great opportunity to meet not only terrific authors, but also to network with students from other schools, who share a keen interest in delving into the art of storytelling.
This festival is encouraging for young inspiring authors and illustrators, who wish to one day share their story with future generations, much like the guest speakers at the event.
Whitsunday Voices is an amazing event that provides the opportunity for regional students to engage in a cultural and literary experience usually afforded only to southeast Queensland students.
It is one of the most looked-forward to excursions in our school calendar. Our students are always impressed by the variety, quality and professionalism of the presenters and love hearing their life-stories and the advice they give to aspiring authors.
I congratulate Whitsunday Anglican School for taking on this enormous undertaking each year. The school is a wonderful location for this event with plenty of space to accommodate the thousands of students from surrounding schools and the staff and students are always friendly, welcoming and helpful.
My time at the Whitsunday Voices Festival was exceptional. From the smiling faces that met me at the airport, to Tracey’s warm hug upon my arrival; it all felt very warmly. The utter zeal and excitement of the Festival was palpable at the opening of the festival. The student helpers were very kind and passionate about language. The students were wide eyed, attentive and hungry for perspective. My sessions were filled with laughter and joy. The students were eager to learn how poetry can be used as a tool in their own lives. The festival was an absolute pleasure to be a part of!
You just try to keep me away from the best Literature Festival in the whole world! Long Live Slam!
I’m going to ask people to call me Princess Yvonne from now on, because I’ve gotten used to being treated like royalty here! Thank for everything Tracey and your extraordinary team! Thanks for inviting me and letting me be a part of this amazing Festival!
Thank you, Tracey and Liz and everyone for hosting us at the Whitsunday Voices Festival! It was a super COO time hanging out with all the kids and young adults and staff and volunteers and sharing my RIDICULOUS pigeon stories with everyone. What a beautiful Festival with beautiful people. With love and appreciation…
2019
Presenter Feedback
I wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to you and Tracy and ALL of the team of volunteers and sponsors for inviting me to be part of something that was SO special. The joy and enthusiasm on all of the students through out the week was infectious and uplifting! So grateful to be able to share in that with all of the other incredible authors. Thank you!
Thank you everyone for the absolutely fantastic festival! I’m so lucky to have been a part of it!
Thank you all for being such excellent company on our Whitsunday Author Camp. I feel #soblessed to have been included.
I had such an amazing time and it's all thanks to you. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a fun and loving festival. I felt like everyone was just so welcoming and gracious and went the extra mile every time. Please also commend the WAS on the quality of their students and staff - it's very obvious that the young people the school is producing are confident and able contributers who will make a difference in the world. I loved spending time with them! And the literary dinner was A-MAZE-BALLS! So much glamour, so much fun, such a thought-provoking speaker, so many photo-booth moustaches :-) :-)
I just want to say THANK YOU to you and your amazing team of assistants and volunteers. Attending the Whitsunday Voices Festival was a highlight of my year. Not only did I get to meet loads of amazing people (yourself, Tracey, Anna, Andrew and others at the school and in the Mackay Community) but I also got to meet and connect with hundreds of students in your region … and beyond. What a remarkable job you do with the festival to draw in hundreds of students who have to drive hours and hours to attend. Oh, and hanging out with other book creatives and industry professionals was another bonus. You and your team made us all feel welcome, appreciated and valued. It was an incredible three days. Friday night dinner was a very special experience too, as was meeting Li. I loved Whitsunday Voices and you should all be commended on your awesome efforts. So, yep, thank you, thank you, thank you! Hopefully one day I get to come back again to enjoy your wonderful Whitsunday hospitality. Until then, take care and keep up the great work!
Many thanks to you and your amazing team for your efforts to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible with my sessions at the festival. It was a fabulous couple of days and by the reactions of the students and adults who attended my presentations, it was clear they enjoyed the sessions as well.
I just wanted to send through a very big THANK YOU for having us at Whitsunday Voices! We had such an amazing time and were incredibly impressed by the amount of enthusiasm, warmth and the hospitality that was shown to us by the school, students, staff and volunteers. Also a big thank you to our caterers as well, we were very well looked after and the food was delicious. There was just such a fantastic vibe at the festival and all of the students were so engaged and welcoming! You have both done a fantastic job organising such a large scale festival.
Thank you so very much for giving me the opportunity to present at your marvelous festival!! Not only was I thrilled to meet so many keen readers, I was also so inspired by my fellow authors, yourselves and your fabulous team of students, volunteers and helpers.I hope you enjoyed the festival as much as I did, it was truly a pleasure to be part of.
I had a simply wonderful time in Mackay. Everything was so well organised - the student assistants were proactive and attentive, and all the volunteers were helpful. Geez, even the bloke on the coffee cart made just the right coffee for me! I was mightily impressed with the size and enthusiasm of my audiences - as an author, I'll travel forever to appear in front of those students (even all the way from Greece☺). Finally, a huge thank-you to you and Tracey for your dedicated and professional approach to everything during the festival. I hope the festival continues its stellar success well into the future.
2018
Presenter Feedback
T&T (sounds like a fun drink). Thank you, your kindness and tude’ are top notch! It’s been amazing and the passion here is incredible! Thanks to you both. Thanks for putting students at the “front” of a lit fest my joy!
THANK YOU so much for inviting me to be part of the festival. Whitsunday Voices Lit Fest is one of the best celebrations of books, reading and creativity I’ve ever attended. The atmosphere and energy from kids and grown-ups alike is sensational! Please have me back again!
The amount of love and care and thought that has gone into pulling this amazing festival together just blows me away. You’ve created such an incredible atmosphere, and given these kids an experience that they will never forget. I’m so delighted to have been part of it.
Thanks Tonia, Tracey and team! Thanks for bringing this sandgroper all the way over from WA. I’ve had a great time, it’s all been brilliant.
Thank you, thank you! What a complete blessing and be part of such a wonderful thing. So many generous and fun people – and so much hard work. Thank you for having me
What can I say? There are no words to convey what I feel. This has been such an incredible, joyous few days. The festival has been so well executed, the experience I’ve had as a result – extraordinary. You, and this festival have stolen my heart. I made the most of every minute and your hard work, lovely students and their teachers rewarded me tenfold. I will treasure this always and am so grateful you thought to include me. Thank you so much! Love your work.
Deepest thanks for a wonderful festival. It’s been such a pleasure to meet with you, your students and all the staff! I’m so grateful for your incredible hospitality, all the ways you have anticipated everything we might need. You are a wonderful, generous community and to wish you all the best in continuing your excellent work and fostering a love of reading! Huge thanks! I’ve loved every minute!
Thank you for another brilliant festival – with wonderful staff & students (& venues and food!)
It’s such a joy to be here at Whitsunday Voices – thank you so much for having me!! Everything has been so well organised, the food is delicious, and the students are fantastic. Loved every moment! Thank you!
2017
Presenter Feedback
I’ve been lucky enough to have visited literary festivals all over the country, and seriously, non come close to generating the magic that your students, staff and volunteers generate at Whitsunday Voices. Not only was the temperature of Mackay a welcome winter change to this southern writer, the warmth with which you embraced us all was truly humbling. Highlights for me included the honesty of many of your stories, particularly Billy’s, who in his brave sharing brought everyone in the chapel a little closer together. I loved my time in the art room ands still chuckle at the thought of some of your very unique shark drawings. And, my tummy continues to rumble at the memory of the delicious treats and lunches that were laid before us each day. Very few writers are tycoons, but for three special days you all made me feel like one of the richest people in the world. Thank you!
The kids were so friendly and full of energy, the workshops were such quality, the food was next-level-fantastic, and all in all I've never been to such a fun and buzzing and brilliantly organised literature event! You rock. Tania and her food rocks. Your whole team and the minder students rock. The school and its community rocks, and us artists will be telling everyone about the whole thing! Well done, and thank you so much!