Aireys Inlet
Stella DAY OUT: Aireys Inlet
Date: Saturday 24 October 2026
Location: Aireys Inlet Community Centre, 6 Great Ocean Rd, Aireys Inlet VIC 3231
Time: 10am-3pm
Tickets: Book through Humanitix here.
Stella, in partnership with the Hugh D. T. Williamson Foundation and Great Escape Books, is excited to announce the next iteration of Stella Day Out.
Local readers and writers will have the chance to hear directly from Stella Prize-listed writers Sofie Laguna and Micaela Sahhar as they discuss their craft in conversation with moderators Professor Kate MacNeill and Amanda Smith.
Sofie has written five novels for adults which have won numerous literary awards including the Miles Franklin Award, the Colin Roderick Award and the Indie Award. She has also been shortlisted for the Stella Prize, the ALS Gold Medal, the Voss Award, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, and longlisted twice for the Dublin IMPAC International Literary Award. Sofie’s most recent novel for adults, released to critical acclaim, is The Underworld.
Micaela is an Australian-Palestinian writer and educator living on unceded Wurundjeri Country. Her essays, poetry and commentary have appeared in Cordite, Meanjin, Overland and Sydney Review of Books, among others. Her first book, Find Me at the Jaffa Gate: An encyclopaedia of a Palestinian family (NewSouth Publishing), was the winner of the 2026 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Nonfiction and the 2026 NSW Literary Award for New Writing.
This will be a vibrant day of exciting conversation and big ideas, celebrating some of the best new Australian writing, hosted at the Aireys Inlet Community Centre Hall.
This event is supported by the Surf Coast Shire Council.
Event information
Session 1:
10am-11:30am
Create Compelling Characters with Sofie Laguna
Sofie will share the way compelling characters can solve every problem fiction presents.
General Administration: $50
Concession: $30
Session 2:
12pm-1pm
Talk One: In Conversation with Micaela Sahhar
Micaela will discuss her work with Professor Kate MacNeill.
Free. Bookings essential.
Session 3:
2pm-3pm
Talk Two: In Conversation with Sofie Laguna
Sofie will discuss her work with broadcaster Amanda Smith.
Free. Bookings essential.
Speakers
Sofie Laguna has written five novels for adults which have won numerous literary awards including the Miles Franklin Award, the Colin Roderick Award and the Indie Award. She has also been shortlisted for the Stella Prize, the ALS Gold Medal, the Voss Award, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, and longlisted twice for the Dublin IMPAC International Literary Award. Sofie’s most recent novel for adults, released to critical acclaim, is The Underworld. Sofie’s many books for children have been published in the US and the UK and in translation in Europe and Asia, and been named Honour and Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Books include: Our Australian Girl: The Grace Stories, Too Loud Lily (enjoying its 21-year anniversary edition), and more recently, The Song of Lewis Carmichael, and The Glow, and the picture books, A Friend for Ruby and The Last Egg. In October this year Sofie will release her first graphic novel, Blunderbore, with illustrator, Marc McBride.
Micaela Sahhar is an Australian-Palestinian writer and educator living on unceded Wurundjeri Country. Her essays, poetry and commentary have appeared in Cordite, Meanjin, Overland and Sydney Review of Books, among others. Her first book, Find Me at the Jaffa Gate: An encyclopaedia of a Palestinian family (NewSouth Publishing), was the winner of the 2026 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards for Nonfiction and the 2026 NSW Literary Award for New Writing; it was shortlisted for the 2026 National Biography Award, the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction (NSW), the Multicultural NSW Award, the Queensland Literary Award for Nonfiction, and long-listed for the 2026 Stella Prize.
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