Echuca
Stella DAY OUT: Echuca
Date: Saturday, 23 May 2026
Location: Echuca Library, 310 Hare Street, Echuca VIC 3564
Time: 11am-3pm
Tickets: FREE, bookings essential. Book on our Eventbrite here.
Stella, in partnership with Campaspe Shire Council, Ripple Fest, and Collins Booksellers, is proud to announce a FREE one-day literary event.
Local readers and writers will have the chance to hear directly from Stella Prize listed writers Sofie Laguna and Debra Dank as they discuss their craft in conversation with local moderators Christy O’Brien and Cecile Shanahan.
Writer, journalist, and Echuca local Christy O’Brien will join critically acclaimed novelist Sofie Laguna for the first session. Sofie has written highly successful books for both adults and children, and her 2015 novel The Eye of the Sheep won the Miles Franklin and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Sofie’s third novel The Choke was shortlisted for the Stella in 2018, and her latest book The Underworld was released to wide acclaim late last year.
Editor, awards judge, and curator Cecile Shanahan will moderate the second discussion, joined by highly respected Gudanji/Wakaja writer and academic Debra Dank. Debra’s latest book Ankami was longlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize and shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, and Debra was a Stella Prize judge in 2025.
This will be a vibrant day of exciting conversation and big ideas, celebrating some of the best new Australian writing, hosted at the Echuca library.
This event is proudly supported by Campaspe Shire Council, The Hugh Williamson Foundation, Ripple Fest, Collins Booksellers, and Quest Apartment Hotels.
Event information
Doors open: 11am
Session 1:
11:30am-12:30pm
Debra Dank in conversation with Cecile Shanahan
Writer and editor Cecile Shanahan will be joining Debra Dank for an intimate conversation on craft, family history and why words and stories matter.
Session 2:
1:30pm-2:30pm
Sofie Laguna in conversation with Christy O’Brien
Local writer and former journalist Christy O’Brien will talk with Sofie about her creative life and process, writing for adults and children, how to write a good story, and her latest novel, The Underworld.
Book sale and signings available after each session, hosted by Collins Booksellers Echuca.
Beverages and light refreshments provided.
Speakers
Debra Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja and Kalkadoon woman from the Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory. She is an Enterprise Fellow with the University of South Australia. She has spent forty years working in primary, secondary and tertiary education roles, in urban and remote areas across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory. Her books Terraglossia, We Come With This Place, and Ankami have all been highly honoured, and her exploration of the myth of ‘terra nullius’, the resounding echoes of the Stolen Generation within family lineages, and the role of language in colonial violence make her one of the most essential living voices in Australian writing.
Cecile Shanahan has been a freelance editor for over a decade. She is also an awards judge, organiser and moderator of literary events, and a past co-curator of Bendigo Writers Festival. Cecile has a background in education, communications and the arts. She is one of the 2026 recipients of the prestigious Residential Editorial Program (REP).
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, The House on Pleasant Street, and A Friend for Ruby, all illustrated by her husband, Marc McBride. Sofie’s latest picture book is The Last Egg, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft.
Christy O’Brien is a former print journalist, senior freelance writer with The Splendid Word, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative and Professional Writing (La Trobe University) and is an aspiring creative writer. Christy has been crafting words for more than 30 years and is passionate about storytelling and sharing the joy of writing with others. She is also a founding committee member of the Festival of Stories, which launches in Echuca Moama from October 16-18 this year.
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