What to expect at Douglas Shire Book Festival

The inaugural Douglas Shire Book Festival will hit the region next weekend, offering ‘a creative space for readers of all ages’ and showcasing the literary talent of the Far North, including one of the Cairns Post’s very own.

Cairns Post journalist Catherine Duffy will release her debut novel, Runaway Cecilia, at the Douglas Shire Book Festival in August. Picture: Brendan Radke

The inaugural Douglas Shire Book Festival will hit the region next weekend, offering “a creative space for readers of all ages” and showcasing the literary talent of the Far North, including one of the Cairns Post’s very own.

Taking place in Mossman on Saturday, August 2 and in Port Douglas on Sunday, August 3, the festival will feature the work of more than 40 Queensland authors hailing from Weipa to Mackay and covering romance, fantasy, paranormal and non-fiction genres.

Festival director Crystal Leonardi said she created the festival to celebrate “the mass number of local talent” in the Far North.

“I started my publishing company in 2021 and what I found in the industry is just such a lack of connection up here in this part of the country,” Ms Leonardi said.

“There’s just very limited opportunities for authors and publishers in North Queensland to showcase their work, but also be able to connect and collaborate with others in the industry.

“There’s been a few other local book fairs and they’re absolutely fantastic. What they do is brilliant, but … (they) just didn’t give us local authors a chance or a platform to really shine.”

Publisher Crystal Leonardi founded the Douglas Shire Book Festival after seeing a gap in other Far North book fairs.

Each author will have a table at the festival and a selection will be involved in author talks, panel discussions and workshops.

“We’ve had to cap it at 43 (authors) because we don’t have the space. We’ve got a waiting list for next year already,” Ms Leonardi said.

One of the featured authors is the Cairns Post’s very own Catherine Duffy, who is releasing her debut novel, Runaway Cecilia, on August 1.

“I am both excited and terrified. Excited that I have a book and people will read it, but also terrified that people will read it, because writing a book feels so personal,” Ms Duffy said of the fantasy novel, which she has been working on for the past 15 years after first developing the story idea at age 11.

“I don’t know if it feels real yet. It’s so good to be able to just hold it in my hands.”

Ms Duffy described her novel as “Disney’s Tangled meets Pirates of the Caribbean”.

Ms Duffy first thought of the idea for Runaway Cecilia when she was 11. Picture: Brendan Radke

“It’s about a princess who gets kidnapped as a young child by a vengeful noblewoman. She then gets taken across the sea and raised by the duchess, before she discovers she’s not the orphan she thought she was, and runs away,” she said.

The festival will feature food and drink vans, kids corners, hourly raffle draws and lucky draw prizes.

“We’ve tried to create that festival atmosphere, but still keep it true to highlighting the talent and giving people an opportunity to actually meet and chat with the authors,” Ms Leonardi said.

“We hope we’ve created a welcoming, creative space for readers of all ages.”

On Saturday, August 2, the festival will be held at the Mossman Shire Hall from 9am to 3pm.

On Saturday, August 3, the Port Douglas Community Hall will host the event from 9am to 3pm.

Runaway Cecilia is available for pre-order from crystalleonardi.com and will be released on August 1.

For more information on the festival, head to crystalleonardi.com/dsbf.

Originally published as What to expect at Douglas Shire Book Festival