Celebrating a Week of Stories, Inspiration and Reading
Mentone Grammar Book Week Festival 2026
There has been plenty of excitement online following the inaugural Mentone Grammar Book Week Festival (Monday 27 – Friday 31 July 2026). It was a memorable celebration of stories, creativity and the transformative power of reading.
At Mentone Grammar, our libraries strive to foster a lifelong love of reading by engaging the entire school community in the enjoyment and benefits of reading for pleasure. Research consistently shows that reading for enjoyment not only strengthens literacy skills but also enhances wellbeing, empathy and academic achievement. In fact, reading for pleasure has been found to have a greater influence on a teenager’s intellectual development than parental educational background (Australia Reads, 2026).
Throughout the festival, students had the opportunity to meet some of Australia’s most celebrated authors, hear the stories behind their books and participate in engaging workshops tailored to different year levels and literary genres.
“Meeting an author helps students connect with the person behind the story, sparks curiosity and creativity, and can be especially powerful in inspiring reluctant readers to discover books that resonate with them,” said Kathryn Schravemade, Head of Libraries.
Across both the Junior and Senior Schools, students immersed themselves in an exciting program of author presentations, interactive workshops and literary experiences designed to inspire curiosity, creativity and a lifelong love of reading.
Junior School students welcomed Davina Bell, Adrian Beck, Nova Weetman and Pip Harry. From Foundation – Year 6, students explored storytelling, the creative writing process and the joy of books through engaging presentations and hands-on workshops. Year 5 and 6 students also enjoyed optional Choose Your Own (CYO) writing workshops with Nova Weetman, while Year 6 explored the unique style of verse novels with Pip Harry.
In the Senior School, students learned from Amy Doak, Joel McKerrow, Karen Comer, Pip Harry, Adrian Beck and Nova Weetman. Year 7 students delved into writing tension and crime fiction with Amy Doak, while Joel McKerrow encouraged students to reflect on their own reading journeys. Years 7 and 8 explored the craft of verse novels with Karen Comer and Pip Harry before coming together for whole year level panel presentations with Adrian Beck, Pip Harry and Nova Weetman (year 7) and Joel McKerrow and Amy Doak (year 8), who shared insights into reading, writing and the creative process.
“It has been really lovely to see such highly acclaimed, best-selling and award-winning authors, who have all had such a huge impact on Australian children’s literature, be so kind and impressed with the Mentone Grammar Book Week Festival. It was also terrific to see our students so engaged and inspired by the various workshops and author presentations that took place throughout the week,” said Lara Tori, Library Technician.
Book Week extended well beyond the author visits, with a range of activities encouraging students to celebrate and share their love of reading. Students in Foundation – Year 12 enjoyed browsing the Book Fair throughout the week, discovering new stories and favourite authors, while the Junior School Book Parade on Friday 31 August on the Bayview Oval, brought beloved literary characters to life in a vibrant celebration of imagination.
Foundation – Year 3 students also took part in the Indigenous Literacy Foundation Great Book Swap on Thursday 30 July, a national fundraising initiative supporting children living in remote Indigenous communities across Australia. Students donated a favourite book from home (provided it was in excellent condition), and on the day of the swap, brought along a gold coin donation to exchange for a book of their choice to take home and keep. The funds raised help the Indigenous Literacy Foundation provide culturally relevant books, written by Indigenous authors and illustrators, to children and communities across Australia, ensuring more young Australians have access to stories that reflect their cultures, languages and experiences.
The enthusiasm shown by our students throughout the week was inspiring, and the positive feedback from our visiting authors reflects the strong reading culture that continues to flourish at Mentone Grammar. We thank each of our guest authors for generously sharing their time, passion and expertise, and for inspiring the next generation of readers, writers and storytellers.