WestWords

04/10/2026

It's not you. It's me. I REALLY want you to sign up for Booktober. 🐛

Booktober starts on Thursday and Chief Bookworm HQ is getting a little impatient.
If you've been meaning to sign up, THIS IS YOUR SIGN.

Read anything you love. Set your own goal. Raise what you can.

Your reading helps WestWords bring professional writers into schools, giving young people opportunities to write their own stories and see their words published.

Plus, there are books, discounts, fundraising rewards and some rather excellent prizes involved.

Already signed up? Wonderful. Now recruit a friend. We're not above a little peer pressure when books are involved.

Come wriggle in. We're waiting for you.

👉 https://www.booktober.org.au/

Booktober - Sign up as a bookworm and fundraise to help kids doing it tough within the Greater Western Sydney region.

04/10/2026

LONG WEEKEND = GUILT-FREE READING. 📚🐛

If you’re lucky enough to have a long weekend, we have excellent news....
Reading absolutely counts as a productive activity.

In fact, this October, it can do even more.

Booktober is underway, which means you can spend your long weekend reading what you love, ticking off your Booktober goal and helping make room for someone else’s story.

Because every story needs someone.
Someone to bring a writer into a classroom.
Someone to encourage a young person who isn’t yet sure their ideas matter.
Someone to help them see their own words in print.

That someone can be you.

Already a Bookworm? Perfect excuse to get a few chapters in and share your fundraising page.

Not signed up yet? It is absolutely not too late.

Read what you love. Raise what you can. Back someone’s beginning.
👉 https://www.booktober.org.au/
And tell us - what are you reading this long weekend?

02/10/2026

The WestWords Newsletter! 📚 - https://mailchi.mp/westwords/the-westwords-newsletter-16232029

01/10/2026

BOOKTOBER STARTS TODAY 🐛📚

We made it! October is here and Booktober is officially underway.

Our Bookworms are reading, TBR piles are under pressure and Chief Bookworm HQ is very pleased with itself!

So, first things first - what are you reading?

Tell us your first Booktober read in the comments. Novel, audiobook, poetry, kids’ book, graphic novel, nonfiction, reread… it all counts. And don't forget you can track all your October reads over at the WAYR app, with our friends from Better Reading.

And if you meant to sign up but somehow September disappeared on you, good news. It is absolutely not too late to become a Bookworm!

Sign up, set a goal, read what you love and raise what you can.

Every dollar helps WestWords create more opportunities for young people to meet professional writers, develop their own stories and see their words taken seriously.

This month, we’ll be sharing what our Bookworms are reading, introducing some of our Bookbassadors, celebrating milestones, giving away prizes and generally making a lot of noise about books.

So come wriggle in with us - there's plenty of room!
👉 booktober.org.au

Read what you love. Help a young person find their voice.

30/09/2026

Library Book Launch: She Walks With Ghosts

Meet the Author: Garth Thomas, author of brand new YA novel: She Walks With Ghosts!

Join local Carlingford author Garth Thomas as he discusses his debut novel, hosted by Lana Karina! There will be a Halloween morning tea -- as well as a prize for best 'Halloween' dressed! All young adults and family are welcome.

October 31st
10am-11am
Carlingford Library
Free RSVP: https://parramatta-events.bookable.net.au/ #!/event-detail/Author-Talk-Carlingford-Library-Spring-2026

She Walks With Ghosts, a gripping urban supernatural tale filled with mystery, intrigue and the unexpected.

After a 35-year career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where he worked in news and current affairs and received several industry awards, Garth has turned his attention to telling stories of his own. A proud Carlingford resident, he brings a unique voice and local perspective to this atmospheric new novel.

With its supernatural themes and ghostly twists, this special book launch offers the perfect opportunity to embrace the Halloween season while discovering an exciting new Australian author. Meet Garth, hear about his journey from journalist to novelist, and learn what inspired She Walks With Ghosts.

Books will be available for purchase and signing after a Q&A with the audience.

Proudly presented by WestWords and Parramatta City Libraries.
📸 Alana Drayton, FT. Quinn Campbell

28/09/2026

Where the Soil Remembers by Vahida Berberovic.

Pre-Order now available. Pre-order through WestWords Books for your signed copy of Where the Soil Remembers.

https://www.westwords.com.au/product/where-the-soil-remembers/

From the spring of 1992, approximately 100,000 people were killed as Yugoslavia collapsed and disintegrated. Bosnian Muslims were systematically removed and massacred. Selma survived. Her husband and young daughter did not.

Selma’s Australian cousin, Damir, helped extract her and bring her to Sydney, where she has built a seemingly perfect life–complete with a new husband and child. She has buried her loss, her grief, and the guilt of having survived. She has become a different person, far away from the Selma who loved, lost and witnessed the horrors of humanity.

However, the news of the trial of alleged Bosnian Serb war criminal Borislav Simic shatters Selma’s carefully constructed world. She fails at her job, her family, and barely escapes, causing her own death. Selma realises that she must return to Bosnia. She needs to unlock her past to grieve, to reconcile with the unimaginable, so she can forgive and find compassion within herself and her past.

25/09/2026

The WestWords Newsletter! 📚 - https://mailchi.mp/westwords/the-westwords-newsletter-16231991

24/09/2026

Across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 11-13, WestWords and Sydney Speculative Scribes were proud to present ConSYDeration, at Old Government House, Parramatta.

Guests were treated to a full weekend of author insights, conversation, workshops, and community meet-ups. The weekend featured over 37 panellists and moderators, and 6 workshop hosts, who all generously shared their knowledge and signed books for attendees.

Featured guests included Siang Lu, Parramatta Laureate Eda Gunaydin, Tiffany Tsao, Zahid Gamieldien, Abigail Nathan, Gillian Po**ck, and Emma Lord and Zena Shapter who celebrated the launch of their new novels on the Saturday night.

We were treated to two amazing days of sun, where every lunchtime guests sprawled out on picnic blankets and soaked up the lush surrounds of Parramatta Park.

Thank you again to Sydney Speculative Scribes for helping make this all possible, as well as The National Trust, NSW, for welcoming us to Old Government House across the three days. Thanks to Alana Drayton for thr DSLR photography.

24/09/2026

Across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 11-13, WestWords and Sydney Speculative Scribes were proud to present ConSYDeration, at Old Government House, Parramatta.

Guests were treated to a full weekend of author insights, conversation, workshops, and community meet-ups. The weekend featured over 37 panellists and moderators, and 6 workshop hosts, who all generously shared their knowledge and signed books for attendees.

Featured guests included Siang Lu, Parramatta Laureate Eda Gunaydin, Tiffany Tsao, Zahid Gamieldien, Abigail Nathan, Gillian Po**ck, and Emma Lord and Zena Shapter who celebrated the launch of their new novels on the Saturday night.

We were treated to two amazing days of sun, where every lunchtime guests sprawled out on picnic blankets and soaked up the lush surrounds of Parramatta Park.

Thank you again to Sydney Speculative Scribes for helping make this all possible, as well as The National Trust, NSW, for welcoming us to Old Government House across the three days. Thank you to Alana Drayton for the DSLR photography.

23/09/2026

Join WestWords Academy Alum Jelena Curic, Adam Byatt, Christopher Sammut alongside Bernard Zuel, as these writers discuss the music that has shaped their lives and creative practices, presented by Parramatta's Lit.

🔸Sat 26 Sep

🕘1.45pm- 2.45pm PM

📍PHIVE, 5 Parramatta Square, 2150

Free RSVP here: https://events.humanitix.com/industry-panel-or-music-man