Events

Over three days, the Newington College LitFest will feature a wide range of engaging events to celebrate the written and spoken word.

Find an event at your Campus

LitFest is a happening across all three campuses with events running from Wednesday, 3rd May 2023 to Friday, 5th May 2023.

Find out what’s happening at each of the campuses:

Stanmore Campus Timetable

Access the timetable for the Stanmore Campus here:

Insites Litfest Timetable Term 2, 03 May – 05 May

Spelling Bee

One of the most popular events of the Newington College LitFest is the Spelling Bee. Top spellers in Years 5 – 6 from Wyvern will compete. (Pictured: Richard Harland and Wyvern students, LitFest 2015)

Book Parade

To celebrate all things literature and storytelling, the boys at Wyvern Prepatory House participate in a colourful and memorable parade showcasing their favourite characters, stories, and authors. (Pictured: Wyvern Students, LitFest 2017)

Author Workshops

Our esteemed guests work with our Wyvern, Lindfield and Stanmore students and spark in them a life-long love of literature and reading, as well as inspiring a brand new generation of writers and storytellers. (Pictured: Scot Gardner and Year 9 Students in the DC Drama Theatre, LitFest 2017)

Theatre Productions

Some of our author's works and stories have been brought to life through professional performances. (Pictured: Susanne Gervay and Monkey Baa, LitFest 2015)

Classroom Tutorials

Our authors spend time with the students in their classrooms, showcasing the craft of storytelling, exploring themes, and discussing plotting and writing. (Pictured: Will Kostakis, LitFest 2019)

Stand-Up Presentations

To broaden their minds towards all possibilities of storytelling, students also experience stand-up presentations filled with humour, laughter, and discovery. (Pictured: Sean Choolburra, LitFest 2019)

Slam Poet Performances

LitFest isn't just limited to stories told in print. Over the years, we have been priviledged to experience poetry in action from a number of young and powerful slam poets and vocal artists. (Pictured: Philip Wilcox, LitFest 2019)

Writing to survive: Survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi discuss their anthology "A Book of Love and Loss"

This year’s panel event will be a discussion held by Dr Jonathan Ari Lander and the survivors of the Rwandan Genocide.

 

Kumva and Kwibuka: Listen and Remember, is an organisation set up by a group of survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi to share their eye witness accounts and the emotional impact the genocide has had on them and their families. With the support of West Words a short anthology was published that shares part of the survivor’s stories.

The journey to a published manuscript is never easy, especially for a survivor writing about painful experiences in their fourth or fifth language. Nonetheless, we are honoured to discuss with Newington students the process of learning to write and the intersection between memory, history and the craft of writing.

Writing Competition

Students are invited to compete in the Newington College LitFest Writing Competition. Winners will be announced during LitFest.

Winners will be given the unique opportunity to workshop their pieces with some of the professional authors visiting Newington for the Festival.

 • Wyvern and Lindfield Winner’s Workshop: Susanne Gervay.

 • Year 7 to 8 Winner’s Workshop: Martin Chatterton.

 • Year 9 to 10 Winner’s Workshop: Gary Lonesborough.

 • Stanmore Open Winner’s Workshop: Jon Rex Williams.

These short story pieces will also be shortlisted for publication in the 2023 edition of New Enigma, Newington’s own annual celebration of some of the most outstanding poetry, artwork and prose from our very own students.

Criteria

The writing competition is divided across four divisions with different year groups allocated to each division. Each division will be given a set of writing prompts to guide submissions.

 • Wyvern and Lindfield Division: Years 5 and 6

 • Stanmore Junior Division: Years 7 and 8

 • Stanmore Intermediate Division: Years 9 and 10

 • Stanmore Open Division: Years 11 and 12, but also open to younger year groups.

Please check your year group’s Newington: Spaces page for details.