We are sorry to say that with the weather forecast for Sunday being somewhat unkind to books, the decision has been made to cancel the book drive to have been held at the Gatehouse (on 3 April). This is very disappointing indeed, and we’re sorry for those who have been saving their stash of surplus reading to support this venture.

This also brings to an end the planned program for Words Out Loud. Thanks to those who turned up on Sunday for Art Off the Page, and to Midtown Cellars, Everybody Knows Books and the Melbourne Art Book Fair for making it happen.

While we might be running the occasional special event and will continue to help promote spoken word in Ballarat and region through this newsletter and our social media, we are happy to put our energy into other endeavours and let Ballarat Spoken Word take the floor with its fortnightly program of events.

We greatly appreciate the support we’ve received over the five years we ran regular Words Out Loud events. We’ve seen some wonderful performances, got to watch writers grow in skill and confidence, and helped make some connections across the region. Special mention to Garth and Nigel, who made such welcoming homes for us at Babushka and The Printers Room respectively, and Rabbit poetry journal for their support with subscription giveaways.

For the time being, this is us signing off, wishing you all the best in life and art, and looking forward to catching up with our friends in spoken word down the track!