September 10th, 2026Inductees to Words in Winter Roll of Honour

Kevin Childs and Maia Irell have been added to the Words in Winter Roll of Honour for their work from 2016-2022.
Kevin Childs said he was “honoured and grateful” to join the Roll of Honour.

“Briefly, I fell into Words in Winter through being interested in helping out with publicity, since one of my earlier jobs had been as media officer for the solicitors’ organisation, the Law Institute of Victoria.
“So I went along to the home of the wonderful co-founder of Words in Winter. I signed up with that force of nature that is Maia and away we went. It was enormous fun and luckily my role grew in later festivals as I was able to rope in writers I know, interview some and have one of my books read.
“It’s hard to think of a greater pleasure than to be in a volunteer role and to watch Words in Winter evolve over those six years from 2016 and hear from wise, funny, eccentric and passionate people.
“Recently, at the funeral of a friend, Barry Dickins, playwright, novelist, satirist, columnist and artist, one speaker talked of how Barry took words and almost spellbindingly produced a thread. There are so many threads in Words in Winter and, when woven, they produce a rich and fabulous fabric.
“One example is that few people who were there would easily forget how Bruce Pascoe reacted when asked about the loss of the critical Yes referendum. He explained that when he returned to Country, going home to Mallacoota, driving in to see the grasses, the rare Mallacoota gums, the messmate, silvertop ash and the yellow stringybark among them, helped heal his pain.
“I want to finish by saying what a delight it is to see how Words in Winter has expanded. Most people know that Devonshire Tea consists of tea with a scone split in two, then covered with clotted cream and berries on top. Please excuse the mangling of that recipe, but in this shire, we have our Devon, and with Words in Winter she has done a monumental job in putting the cherries of excitement, with its variation, on top.”
Maia Irell said it had been an honour to serve the community and “to work with Kevin to bring humanistic conversations and concerns to light in a community forum even when there was only one person in attendance”.
“The highest compliment I received was just after Covid when an older woman approached me at an event at Radius and said “thank you for organising this festival, I have been so lonely, it’s so wonderful to be here”.
“Kevin is the GOAT, and many thanks to all the amazing people who made it happen over the years. It enriched my life and made me happy.”
Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed