What do Jennifer Robinson, Gina Chick and Tim Minchin have in common? The trio, who all have ties to the South Coast, have helped put Berry Writer’s Festival on the literary map.

Robinson, the human rights lawyer who played a key role in freeing Julian Assange earlier this year, and Chick, star of the hit TV show Alone, grew up on the South Coast and are both Bomaderry High school graduates. Their “in conversation sessions” at this weekend’s festival were quick to sell out.

Minchin - a world-renowned actor, writer, comedian, musician and poet who has a home in Kangaroo Valley - was a late entry to the festival line-up. When organisers announced the composer of Matilda the musical would join the festival earlier this month, tickets to his event sold out within 24 hours. Minchin and Marc Fennell, host of Things the British Stole, will headline An Evening of Words and Music on October 26.

“This is a community-led and community focused event and it’s the locals who are selling out fast,” associate artistic director Tori Haschka said. “We have a wealth of talent on the South Coast which we are proud to showcase through events like this one.”

Ms Haschka, herself an author and Berry local, said tickets are still available for many sessions, including writing workshops.

“Workshops give people an opportunity to gain insight into industry professionals that they might not otherwise have,” she says. Tickets are also available for an Indigenous food workshop with authors Adam Liaw, Rebecca Sullivan and Damien Coulthard in partnership with chefs from award-winning Shoalhaven Heads restaurant Bangalay Dining. The session will explore modern Australian dining, and look at native ingredients people know and those that are less recognisable.

The Berry Writers Festival is a bi-annual celebration of writing and literature held over three days, across four historic venues. The first festival, in October 2022, featured fifty authors and speakers participating in 21 sessions and six workshops over two days. More than 2400 tickets were sold. More than 300 tickets have already been sold for this year's event, which features more than 80 authors and seven workshops.

“We have increased the number of sessions and participating authors this year,” Ms Haschka says. “We have also attracted a lot more local partnerships and sponsors and added a children’s program in local schools on Thursday. Ticket sales have been really strong.”

Tickets are still available for the festival which runs from October 25-27 berrywritersfestival.org.au.