No matter which part of the Cairns region you live in, there’s a writers’ group close to you. We encourage you to get in touch with them and become a part of our wonderful writing tribe, no matter where you are on your writing journey.
While we aim to provide as accurate information as possible, these groups are external to us and their details may have changed. We recommend you make contact with them first to confirm.
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a worldwide organisation with over 20,000 members and chapters in 17 countries. In Australia, the SCBWI aims to support professional children’s book writers and illustrators by keeping them up to date with industry knowledge, publishers, and each other. Focusing on writing and illustrating for children (picture books, junior chapter books, middle grade and young adult), the Cairns group meets every three months in Cairns. For more information, contact Diane Finlay on findpublishing@hotmail.com | Facebook (public site) | Facebook (private group)
Now under the lead of Eve Stafford, meetings are held every second Monday of the month, at the Kuranda Library from 10 am – 12 pm. Sharing experiences, writing goals and aspirations, discussing trends, anything writing and reading related can be thrown into the arena. For more information or to connect, contact Eve Stafford on eve.stafford@ozemail.com.au
Meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month in Atherton at 2pm. This is a fun writing group that entertains each other with delightful stories of life, some stories squeeze a caring tear. Sessions include writing stories from subjects, sometimes with mystery words thrown in to pep up the mind exercise. Homework is also given, with topics for 500 word short stories. These are all read out at the next meeting, to everyone’s delight. Members are encouraged this way, with positive response and a feeling of confidence. Contact Des O’Neill on Dbon5204@hotmail.com
This group meets on the last Sunday of each month at 10am for brunch. Because the Cassowary Coast is such a spread-out region, members alternate between meeting in Mission Beach and Innisfail. Previously known as Liqualawinq, this is quite an eclectic group, with members ranging from 12 years to 87 years. All genres of writing are covered. Email cassowarycoastwriters@gmail.com| Website
© Tropical Writers Inc 2025