South African musician and storyteller, Valanga Khoza, will lead a musical procession from the Village Green to the Reardon Theatre to begin the annual book fair on Saturday morning. Khoza will also talk about life in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa.

Others who will stimulate thought on Saturday will be poets Homer Rieth, author of Wimmera, and Dr Brian Edwards in a "Poets' Corner" conversation, while Michele Gierck will talk about her book 700 Days in El Salvador as well as her first-hand experiences of social justice issues in developing countries.

Audience participation is a feature of many of the fair's events, to be held at venues throughout the town.

Brigid Delaney, 9MSN deputy editor, will discuss how online news is changing the media and food writers Diane Holuigue and Carol Selva Rajah will speak about East meets West flavours and textures and their personal experiences of publishing in the increasingly crowded field of food writing.

The Saturday night highlight will be the Big Port Fairy Book Club, to feature a panel of local authors and literature lovers discussing Craig Silvey's award-winning Australian novel Jasper Jones and the classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The discussion, which will include drinks and canapes, at the Port Fairy Yacht Club will be hosted by crime author Robert Gott, who is also well known as the creator of the Naked Man cartoons which appear each week in The Age newspaper.

Sunday's events include a performance poetry and open mic session hosted by Warrnambool poet James Laidler, Donna Ellis on her book, Sustainable Gardening for Dummies and local poet and garden writer Lynn Strahan sharing the joys and sorrow of making and leaving a garden.

The fair's grand sale of second-hand books will be held all weekend in Reardon Theatre.