Dunkeld's Royal Mail Hotel has long counted books among its draws, from its partnership with the Dunkeld Writers Festival to guest-room libraries chosen by prominent Australian authors. This spring, the Grampians hotel is launching a Literary Salon Series, and its first guest is Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Charlotte Wood, who'll sit down with The Monthly editor Michael Williams on Saturday, October 24. Wood is one of the most acclaimed names in Australian fiction — her latest novel, Stone Yard Devotional, was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize and named among the top ten books of 2025 by both The New York Times and The Washington Post. Leading the conversation is Williams, whose broadcasting and literary programming career includes stints at the Wheeler Centre and Sydney Writers' Festival. The room is capped at 22 guests, so expect a dinner-table conversation rather than a festival panel. "Literature has always been part of the fabric of the Royal Mail Hotel – from our partnership with the Dunkeld Writers Festival to our in-room literary program. The Literary Salon Series is a natural continuation of that, welcoming authors whose books our guests have been reading for years," says John Jerome Myers, Royal Mail Hotel Director and former Chair of the Melbourne Writers Festival. Seats are sold as part of a weekend package, priced at $1,490 per person. That covers two nights' accommodation, Friday dinner at the hotel's casual restaurant Parker St Project and the Saturday salon dinner, with three courses and matched wines. If you want to stretch the stay further, room upgrades and dinner at Wickens, the hotel's award-winning fine-dining restaurant, can be added when you book. On Saturday afternoon, the property's outdoor wellness suite — a magnesium-salt hot tub and Finnish sauna — is there for a soak before the salon. The Royal Mail Hotel Literary Salon with Charlotte Wood and Michael Williams takes place on Saturday, October 24 at the Royal Mail Hotel, 98 Parker Street, Dunkeld. Packages are on sale now, with more salons in the series to follow — visit the website to book. Images: Supplied