Artistic director Lucy Nelson said the line between writer and reader is quite blurry at Noted.

"Our artist line-up includes people who are only just starting to call themselves writers, all the way through to established writers with international followings," Ms Nelson said.

"Simply put, this is a festival for anyone who loves to write."

The festival began in 2015 when a group of local writers and producers asked the question: why should we travel to Sydney or Melbourne for a writers' festival when our hometown is crawling with literary talent and an audience of avid readers?

In its first year the festival ran on a tiny crowd-funding campaign of $5000 and has since secured government funding as well as support from a number of sponsors and local businesses.

Some of the more unusual events this year include lectures in parks, workshops in spooky underground locations, walking tours with tailor-made poetry at every stop and a collaborative sculpture project that will find creative new ways of repurposing unsold books. Audiences can also participate online through a range of interactive digital events.

Despite a focus on experimentation, Noted has not entirely shied away from some of the more traditional events; punters will also find workshops, readings and panel discussions on topics including the value of humorous storytelling and the role art plays in contemporary Australia.

In the lead-up to this year's festival, organisers launched a First Nations Emerging Writers Residency in partnership with the National Library of Australia. Last week Melbourne writer Laniyuk Garcon-Mills was announced as the successful recipient and will spend the week of the festival immersed in her work by day and frequenting the festival by night.

Applications for a second residency program aimed at emerging writers older than 60 closed last week, with outcomes to be announced shortly.

"We were surprised by the reaction to the emerging older writers residency," Ms Nelson said.

"It showed us that there is a strong appetite for this to continue. There just aren't enough professional development opportunities for older writers and we're delighted to provide one. It's not enough. It's never enough, but it's a start."

Creating opportunities where they are otherwise lacking has become something of a mission for this emerging indie festival. For the first time this year, the program includes a multilingual hub, where writers with a first language other than English will offer readings, presentations, mini-language lessons and performances in or about their mother tongues.

"That's going to be really special," Ms Nelson said. "You can learn a short song in an Indigenous Australian language, hear poetry performed in Indonesian and Serbian, write your name in Farsi – it's a celebration and a sharing of words in all their shapes and sizes."

Returning to the festival this year is the flagship event LitHop, a pub crawl across inner city venues interspersed with readings, competitions and literary-themed adventures along the way. Also back for a third time is the Independent Publishing Fair. A playground for zinesters, artists, writers and creators, the publishing fair plays host to about 50 local and interstate publishers selling their wares against a backdrop of performances, panels and free events for kids.

Noted Writers' Festival launches on May 2 at the National Library of Australia, and runs from May 3-7. See the full program at notedfestival.com

Marta Skrabacz is a creative producer and journalist. She is currently writing a book on memoir and women writers and runs a story-based project, Well In Theory.