Back to Byron: Writers festival remains an open book
Necessity prompted a move to Bangalow for Byron Writers Festival but after a flood the event has thankfully moved back to Byron Bay.
Here’s some good news – they are putting Byron back into Byron Writers Festival. After a disastrous pivot to Bangalow, the festival that is everyone’s favourite (along with Brisbane) is celebrating its 30th anniversary by returning to Byron Bay.
The festival bids farewell to Bangalow Showground (where they got flooded and had to cancel the festival) and will now be hosted across multiple venues right in the heart of the Byron township, August 14-16. Yay.
Across three days this will turn the town into a literary precinct bustling with writers, readers, big ideas, conversation and performance.
Using iconic town venues allows Byron Writers Festival to be more sustainable, weather-resilient, accessible and connected to local businesses and spaces, including the world-famous Byron Bay foreshore. Literary lovers will be spoiled for choice.
The festival will also activate the township and drive business to local cafés, restaurants and retailers – perfect for grabbing pre-session coffee and post-panel debriefs.
Within the festival precinct will be two hubs – one on the foreshore and one in the heart of town – with venues including Byron Community Centre (Byron Theatre and Wategos Room), Byron Bay Surf Club, Beach Hotel and Haven (with more to be announced). There will also be events at the Cavanbah Centre and free programming for readers of all ages presented on the Byron foreshore.
You might like
The festival’s signature feature events are a mainstay, along with book signings and author appearances at official festival bookshop, The Book Room, on Fletcher Street, which will form the main pedestrian thoroughfare.
Day passes will give ticketholders access to all official festival venues and sessions during the day without the need for separate tickets, while evening feature events will be ticketed separately.
Parking (this is important) will be available at the Cavanbah Centre, with shuttle buses providing transport to the festival precinct. And I’m guessing there will be the usual “Dunnies with Dignity” portaloos? I love that.
Byron Writers Festival artistic director Jessica Alice says the festival will be “more connected with the community, more visible and more accessible than ever before”.
“We’re excited to activate Byron with books and culture and make it a festival for everyone to discover and enjoy,” Alice says. “We extend our deep thanks to the community for their incredible support that has allowed us to keep going and look forward to the next 30 years.”
The festival has always had a relaxed feel, and I think it will work a treat being back in town
Amen to that. As a regular attendee over the years (as a guest author and presenter) I loved that the festival was in Byron. I happen to love Bangalow, too, but wasn’t on the bill for that one, so I guess I dodged a bullet. We have friends in Brunswick Heads and Byron is just a short drive from their place, where we usually stay. I guess we’re lucky.
The Byron Writers Festival vibe is always special and when it was held for many years around Elements of Byron it wasn’t unusual to see surfers trotting off to the beach nearby. The festival has always had a relaxed feel, and I think it will work a treat being back in town.
Subscribe for updates
Writers and attendees, all love Byron. I‘ve had memorable times at Byron Writers Festival, where I’ve done sessions with various authors. I remember one with the singer Mark Holden when he was spruiking his book, My Idol Years. I made sure he pulled out his guitar and sang a song for the audience, too, which was a treat.
As a surfer (retired) I was also thrilled to do the in-conversation with William (Bill) Finnegan, whose book Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life has become something of a bible for surfers. And in 2022 I was lucky enough to do a session with the great Robert Drewe and my mate, superstar artist Ben Quilty.
An abiding memory of Byron is also chronicled in my recently published memoir, Confessions of a Minor Poet (published by Transit Lounge) in the chapter Man Swallows Panadol, which deals in part with my friendship with fellow Brisbane author Trent Dalton, now a global star.
Indulge me and I will share a snippet from that chapter about an episode my wife Sandra McLean and I experienced at Byron Writers Festival. I worked with Trent (or did he work with me?) at NewsCorp’s lifestyle magazine Brisbane News. It was his first job, but eventually he moved on:
He went national. Boy, did he go national. I was never sure I’d had any influence although looking back I may have had some, however slight. He was certainly receptive where others weren’t. Once he acknowledged me very publicly at the Byron Writers Festival, and I nearly missed that.
Sandra and I had gone to a session featuring Trent. The marquee was overflowing and we sat ‘in the outer’, on an extra row of chairs that had been set up just beyond the rope anchors. Luckily the weather was fine. As usual I found it hard to concentrate, plus it was a bit of a love-in, which made me a tad uncomfortable. It just so happens that I don’t hold with mass expressions of emotion. I’d sat quietly for 20 minutes or so and felt I’d given it a red-hot go. ‘Can we leave now?’
I turned to Sandra, feeling that I’d done my duty. ‘Just a few more minutes,’ she said. I crossed my arms and made like Grumpy Cat. Five minutes later Trent spots me down the back.
You couldn’t miss me really: I was wearing my bright red Adidas Originals tracksuit top, so despite the dark sunglasses I was hardly incognito. Au contraire, I looked like a mafioso in leisurewear. Blow me down if five minutes later Trent doesn’t give me a shout-out and the whole marquee turns round to take a squizz. Sandra smiled and I gave a kind of little royal wave and felt pretty good about myself, for a few minutes at least. That’s how Trent Dalton rolls. He makes people feel good. I cannot deny it.
That memory makes me smile. As I said, Trent can do that to you. So can Byron Bay Writers Festival. I’m glad it’s back where it ought to be.
Byron Writers Festival early bird tickets go on sale in April. The full festival program will be released in June, along with details about venues, ticketing, parking and accessibility.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
Free to share
This article may be shared online or in print under a Creative Commons licence