The country’s biggest regional writers event returns – here are five sessions to see at Byron Writers Festival
Australia’s largest regional writers festival is returning to the Northern Rivers this August, with a crew of the country’s most in-demand writers in tow. From Friday August 14 to Sunday 16, Byron Writers Festival will transform the coastal town into a meeting place of storytelling and ideas. We’ve hand-picked five stand-out events from this year’s event program to give you a taste of what to expect at Byron Writers Festival this year.
After its 2025 event was cut short due to bad weather – the festival makes a strong return this year with a star-studded lineup, including Trent Dalton, Turia Pitt, Evelyn Araluen, Bob Carr, Antoinette Latouf, Osher Gunsberg and Zoe Terakes.
BWF has a host of events in place designed for enrichment and enlightenment. An Indigenous-guided walking tour, morning guided yoga sessions, poetry walks and a saltwater cleanse under the new moon offer enlightening experiences connecting the festival to place. Festival visitors can also keep up to date across the weekend with Coffee & News, where journalists discuss the week’s headlines, or check out the young local talent at the Poetry Slam.
If you’re still plotting your schedule, take a look at these five standout sessions we’ve selected from across the weekend that we think best embody what Byron Writers Festival is all about.
Mungo Panel: Journalism Now – Friday August 14
12:00—1:00 pm | Jonson St Stage
In this panel, Full Story co-host Nour Naydar sits down with author and columnist Sean Kelly (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald) and multi-award winning journalist Antoinette Lattouf (Ette Media). Together, the three take a forensic look at the ever-evolving nature of media and the evolution of newsrooms and grassroots initiatives in this talk supported by The Byron Shire Echo.
Amy Remeikis, Bob Carr, Julianne Schultz, George Megalogenis
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In Trump’s Wake – Friday August 14
1:30—2:30 pm | Jonson St Stage
Australia’s best known political blogger Amy Remeikis will lead a conversation with former New South Wales Premier (and author of five books) Bob Carr, author and journalist George Megalogenis and Griffith Review editor Julianne Schultz. The four political experts analyse Donald Trump’s second presidency, and what the resulting rapidly changing political environment means for Australia.
ABC Radio National Top 100 Australian Books – Saturday August 15
1:30—2:30 pm | Jonson St Stage
ABC Radio National’s The Bookshelf co-hosts Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh will bring together a panel of writers to share the Australian books that have saved them, shaped them or confronted them. Before voting in the 2026 Top 100 Book countdown opens, see award-winning journalist and international best-selling author Trent Dalton, Dobbie Literary Award winner Claire Thomas and internationally awarded copywriter and author Steve MinOn will share scenes and moments from their own bookshelves.
Migration Stories – Sunday August 16
9:00—10:00 am | Beach Hotel
Author and QUT academic Kári Gíslason (The Sorrow Stone) will lead this discussion about writing across cultures, borders and through time. He will be joined by Melbourne-based poet, novelist, publisher and bookseller Ender Başkan, author Steve MinOn, award-winning memoirist Sita Walker and writer Thammika Songkao, for a panel discussion that deeply analyses the importance of multicultural storytelling.
Songwriters on the Run – Sunday August 16
3:00—4:00 pm | Jonson St Stage
In this exciting BWF event, music journalist, storyteller and creator of Triple J’s Like A Version Mel Bampton will chat with Brisbane’s very own Robert Forster, musician, writer and co-founder of The Go-Betweens. The two will discuss the raconteur’s fiction debut Songwriters on The Run, the story of a thoroughly entertaining rock n roll road trip.
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