The Byron Writers Festival (formerly known as Byron Bay Writers Festival) is a literary event taking place annually in

Byron Bay, New South Wales Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

. The festival commenced in 1997 and was founded by Peter Barclay and a group of volunteers who in part drew some of their inspiration from the Adelaide Writers Week. The festival was organised through the Northern Rivers Writers' Centre, incorporated in 1995. In 2016, the Centre and the Festival were amalgamated under one banner and was renamed as Byron Writers Festival. It is held on the first weekend of August each year. As of 2010 it included presentations by over 100 participants, which has continued in every year since. The festival has included interviews with a number of notable writers including

Cheryl Strayed Cheryl Strayed (; née Nyland; born September 17, 1968) is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel ''Torch'' (2006) and the nonfiction books '' Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2012), '' Ti ...

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a ...

Matthew Reilly Matthew John Reilly (born 2 July 1974) is an internationally bestselling Australian action thriller writer.
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and

Kathy Lette Kathryn Marie Lette (born 11 November 1958) is an Australian-British author whose works have been best-sellers. Early life Lette was born on 11 November 1958 in Sydney's southern suburbs. She appeared in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' of 20 Au ...

. In 2005 the festival had an audience of between 7,000 and 8,000, an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year. Notable participants included

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...

drummer and songwriter

Rob Hirst Robert George Hirst (born 3 September 1955) is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band t ...

, writers

Delia Falconer Delia Falconer, born in Sydney in 1966, is an Australian novelist who became famous for her bestselling novel, The Service of Clouds. She has been nominated for multiple literary awards in recognition for her work. Biography Falconer is an o ...

and

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for ''The Idea of Perfection ...

, and novelist

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who lives in the area. The tenth festival was held in 2006, and attracted an audience of 9,000 across 90 sessions. Presenters included sports journalist

Gideon Haigh Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh (born 29 December 1965) is an English-born Australian journalist and non-fiction author who writes about sport (especially cricket), business and crime in Australia. He was born in London, was raised in Ge ...

, actor and writer

William McInnes Daryl William Mathew Gabriel McInnes (born 10 September 1963) is an Australian film and television actor and writer. He portrayed the role of Matt Tivolli in '' The Time of Our Lives''. He is best known for his roles as Senior Constable Nick Sc ...

, and Robert Drewe. In 2015, individual visitors to the three-day event reached 3000 a day and a total of 65,000 at sessions, compared with 109,000 at Sydney Writers' Festival. 2019 was a record year, with the highest box office sales in its 23-year history and 140 local and international guests across 121 on-site events, 17 off-site events, 15 workshops, a schools program for primary- and secondary-school students, and a road trip to regional towns. Edwina Johnson was the festival's longest standing director from 2014-2022. Edwina was praised in the Sydney Morning Herald for growing the festival into an international event, including guests such as

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and

Geoff Dyer Geoff Dyer (born 5 June 1958) is an English author. He has written a number of novels and non-fiction books, some of which have won literary awards. Personal background Dyer was born and raised in Cheltenham, England, as the only child of a ...

. The festival did not run in 2020 or 2021, due to the pandemic. In 2022, it returned under new director Zoe Pollock. In 2023, it will be held in the Bangalow Showgrounds for the first time. The festival has four flagship programs: the annual festival, a free creative writing program for children called StoryBoard, professional development services for members, and the annual residential mentorship opportunity. The Residential Mentorship was established in 2001 for emerging writers in the region, and has led to significant amounts of publication. Notable alumni include

Jesse Blackadder Jesse Blackadder (June 196410 June 2020) was an Australian novelist, screenwriter and journalist. She authored short stories and novels for children and adults. ''The Raven's Heart: A Story of a Quest, a Castle and Mary Queen of Scots'' (2011) won ...

, Jarrah Dundler, Jessie Cole, Russell Eldridge,

Mirandi Riwoe Mirandi Riwoe is an Australian author based in Brisbane. In 2020 Riwoe won the Queensland Literary Award Fiction Book Award for her book ''Stone Sky Gold Mountain''. Awards and honours Riwoe is the author of ''Stone Sky Gold Mountain'', set durin ...

, Emma Ashmere, Helen Burns, Bronwyn Birdsall and Lisa Walker. Local author

Marele Day Marele Day (born 4 May 1947) is an Australian author of mystery novels. She won the Shamus Award for her first Claudia Valentine novelpage 62-64, ''Great Women Mystery Writers'', 2nd Ed. by Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay, 2007, publ. Greenwood Press ...

was the mentor from 2001-2021 and in 2022, former participant

Sarah Armstrong Sarah Armstrong (born 1968) is an Australian journalist and novelist. Over an eight-year period she worked for the ABC on radio programs including AM, PM and The World Today where she won a Walkley Award in 1993.

became the new mentor.

References

External links

Byron Writers Festival
website Literary festivals in Australia Festivals established in 1997 1997 establishments in Australia Byron Bay Festivals in New South Wales {{DEFAULTSORT:Byron_Writers_Festival