It was a feat of imagination and determination against the elements. For a few hours on Thursday morning it looked like the 2016 Byron Writers Festival might not go ahead.
First came the wind that blew marquees apart accompanied by unseasonal rain, which drenched the site and leaving plastic chairs ‘floating’ in ankle-deep water, according to festival chair Chris Hanley.
But with all hands to the pump (literally), the site was sufficiently dried out by Friday for 70,000 pairs of feet to tramp through it over one long and chilly weekend.
The show went on and, in spite of less than perfect weather, Australia’s largest regional literary event enjoyed its largest crowds ever, with more than 150 celebrated international and Australian writers, thinkers and commentators featured.
Full story below Jeff Dawson’s photo gallery
Friday, Saturday and three-day passes to the festival all sold out as did many of the feature events including a literary dinner with Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales, a concert by Paul Kelly and talks by Wendy Whiteley, Stan Grant and Michael Leunig.
Former deputy PM and now author Tim Fischer, who appeared at at five sessions, has written a letter to the editor to ‘salute all involved with the huge and successful logistical efforts with the festival 2016.’
In an event littered with household names it’s impossible to pick favourites but from a journalist’s standpoint Saturday’s panel of political biographers Sarah Ferguson, Paddy Manning and Niki Savva was hard to beat.
Savva said she’d learned from Laurie Oakes that ‘you have to charm’ your sources.
‘I watched him charm absolute sleazebags and at the end of that they spilled their guts.’
‘But if they won’t respond to charm there’s always bullying and intimidation,’ she said sweetly.’
Co-panellist Paddy Manning lamented that political journalism needs to focus more on the policies than the revolving door of leaders, a view that seemed to chime with the audience.
Manning was interviewed again on Sunday by Byron Shire Echo editor Hans Lovejoy about his CSG book What the Frack?
The Thea Astley Memorial Lecture was this year delivered by TV journalist and indigenous author Stan Grant, who discussed his inspiration and motivation for his work, the dire conditions under which he grew up, and many indigenous people still do, and his lifelong love of the writing of James Baldwin.
Grant later shared a stage with Frank Brennan, Tom Keneally and Melissa Lucashenko for a robust debate about the pros and cons of constitutional indigenous recognition and the lack of a treaty with our first nation.
As well as the dozens of one-on-one and panel presentations, there were 15 off-site feature events and two days of programming dedicated to schools, which reached over 4,000 students.
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