The annual Byron Writers Festival is Australia’s largest and leading regional celebration of storytelling, literature and ideas. Over three days story creators, idea makers and risk takers from near and far will come together to challenge, entertain and share their stories, inspirations and insights. Running 2–4 August in Byron Bay.
On this page you can find news and articles highlighting what’s on at this year’s Byron Writers Festival.
For more information, the program and tickets visit byronwritersfestival.com.
Byron Writers Festival 2019 Liftout Feature
This handy guide to the 2019 Byron Writers Festival appeared in The Byron Shire Echo, issue 34.08.
Download PDF (3.5MB)
Byron Writers Festival 2019 News and Articles
Gran Slammers premier at Byron Writers Festival
The Grans slammed at yesterdays screening of the first Gran Slam poetry competition at the Byron Writers Festival.
Welcome to Byron Writers Festival 2019!
Now more than ever our world needs writers, environmentalists, poets, commentators, politicians, and artists who together can shape stories of hope, courage, and change. At Byron Writers Festival 2019 we proudly bring more than 140 writers together to create a program brimming with diverse voices.
You’ll love the Byron Writers Festival if…
Check out what's to love at the Byron Writers Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Writers Festival Satellite Event Highlights
As well as appearing in the main Festival program, selected writers and thinkers will feature in Byron Writers Festival’s program of separately ticketed Satellite Events that will have you laughing, crying, chin-stroking, and truly inspired.
Kids Big Day Out at Byron Writers Festival
Byron Writers Festival’s Kids Big Day Out is just around the corner and it’s pulling out all stops with five hours of non-stop book-loving action for all the family!
Local kids review books by festival authors
Brotherband: The Outcasts by John Flanagan. Reviewed by Monty, age 9. The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody. Reviewed by Misha, age 12
Growing up without the filter
Should childhood be lived in a happy, idyllic bubble, protected from the realities of the big wide world? Not according to well-known and respected author John Marsden, who will be sharing his insights at Byron Writers Festival this year.
Books in cafes? Random Acts of Reading
Byron Writers Festival and local cafes across the region are spreading kindness and connection through the act of reading.
Delight in new discoveries at this year’s Byron Writers Festival
From jellyfish experts to space archeologists, it’s often the names we don’t recognise that leave the most lasting impressions. This week we highlight some of the hidden gems within the 2019 Festival Program.
Blood calls to blood: Vicki Laveau-Harvie
Vicki’s writing has been compared to the work of Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. This year she was the winner of the Stella Prize and in 2018 the Finch Memoir Prize. You can hear more of Vicki’s extraordinary story at Byron Writers Festival on Friday 2 August on the panel Memoir: Running in the Family.
Fighting the Mafia: Gianrico Carofiglio
One of Italy’s best-selling writers, Carofiglio will be at Byron Writers Festival to share his life experiences and discuss his latest thrilling novel The Cold Summer, inspired by a true story.
We need to talk about online trolling
Ginger Gorman is coming to Byron Writers Festival to provide a window into not just the mindset of trolls, but also the profound changes in the way we live and work in a post-internet world.
Hot topic sessions at Byron Writers Festival
If you’re looking for new insights into some of the big issues pervading modern consciousness, look no farther than Byron Writers Festival 2019. Here’s an overview of just some of the hot-topic sessions you won’t want to miss at the three-day Festival.
Can there be ethical carnivores?
A book around the ethics of eating meat is certain to spark intense debate amongst vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores. On Eating Meat is that book and its author Matthew Evans is appearing at Byron Writers Festival
Tim Costello: Australia’s favourite social-justice activist at Byron Writers Festival
Tim Costello is one of Australia’s leading voices on social justice and global poverty and has been instrumental in ensuring these issues are placed on the national and international agenda.
Solid Air: Spoken-word showcase at Byron Theatre
From page to stage, let the words take flight! Come experience live some of Australia’s most vibrant performance and slam poets featured within the groundbreaking spoken-word anthology Solid Air.
Your guide to Byron Writers Festival Satellite Events
As well as appearing in the main Festival program, selected writers and thinkers will feature in Byron Writers Festival’s program of Satellite Events that will have you laughing, crying, chin-stroking, and truly inspired.
Byron Writers Festival ticket guide
Wondering which ticket is right for you? Read on for our quick guide to the 2019 Byron Writers Festival. A festival for your mind! Byron Writers Festival is set up a bit like a music festival, with six stages that you...
Stop the press! Or why we shouldn’t…
Meet the journalists, politicians, and philosophers who will come together at Byron Writers Festival 2019 to unpack the challenging terrain of modern politics, free speech, and the crisis of democracy that comes with it. Why are voters so disaffected? A...
What happens after the worst day of your life?
The day that turns a life upside down usually starts like any other, but what happens the day after? As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments of their lives in the full glare of the...
Jennifer Clement: press freedom and Gun Love
Jennifer Clement is one the highlight international guests appearing at Byron Writers Festival in August. The award-winning author of Prayers for the Stolen and The Widow Basquiat is also a poet, celebrated non-fiction writer. Jennifer Clement is also the first...
Big books to get your hands on at Byron Writers Festival
There is plenty at this year’s Byron Writers Festival for book-lovers to lust over. Get your bedside book stack sorted with this day-by-day digest of literary delight. Friday 2 August 2019 Stella Prize winner Vicki Laveau-Harvie (The Erratics), Rick Morton (100...
Stan Grant on identity and Australia Day
As uncomfortable as it is, we need to reckon with our history. On January 26, no Australian can really look away. There are the hard questions we ask of ourselves on Australia Day.
Writers Fest reveals full program
Byron Writers Festival 2019 (August 2–4) has revealed a program featuring more than 140 Australian and international speakers spanning fiction, memoir, crime, environment, society, politics, poetry, art, comedy, and music.
Improved access for deaf at this year’s Byron Writer’s Festival
Deaf and hearing-impaired locals will have greater access to this year's Byron Writers Festival, including an on-demand Auslan signing service.
Authors mentored in splendid isolation
It was a dream come true – to spend a week in splendid isolation.
First Byron Writers Festival authors announced!
The Byron Writers Festival has revealed its first guest authors for the 2019 festival, to be held August 2 till 4 at Elements of Byron.
