The Byron Shire has been renowned for its music, its festivals, and its innovation that has had a huge impact on the Australian music scene.

This year’s festival celebrates some of the most vital and impactful storytelling in Australian literature, with a dedicated program of First Nations writers whose work spans historical fiction, picture books and Indigenous knowledge and whose voices are reshaping how this country understands itself.

Byron Writers Festival interviews prize-winning poet Evelyn Araluen who will present her new poetry collection, 'The Rot', at the 2026 Byron Writers Festival.

The Byron Writers Festival will once again be treated to the delights of author and journalist Trent Dalton, who will be featured at the Jonson Street Stage on Saturday evening, 15 August, as well as throughout the event. Celebrating its 30th year, the Byron Writers Festival will, for the first time, be taking place around the town of Byron Bay from 14 to 16 August, with a mix of free and paid events.

Byron Writers Festival opens on Bundjalung Country on August 14 with a Calling to Country led by local Arakwal Bundjalung custodian, Delta Kay, and this year will feature the inaugural Rhoda Roberts Oration, honouring the late, beloved Rhoda Roberts AO.

The 2026 Byron Writers Festival program puts women front and centre. Journalists, novelists, and an award-winning columnist bring an extraordinary breadth of stories to Bundjalung Country this August.

Byron Writers Festival talks with best-selling author Osher Günsberg whose new book, So What? Now What? is a mental health toolkit and a compelling follow-up to his critically-acclaimed 2018 memoir, Back, After The Break.

Thirty years and a stellar lineup is coming your way with this year’s Byron Writers Festival,14–16 August.

This year’s Byron Writers Festival is a first-look destination, with several of Australia’s most anticipated new books arriving at the festival before the ink has barely dried.

The Byron Writers Festival talks to author Siang Lu about his book, Ghost Cities, which won the Miles Franklin Award in 2025.