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.

Nominations are now open for the 2027 NSW Women of the Year Awards. Nationals Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest says the awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of local women and girls.

Some songs arrive quickly. Others sit half-finished in notebooks, voice memos or guitar cases for years before somebody finally hears them.

The Buttery, in partnership with its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Committee, is proud to celebrate NAIDOC Week with a free community screening of the acclaimed First Nations animated feature film Imagine, inviting the Northern Rivers community to come together to reflect, learn and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, stories and achievements.

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

The Echo loves your letters and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, send us your epistles.