More than 150 writers, poets and thinkers will descend on Byron Bay next August when the Byron Writers Festival marks its 30th anniversary with one of its most ambitious programs to date.
The three-day event runs from Friday, 14 August to Sunday, 16 August on Bundjalung Country, with the 2026 edition built around the theme of sanctuary. Organisers say the festival will offer more free programming than ever before, alongside a new venue in the heart of Byron Bay and a series of community activations, including ocean bathing and beach yoga on Main Beach.
Leading the program are some of Australia’s most prominent literary and public figures. Award-winning journalist and human rights activist Antoinette Lattouf will join publisher Louise Adler to discuss Women Who Win, Lattouf’s book about women who refused to play by the rules. Richard Flanagan, the only author to have won both the Booker Prize and the Baillie Gifford Prize, will present Heresies, a new collection of essays and speeches spanning two decades of writing.
Veteran broadcaster Kerry O’Brien will deliver the prestigious Thea Astley Address, exploring lessons from history, while playwright and Chair of Creative Australia Wesley Enoch will present the inaugural Rhoda Roberts Oration.
Australia’s number one bestselling author, Trent Dalton, will be in conversation with broadcaster Richard Glover, and Richard Fidler and Kári Gíslason return for a live podcast session exploring Norse sagas in Viking Lives: Ghost Stories.
The festival will open with a Calling to Country delivered by Arakwal Bundjalung woman Delta Kay, who will also appear across multiple sessions throughout the weekend. She is joined by fellow Bundjalung woman and poet Ella Noah Bancroft, and Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr writer Dakota Feirer. NRL legend Sam Thaiday will present his new children’s book How The Fish Got Their Bones, and Boonwurrung woman Tasma Walton brings I Am Nannertgarrook, a novel based on the true story of her ancestor.
The international contingent includes India’s Geetanjali Shree, whose Tomb of Sand became the first Hindi-language novel to win the International Booker Prize, and UK-based public philosopher Roman Krznaric, who will examine the need for long-term thinking in addressing global challenges. Thai-Singaporean novelist Thammika Songkaeo arrives with her debut, Stamford Hospital, and Chilean poet Julio Carrasco, whose work has been aerially bombed across cities, will also appear.
Political analysis will run throughout the weekend, with former NSW Premier Bob Carr, columnist Niki Savva and journalist Debbie Whitmont assessing the state of federal politics and what lies ahead. Carr will also join Julianne Schultz and Amy Remeikis to examine Donald Trump’s second presidency and its implications for Australia.
Among the new releases drawing attention is George Megalogenis with Three Shocks, a forensic account of the forces reshaping Australian politics. Meg Mason, whose Sorrow and Bliss became a global bestseller, returns with Sophie, Standing There, and Fiona Wright arrives with Kill Your Boomers, the Miles Franklin 2025 winner. Economist Richard Denniss turns his attention to the gas industry in More Fool Me, and Robert Forster, founding member of The Go-Betweens, makes his fiction debut with Songwriters on the Run.
Environment and sustainability sessions will feature Marian Wilkinson, Richard Denniss and Ben Roche discussing the future of Australia’s fossil fuel dependence, while fungi photographers Stephen Axford and Catherine Marciniak explore the hidden world beneath our feet in Planet Fungi. Surfing champions Pauline Menczer and Joel Taylor, along with endurance athlete Turia Pitt, will share stories of resilience and inclusivity in the water.
The free Kids Program returns on Sunday morning, hosted by children’s author Tristan Bancks, and the festival will close with a performance from Janet Swain’s Big Voice Choir joined by Shane Howard of Australian rock band Goanna.
Byron Writers Festival Artistic Director and CEO Jessica Alice said the occasion marked a significant milestone.
“This year’s landmark 30th anniversary festival celebrates renewal, ritual and transformation at the country’s most easterly mainland point. We gather as global voices united in the specificity of this place, together creating a sanctuary for the art and role of the writer,” said Ms Alice.
Tickets and full program details are available at www.byronwritersfestival.com.
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