Regrettably and with a heavy heart we have made the very difficult decision to cancel Byron Writers Festival 2021, which was scheduled to run from 6-8 August. We have been following Covid developments in Greater Sydney and nationally very closely over the last few days. As positive cases continue to emerge and borders are closed to NSW, it has become clear that the current restrictions will push too close to the Festival to make it feasible to proceed in early August. Especially given a large portion of participating writers are located in either Greater Sydney or interstate and are subject to travel restrictions. In addition, of course, is growing community hesitancy to travel in such volatile circumstances. Our primary and abiding concern is, as ever, the health of everyone involved in the Festival – presenters, attendees, volunteers, staff and of course the safety of the wider Northern Rivers community. We are devastated and we’re sure everyone associated with the Festival will also feel the disappointment and loss that comes with a second year of cancellation. We will continue to watch developments and consider all viable options for future programming but for now, we believe that cancellation is the only responsible course of action.

If you have bought a ticket to Byron Writers Festival 2021 you will automatically receive a refund within the next 14 days.  We’ll process the price of your tickets to the card you booked with—so there’s no need to contact us. We’ll get in touch if there are any issues processing your refund. If you bought a ticket in person at the Festival Office, we will contact you via phone in the coming days to arrange your refund. If you have purchased tickets to Satellite Events or Festival Workshops, please bear with us as we work through refund arrangements with event partners and venues. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Selling 1-Day Passes allows us to more efficiently track how many people will be on site each day so we can adhere to NSW Health Department guidelines. We expect to be back to selling 3-Day Passes in 2022. 

Yes! Passes are sold as single days (Friday, Saturday or Sunday). To go for more than one day, you will need to purchase a day pass for each day that you plan on attending. You will receive a different colour wristband upon entry to the Festival each day.

Kids Big Day Out is happening on Sunday 8 August. A ticket is $40 and includes entry for one child 6-12 years old and one accompanying adult to the designated Kids Big Day Out marquee. You can add additional children  to the ticket for $20 each. Children must be accompanied at all times.

It depends on what type of membership you hold:

• Single membership: one member pass per day
• Double membership: two member passes per day
• Organisational membership: 5 member passes per day (organisational member tickets must be booked on the phone at 02 6685 5115)

Members can buy member passes and non-member passes in the same transaction.

To find out more about member benefits and to become a member, click here.

Yes. The Festival program will be released to members on 22 June (24 hours before it is released to the general public) and you can purchase member tickets and non-member tickets in the same transaction. Refer to the question above for how many member tickets you can purchase.

To find out more about member benefits and to become a member, click here.

Byron Writers Festival has introduced updates to our ticketing policy giving people more flexibility in the case of illness or border closure:

• If you cannot attend Festival events due to having flu-like symptoms, please contact the Festival to arrange a credit or transfer. If a credit or transfer cannot be facilitated a refund will be given.
• If you are planning on travelling to the Festival and can’t attend due to travel and quarantine restrictions, or border closures, please contact the Festival, where possible, 7 days prior to the event to arrange a ticket exchange – and if that can’t be facilitated a refund will be given.

If the event is unable to proceed on the advertised date or location by Government order, Byron Writers Festival reserves the right to reschedule the Event, and offer a credit or exchange to the rescheduled date, or offer a refund request window of 28 days.

All 2020 Festival vouchers will be transferred and valid for use at the 2021 Festival. Please get in touch at [email protected].

Contributions of any size will go a long way in supporting our organisation. Should you wish to donate, please head to our Give Now page. Amounts over $2 are tax deductible.

The full program of events will be available online from mid-June. The release will include all Marquee sessions, feature events and workshops. For program updates including workshop and special event announcements, please subscribe to our e-newsletter.

You certainly do. Access to the Festival site is only available to Pass holders. A program of separately ticketed workshops and satellite events – some of them free –  runs in the lead-up to and throughout the main Festival weekend. Ticket prices vary and details are released when the full program is announced. Release dates for Early Bird and Full Program tickets can be found here. Please subscribe to our e-newsletter for writer announcements and ticket release updates.

Byron Writers Festival puts particular emphasis on celebrating Australian writers and storytellers, although many of these writers will be of international renown. You will find an international guest scattered among the line-up, but our philosophy ensures that Australian writing is of core significance in the program.

The Festival site is located at Elements of Byron Resort, approximately 5km from Byron town centre. Refer to our travel page for maps, directions and transport options.

No! Byron Writers Festival is all about words and ideas, perfect for all readers, writers and thinkers. Most attend to listen to contemporary writers, engage with new ideas, meet other curious-minded people and fall in love with new books.

Byron Writers Festival is a 3-day celebration of storytelling, literature and big ideas covering everything from fiction, memoir, the environment, politics and social issues.

We have a purpose-built festival site on the beautiful grounds of Elements of Byron Resort, with four outdoor marquees and two indoor rooms filled with conversations, panels, readings, lectures and performances running concurrently. Most sessions are 45 min – 1 hour in length, and you can sit and listen for an entire session or wander between venues as the fancy takes you.

There’s coffee, food and market stalls as well as a splendid bookshop run by The Book Room Collective. Most authors will be in the book signing area after their sessions. On Festival Sunday, one marquee is turned over to children’s authors and the kids can have a special day meeting their favourites. In the evening, you can enjoy one of the satellite events around the region.

Selected sessions from the main program and Kids Big Day Out are interpreted each day of the Festival. These sessions will be indicated on a Program PDF, which can be viewed and downloaded via our Access page in the lead up to the Festival. Floating Auslan interpreters will also be available at the Festival site on an as-needs basis and can be booked by visiting the Festival Information tent on site.

Limited disabled parking is available and our parking volunteers will direct you accordingly. Please have your sticker on display.

Marquees and stages have wheelchair accessible allocated seating. Please make yourself known to the marquee supervisor and you will be ushered accordingly.

Byron Writers Festival is curated by the Festival Director and programming committee, in wide consultation with publishers and industry bodies. Participation is by invitation only. The Programming Committee does not accept unsolicited submissions, and due to the large quantity of messages we receive, we are not always able to reply to individual pitches. The program gives a broad definition to the concept of writing and incorporates many genres.

Festival opportunities and competitions are listed on our website as they arise. We encourage people to subscribe to our e-newsletter for opportunity and competition announcements.

The Byron Writers Festival is organised by the six staff and a hands-on Committee, we are a not-for-profit member-based organisation. Employment opportunities within the office are rare, but will always be placed on the Festival website.

The Byron Writers Festival relies on its enthusiastic volunteer workforce, with approximately 160 volunteers being rostered before and during the event. More information about volunteering can be found here.

Tickets are emailed to you via our ticketing site, TryBooking. If you have purchased your ticket online or via the telephone, you should receive your tickets via email (note: mailed FROM TryBooking) as a PDF attachment. Be sure to check your junk mail for this email if you can’t find it. PLEASE PRINT YOUR PDF TICKET before you come to the Festival to facilitate ease of scanning at the entrance gates. Before you approach the Festival gates:

• Have your printed ticket with you, with your barcode visible for scanning, OR
• Have your ticket displayed on your mobile device.

Please go to the Festival box office where a staff member will assist you. DO NOT join the queue at the Festival gates.

If you have lost your Byron Writers Festival ticket, workshop, special event ticket or membership number, please click here: LOST TICKETS You will just need the email address you booked with. Your lost tickets will be sent from Trybooking, please check your junk email if you can’t find them.

Yes. Once we scan your ticket, you will receive your wristband. You must wear your wristband at all times while at the festival and you may be checked as you enter various venues.

Gates open at 8.30am daily.

The Festival encourages all patrons residing in the Byron Bay CBD to use public transport if possible. A Festival shuttle bus and train service will be operating between Byron CBD and the Festival site from 8.00am and 8.00pm over the Festival weekend (Friday to Sunday) If you plan to drive, limited car parking is available on site. PLEASE NOTE: Traffic congestion expected. We highly recommend that if there is an option to ride-share or catch the train, that you do so. If driving we recommend arriving 45 minutes before Festival entry. For more details on planning your trip including timetables and maps, please refer to our travel page.

Limited onsite parking will open at 7.45am.  Onsite parking is approximately 200m from the Festival Entrance. Our parking volunteers will direct you as you approach the parking area. Parking is by donation.

• Please be advised there may be significant delays on Ewingsdale Road and Bayshore Drive due to Festival traffic. To alleviate congestion and save time, we encourage those coming from Byron CBD to use the Festival shuttle or take the train.
• Please obey all signage and the directions of our volunteers.
• Byron Writers Festival is not responsible for fines imposed by Byron Shire Council or NSW Police for parking that is contrary to signage.

For car directions, please refer to our travel page.

Please tell the parking volunteers you are ‘drop off only’ and follow directions to the public drop off area (bus stop).

There is no cloakroom at the Festival site. If you have baggage or suitcases, you will need to arrange your own safe storage.

Unfortunately, we do not offer phone-charging services. Please come fully charged up!

Lost property is located as the Festival Information Booth. All unclaimed items will be returned to the Festival office and will need to be picked up from there after the Festival weekend has concluded.

Byron Writers Festival is a plastic water bottle free event. Please BYO bottles for refills. There will be a water refill station of spring water on site, and Byron Writers Festival water bottles for sale at the Information and Merchandise tent.

Yes! A range of food stalls will be serving delicious local meals throughout each day of the Festival from our food marquee. Elements of Byron will be offering snacks, light meals and drinks from Summer Salt Bar. Festival patrons will need to make a booking in advance to dine at Azure Bar and Grill inside the resort.

Printed programs are available at the Festival entrance and Festival Information Tent. Please note our printed program is subject to last minute changes. An up-to-date daily program of sessions is available from our website. Keep a look out at the Festival site for signage and handouts advising of unavoidable last-minute program changes.

Yes. Please refer to the Festival Map for location. This will printed in the Festival Program.