News & Editorial

On Friday 26 August we throw open the gates to Byron Writers Festival 2022! Read on for our comprehensive festival guide and get ready for three heart warming days of ideas, storytelling, debate, laughter, and inspired conversation.

Essential information

When & where
Friday 26 August to Sunday 28 August, 8:30am – 5:00pm
The grounds adjacent to Elements of Byron, 144 Bayshore Drive, Byron Bay
Carpark opens at 7.45am daily

Tickets
Visit byronwritersfestival.com/tickets or call (02) 6685 5115
A small allocation of 1-Day, 3-Day and Sunday Family/Kids passes will be available for purchase at the gate from 8.30am each day (if not sold out prior). However, we strongly advise that you book now to avoid disappointment.

Can’t find your ticket?
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.

How does my e-ticket work?
If you have booked online or over the phone you will receive your tickets in an email from our ticketing site, TryBooking. Be sure to check your junk mail for this email if you can’t find it. 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.

Getting to the festival

Train
Catch the Byron Bay Solar Train from Byron Bay CBD to North Beach Station (festival site), a free service provided by Byron Writers Festival. Trains leave Byron Bay CBD every half hour. Timetable at byronwritersfestival.com/travel

Shuttle bus
A festival shuttle bus will operate every 30 minutes from 7.30am between Byron Bay Interchange and the festival site. Final departure from the festival is at 6pm on Friday and Saturday and 5pm on Sunday. The shuttle bus is a free service provided by Byron Writers Festival.

Car
Limited car parking is available at the festival site from 7.45am. Parking is by donation. We encourage carpooling if possible. Please park as directed by the parking attendants and ensure that you obey Council parking signs. No parking is permitted in the Elements of Byron Resort car park.

Eat, Drink & Shop

Can I purchase food and drinks on site?
Yes! A range of food stalls will be serving delicious local meals and snacks. There are great coffee outlets, as well as a festival bar.

BYO bottle for water refills
We are a plastic water bottle free event. Please BYO bottles for free refills from our water stations.

The Book Room and book signing
Come and explore the pop-up festival bookshop. Our bookseller, The Book Room, stocks books by all festival authors, with plenty of room to browse and shop. Bring your bookshop purchases to be signed by your favourite authors at the book signing tent next-door. Signings are held after festival sessions.

Artisan Markets
The festival’s onsite marketplace is populated by a select group of local artisans. Browse the amazing creations on offer and take home a memento.

For more details, check out our Festival Site Map

Accessibility

Auslan Interpretation
Selected sessions from the main program are interpreted each day (indicated on our festival program). On-demand Auslan interpreters will also be available at the festival. If you require an Auslan interpreter, visit the Information Tent at the festival site to book an on-demand interpreter for a session of your choosing. Watch our Interpreted Video Guide to Byron Writers Festival.

Disabled Parking
Limited accessible parking is available. A drop-off / pick-up zone is located close to the festival entrance. Our parking volunteers can assist and direct you accordingly. Please clearly display your disability parking permit.

For further information, please visit out accessibility webpage.

That’s it! We can’t wait to see you there.

With just a few days until we open the gates to the 2022 Byron Writers Festival, it’s time to get the highlighters out and start planning your weekend. If you’re still not sure which day to go, we’ve prepared some daily guides to help you decide.

Not sure which sessions to see? We’ve saved the best ‘til last and highlighted some of the must-see panels and conversations from the 2022 program to help you decide. 

Byron Writers Festival 2022 unpacks the dark, light and murky in-between of modern society and politics. Read on for our daily digest of hand-picked must-see sessions.

Byron Writers Festival 2022 features a brains trust of experts in new and ancient methods of farming to explore the environmental and economic solutions to this major challenge.

Byron Writers Festival 2022 features a wide range of sessions that explore the real world solutions we have available to us to address the climate crisis. In line with the festival theme of Radical Hope, you can expect to feel uplifted and leave with a renewed sense of purpose in building a greener, better future for all.

Byron Writers Festival 2022 invites you to sit down and engage critically and respectfully with First Nations cultures and communities in all their diversity.

From the award-winning author of 'Stone Sky Gold Mountain' come these superbly crafted stories that explore the inner lives of those who are often ignored or misunderstood.

Becky Manawatu’s bestselling multi-award-winning novel Auē is both raw and sublime, introducing a compelling new voice in New Zealand fiction.

Byron Writers Festival 2022 mixes bestsellers and fresh new talent for three incredible days of joy and discovery. 

How can we approach our current moment with radical hope? This is the question that will reverberate through Byron Writers Festival this year.

Byron Writers Festival 2022 (26 — 28 August) has revealed a taste of things to come with a tantalizing first announce of incredible guests, and with that comes a fresh stack of books to add to your bedside table. We invite you to treat yourself to some new reads from some of Australia’s best authors.