Sophie Cunningham's latest offering, 'City of Trees: Essays on Life, Death and the Need for a Forest', explores universal themes of dying and grief and our love and need for trees. The essays ruminate on a question that may be relevant for many of us: what does it mean to admire the beauty of nature in the face of climate catastrophe? Interview by Katinka Smit.
Byron Writers Festival (2-4 Aug), Australia’s largest regional literary festival wrapped its 23rd year with record ticket sales and Indigenous authors dominating the best selling books at the Festival.
Our official wrap-up gallery tells the story of the 2019 Byron Writers Festival in pictures
Internet trolling runs on a spectrum, from the rick-rollers to the criminals who threaten rape and murder, and terrorise those they target. What to do about them?
You may recognise Damon Gameau from his movie, That Sugar Film. His newest film is 2040, a documentary about making environmental regeneration possible by 2040.
Free speech issues are global, but this session focussed on Australia where public interest journalists, whistleblowers and advocates face increasing pressure from government to stop reporting, whistleblowing and advocating.
Considering the topic, these comedians left nothing off the table, leaving the audience in stitches and the Auslan interpreter with some tricky and lewd concepts to sign.
The 2019 Byron Writers Festival Susie Warrick Young Writers Award attracted 61 entries across two youth categories: years 7-9 & 10-12. Congratulations to Niamh Montgomery and Gabrielle Hill-Smith, and to all the young writers who dared to share their stories. Read the two winning stories here.
Thea Astley address: A.C. Grayling has delivered an engaging analysis on the crisis of trust in Australian democracy.
Why jellyfish and fire are powerful forces of nature that require more of our attention.
Exploring how research skills are used and appreciated in writing with Jesse Blackadder, Jock Serong and Jessica White.
‘I’m a spearpoint,’ Uncle Jack Charles said. ‘I land in the hearts and minds of people who are a bit iffy on change.’
A silent, sombre hush fell over the Banksia Pavilion early this Sunday morning as we waited for our caller from Manus Island.
#MeToo: where to go in a society that still faces so many complicated, interconnected challenges.
Laughter, dancing and story making: Sunday was funday as the Kids Big Day Out program took over a whole marquee at Byron Writers Festival.
Jess Hill's book on domestic violence was supposed to take six to eight months to write; instead it took three, somewhat harrowing, years.
We think about archaeology as an earthbound science, with its focus firmly in the past. But 'Dr Space Junk' asks us to think how it can also tell us about space and the future.
Our world is quite adept at presenting the nearly 7.7 billion of us with instances of significant adversity but when disaster strikes, it happens on a day out of the blue.
Writing a personal memoir takes strength of mind and soul. To talk publicly and write about the self and the life history of one’s own family is a feat no one should dismiss as anything other than monumental.
Author Markus Zusak only wants to write books that 'mean everything' to him. And considering his international best-selling author status, his six novels must mean everything to his readers too.
