About the festival

Byron Writers Festival is Australia’s largest regional writers festival. This year’s vibrant program is packed with high-profile literary luminaries and new voices exploring the theme “From the ground up”.

We welcome you to join us over three days from 9-11 August on beautiful Bundjalung Country in the hinterland town of Bangalow, 15 minutes from Byron Bay. The festival also offers writing workshops, book launches, an engaging program for children, and events across the Northern Rivers region.

The festival experience is designed for discovery and delight. There are six venues to explore – marquees,  Hakea, Acacia, Melaleuca and Lilly Pilly, a smaller conversational tent, The Coolamon, and the A&I Hall. Your festival pass includes access to all festival sessions.

Enjoy food stalls, coffee carts and bars, browse our artisan markets, sculpture walk and festival book shop. Meet your favourite writers and have your books signed after festival sessions.

Featuring 160 writers including Trent Dalton, Richard Flanagan, Jane Harper, Melissa Lucashenko, Charlotte Wood, Bruce Pascoe, Bob Brown, Julia Baird, Nam Le, Ali Cobby Eckermann, Lynette Noni, Bryan Brown, Tony Birch, William McInnes, Chigozie Obioma, Caoilinn Hughes, Tayi Tibble, Meena Kandasamy, Louise Milligan, Kim Williams, Kerry O’Brien, and many more.

Wondering which pass to buy? Here’s the scoop…

With our 3-Day Pass, you can enjoy over 100 sessions spanning Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Wander between all 5 programmed venues and enjoy the natural surrounds, food and market stalls, browse the book shop, meet your favourite authors at book signings and explore our curated sculpture walk.

If you prefer a shorter visit, we offer 1-Day passes which allow you full festival access to attend all sessions on your nominated day.

Festival Workshops and Feature Events are sold separately and are available from 19 June once the full program is released. These usually sell out, so get in quick!

Please note that if you intend to park onsite at Bangalow Showground, you will need to purchase a parking pass. Byron Writers Festival is committed to environmental sustainability. Help us by carpooling or taking our free shuttle bus service to and from the festival.

Offering and prices

3-Day Pass $315.00 (General) / $275.00 (Members) + booking fee
With our 3-Day Pass, you can enjoy over 100 sessions across five venues from Friday to Sunday, enjoying the natural surrounds, food and market stalls, book shop, author book signings and curated sculpture walk.

Byron Writers Festival members will receive an additional discount on the 3-Day Pass price, simply enter your membership number at time of booking.

1-Day Passes $140.00 (General) / $125.00 (Concessions) / $110.00 (Members) / $80.00 (Youth) + booking fee
1-Day Passes will be available with our full program release on 19 June. Friday, Saturday or Sunday 1-Day Passes can be purchased individually for the day/s of your choice.

Single day passes allow access to all five venues on your nominated day, as well as food and market stalls, book shop, author book signings and sculpture walk.

Byron Writers Festival members will receive an additional discount on the 1-Day Pass price, simply enter your membership number at time of booking.

We offer Concession rates for pensioners and Government concession card holders, and are pleased to introduce a Youth Pass for 25 years or under to encourage younger audiences to experience the festival. Please note that minors under 18 years of age will need to be supervised by an adult onsite.

Kids Big Day Out (Sunday) $55.00 (1 Adult + 1 Child) / $20.00 (Additional Children) + booking fee

Kids Big Day Out Sunday Passes will be available with our full program release on 19 June. Get ready for a day of family fun! Kids Big Day Out passes are priced at just $55.00 for one adult and one child. Additional child tickets may be purchased for $20.00 each.

Please note: These passes are exclusively for the Kids Big Day Out half-day program, and do not include access to the main festival sessions. That’s why they’re so well-priced, the supervising adult can attend KBDO for free.

If you plan to check out the main festival or bring an extra adult, please purchase an additional Sunday 1-Day Pass. Remember – children must be supervised by an adult aged 18+ at all times.

MobTix
Byron Writers Festival honours and acknowledges the Arakwal People of Bundjalung Nation as Traditional Owners of the land where we gather. We offer MobTix  for 3-Day, 1-Day and Kids Big Day Out festival passes. Please contact us via [email protected] to book.

Parking
Parking at Bangalow Showground is $5 per day. You will need to purchase a parking pass along with your festival pass. We encourage carpooling! Alternatively, you can hop on our free shuttle bus service (see Travel page for details).

Ticket booking fees are charged by Humanitix and not by Byron Writers Festival. Humanitix contributes 100% of profits from booking fees towards solving the world’s most pressing issues.

Festival site map