Byron Writers Festival

Evelyn Araluen

Evelyn Araluen is a Goorie and Koori poet, educator and editor. She is the author of Dropbear and The Rot (UQP).

Cedar Anderson

Co-inventor of the Flow Hive, Cedar has been a beekeeper since the age of six, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

Stuart Anderson

Stuart is a life-long beekeeper. Before inventing the Flow Hive with his son, he was director of a nonprofit community organisation.

Stephen Axford

Stephen Axford is a world-renowned fungi photographer and time-lapse pioneer, co-author of Planet Fungi and co-creator of Follow the Rain.

Courtney Adamo

Courtney Adamo is a mother of five who writes about family life and motherhood. Her latest books are The Family Home and At Home In Every Season.

Romy Ash

Romy Ash is the author of the novels Mantle, and Floundering, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin and Prime Minister's literary awards.

Ella Noah Bancroft

Ella Noah Bancroft is a Bundjalung writer, poet, keynote speaker and CEO of The Returning Indigenous Corporation.

Damien Becker

Damien Becker lives in the Northern Rivers. His debut poetry collection Thin Reed Throat won the 2024 Flying Islands Manuscript Prize.

Tristan Bancks

Tristan Bancks writes bestselling thrillers for kids and teens including Two Wolves, The Fall, Detention, Scar Town and Raised By Wolves.

Trent Dalton

Trent Dalton is a two-time Walkley Award–winning journalist and the international bestselling author of Boy Swallows Universe, All Our Shimmering Skies, Love Stories, Lola in the Mirror and Gravity Let Me Go.

Richard Denniss

Dr Richard Denniss is the co-CEO at The Australia Institute and a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator.

Delta Kay

Delta Kay is an Arakwal Bumberbin Bundjalung woman, proud mother and grandmother passionate about sharing culture and protecting Country.

Siang Lu

Siang Lu is the Miles Franklin-winning author of Ghost Cities and ABIA-winning author of The Whitewash.

Melissa Lucashenko

Melissa Lucashenko is an acclaimed Goorie writer of Bundjalung and European heritage, widely published as an award-winning novelist, essayist and short story writer.

Catherine Marciniak

Catherine Marciniak is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist, director of Follow the Rain and lead co-author of Planet Fungi: A Photographer’s Foray.

Jay McKenzie

Jay McKenzie is an itchy-footed, prize-winning short fiction writer and the author of How to Lose the Lottery.

Pauline Menczer

Pauline Menczer is a world champion surfer and outspoken advocate of women in sport. She is the author of Surf Like a Woman.

Turia Pitt

Turia Pitt is the best-selling author of 3 books. Her latest book is Selfish: How to unlearn the rules that are breaking you.

Kirra Pendergast

Kirra Pendergast is a globally recognised online safety expert and co-author of Digital Freedom (with Maggie Dent).

Geetanjali Shree

Winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize, and of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, for her novel, Tomb of Sand (Ret Samadhi in the Hindi original).

Tricia Shantz

Tricia Shantz is a social geographer, research consultant, and author who works and lives in Byron Bay, Australia. Her recent book is Musicland: When the Music Came to Byron 1970-1995.

Zoe Terakes

Zoe Terakes is an acclaimed actor and writer. They are a vocal advocate for trans rights within the industry. Their first book is Eros.

Steve Toltz

Steve Toltz is the author of four novels; A Fraction of the Whole, Quicksand, Here Goes Nothing and his latest, A Rising of the Lights.

Nicholas Timms

Nicholas Timms is the author of The Lineup and a lifelong surfer. Raised in Byron, he lives in Sydney and works at a major ad agency.

Sonya Voumard

Sonya Voumard is an award-winning non-fiction author and a former political journalist with the Age. Her latest book is a memoir called Tremor.

Lisa Walker

Lisa is the author of eight novels. The Pact, her first psychological thriller, was inspired by walking the Camino pilgrimage in Spain.

Maggie Walters

Maggie Walters is an award-winning author, mental health advocate, and mother of three adopted children from the Philippines.

Festival '26

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PO Box 1846
Byron Bay NSW 2481

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