Acknowledgement

We respectfully acknowledge that Byron Writers Festival takes place on the traditional lands of the Arakwal Bumberbin Peoples of the Bundjalung Nation. We pay respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge them as the original storytellers of the lands and waterways of this Country.

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Festival '26

Writers
14—16 Aug

Meet the writers and thinkers that make up our powerful and inspiring line-up of over 150 Australian and international speakers spanning fiction, memoir, crime, environment, society, politics, poetry, art, comedy and music.

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Alex Adsett
Alex Adsett is a literary agent with Alex Adsett Literary. She represents over 40 artists and has helped thousands of authors negotiate deals.
A
Sarah Armstrong
Sarah is a former ABC journalist, now novelist. Her latest book for younger readers Run is a gripping survival thriller set in the Australian bush.
A
Evelyn Araluen
Evelyn Araluen is a Goorie and Koori poet, educator and editor. She is the author of Dropbear and The Rot (UQP).
A
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.
A
Stuart Anderson
Stuart is a life-long beekeeper. Before inventing the Flow Hive with his son, he was director of a nonprofit community organisation.
A
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.
A
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.
A
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.
A
Paige Allen
Paige Allen is the Director of IngramSpark, a leading global self-publishing platform.
A
Annelise Austin
Dr Anneliese Austin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Bee Research and Extension Lab at Southern Cross University.
A
Louise Adler
Louise Adler was Director of Adelaide Writers Week from 2023 to 2026. She spent over 30 wonderful years in publishing with Hachette and MUP.
A
Daniel Browning
Daniel Browning is an award-winning Bundjalung and Kullilli writer, journalist and radio broadcaster. He is the author of Close to the Subject.
B
Naima Brown
Naima Brown writes novels about madwomen, including The Shot, Mother Tongue and The Cruise (October, 2026).
B
Mel Bampton
Mel Bampton is an interviewer and creative force best known for shaping Australia’s most iconic media projects as creator of Like A Version.
B
Ella Noah Bancroft
Ella Noah Bancroft is a Bundjalung writer, poet, keynote speaker and CEO of The Returning Indigenous Corporation.
B
Damien Becker
Damien Becker lives in the Northern Rivers. His debut poetry collection Thin Reed Throat won the 2024 Flying Islands Manuscript Prize.
B
Tristan Bancks
Tristan Bancks writes bestselling thrillers for kids and teens including Two Wolves, The Fall, Detention, Scar Town and Raised By Wolves.
B
Luke Bateman
Luke Bateman is an Australian writer, podcaster and cultural commentator exploring identity, literature and modern masculinity.
B
Ender Başkan
Ender Başkan is a Naarm/Melbourne-based poet. His debut collection Two Hundred Million Musketeers was published by Giramondo in 2025.
B
Phil Brown
Phil Brown is a Brisbane journalist and poet. His most recent book is Confessions of a Minor Poet published by Transit Lounge.
B
Murray Burns
Murray Burns is a keyboardist, songwriter, and founding member of the new wave rock band Mi-Sex
B
Madeline Bush
Madeline is a Sales Support Specialist at Ingram Spark Australia.
B
Carody Culver
Carody Culver is the editor of Griffith Review. She's also a writer and a literary interviewer.
C
Lucy Clark
Lucy Clark is Global Editor of Guardian Australia. She is the author of Beautiful Failures: How the quest for success is harming our kids.
C
Jane Caro
Jane Caro AM is a Walkley Award-winning writer and author of 14 books. Her latest book is Rich Kid, Poor Kid: The battle for public education.
C
Kylie Caldwell
Kylie Caldwell is Bundjalung artist, weaver and fashion designer revitalising cultural weaving via contemporary art and wearable design.
C
Paul Callaghan
Paul Callaghan is an award-winning Worimi academic and author. His latest book is Leading from the Dreaming.
C
Bob Carr
The Hon Bob Carr is a former premier of New South Wales. He is the author of five books. His latest is Bring Back Yesterday.
C
Julio Carrasco
Julio Carrasco is author of several books of prose and poetry, member of the art collective Casagrande, and vocalist of the band Los Muebles.
C
Angela Catterns
Angela Catterns is an Australian media personality and radio presenter. She has presented on Triple J, ABC Local and ABC Sydney among others.
C
Matthew Condon
Matthew Condon is an award-winning journalist and author of more than 18 works of fiction and non-fiction. He lives in the Byron Shire.
C
Ruby Jean Cottle
Ruby Jean Cottle's debut duology, Black River & White Mountain, is a fresh take on the vampire genre blending, romance, fantasy and sci-fi.
C
Faumelisa Manquepillan Calfuleo
Faumelisa Manquepillan Calfuleo is a Mapuche poet, sculptor, craftswoman, weaver and singer-songwriter from Puquiñe in southern Chile.
C
Hilarie Dunn
Hilarie Dunn has had a career in journalism and communications. She lives in the Northern Rivers, gets her hands dirty and reads a lot.
D
Marele Day
Marele Day’s Claudia Valentine series won her a Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award for crime writing. Her most recent book is Reckless.
D
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.
D
Richard Denniss
Dr Richard Denniss is the co-CEO at The Australia Institute and a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator.
D
Merinda Dutton
Merinda Dutton is a Barkandji and Gumbaynggirr woman, poet, mother, lawyer, and co-founder of Blackfulla Bookclub on Instagram
D
Kylie Day
Dr Kylie Day is an Aboriginal scholar, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Chair at Gnibi College of Australian Indigenous Peoples, Southern Cross University.
D
Marie Elena Ellis
Marie Ellis is an Arrernte Warlpiri woman from Amoonguna remote community. A multi-linguist and poet, Marie is author of I Am The Desert.
E
Javier Encalada
Chilean-born journalist and writer Javier Encalada moved to Australia in 2000 and worked for Byron Shire News and The Northern Star.
E
Kate Evans
Kate Evans is the co-host of ABC Radio National's The Bookshelf.
E
Wesley Enoch
Wesley Enoch AM is a Quandamooka writer and director from Minjerribah, Chair of Creative Australia and QUT DVCIA.
E
Suzy Freeman-Greene
Suzy Freeman-Greene is The Conversation's Books & Ideas editor. She is published in Griffith Review, Meanjin, and Good Weekend, among others.
F
Anna Featherstone
Anna Featherstone is a publishing consultant and mentor helping writers at every stage from first idea to publication, marketing and beyond.
F
Richard Fidler
Richard Fidler is an author, broadcaster and podcaster. He presents Conversations on ABC Radio, and the podcast Viking Lives.
F
Dakota Feirer
Dakota Feirer is a Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr storyteller. His poetry collection Arsenic Flower is published by Hachette.
F
Richard Flanagan
Richard Flanagan won the Man Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North and the Baillie Gifford for Question 7. His latest book is Heresies.
F
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