Join us as Byron Writers Festival 2022 authors Jane Caro, Huda Fadlelmawla, Nigel Featherstone and Mirandi Riwoe present free workshops and panel discussions across the Northern Tablelands.

Saturday 20 August – Wednesday 24 August
Various venues
Free, bookings essential

Having lived through the humiliation and bewildering complexity of heartbreak in her twenties, Nikki Gemmell eventually resurfaced, reclaimed space for herself and found her voice. Her new memoir Dissolve is a deeply personal, profoundly intimate reflection on love and female creativity, and what happens when the two collide in a man’s world.

Event Partner: Friends of the Libraries, Byron Shire

Thursday 25 August
1.30pm — 3pm
Moller Pavilion, Bangalow
$25 inc. afternoon tea by Bangalow CWA, bookings essential

Rapid decarbonisation, sustainable farming and low-impact lifestyles. Are these just pipedreams or a near future reality? Saul Griffith, author of The Big Switch, and Claire O’Rourke, author of Together We Can, discuss the green future we must pursue and how it can be achieved. Moderated by Ben Roche, Vice President (Engagement) of Southern Cross University.

Event Partner: Southern Cross University

Thursday 25 August
2—3pm
Southern Cross University, Lismore Campus
Free, bookings essential

Fiona Foley is a visual artist and academic. Her publication, Biting the Clouds, is a groundbreaking work of Indigenous scholarship that addresses the inherent silences, errors and injustices from the perspective of the Badtjala people of K’gari (Fraser Island). Fiona shines a critical light on the little-known colonial-era practice of paying Indigenous workers in opium and the ‘solution’ of then displacing them to K’gari.

Event Partner: Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre

Friday 26 August
11am—12pm
Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre
Free, bookings essential

A showcase of fresh new voices from Poets Out Loud. Preselected teams and individuals aged 12-18 represent their schools in this thrilling spoken-word competition. Featuring 2021 Australian Poetry Slam champion Huda Fadlelmawla.

Event Partner: The Regent

Friday 26 August
6—8pm
The Regent, Murwillumbah
Free, bookings essential

Open to 10-18 year olds for a single, original two-minute spoken poem on any theme, no written entries. With a $500 cash prize, the youth poetry cup is funded through a bequest by the late Melbourne poet John West, and hosted by David Hallett.

Saturday 27 August
3.30-4.30pm
Registrations 3pm
Byron Bay Library
Free, no bookings

More Info: Contact David Hallett 0487 384 993

Join the audience or sign up to perform. Featuring 2021 Australian Poetry Slam champion Huda Fadlelmawla and Zimbabwe based performance poet Thando Sibanda, with MC Miles Merrill.

Event Partner: Word Travels

Saturday 27 August
5.30-7.30pm
Registrations 5pm
Byron Bay Library
Free, no bookings

More info: australianpoetryslam.com

Byron Bay’s iconic Writers at the Rails first started in August 1992, and over the years scores of local, visiting and international poets and writers have shared the stage to recite their work. The 30th anniversary of the event features Huda Fadlelmawla, Damien Becker and host David Hallett. Join the audience or sign-up to perform.

Sunday 28 August
2.30-4.30pm
Registrations 1.30pm
The Rails Hotel, Byron Bay
Free, no bookings