Director’s note At the time of writing most of us are in lockdown again with a sense that time has entered a new dimension and our worlds are all reduced to their respective five-kilometre radii. Time to look to enduring friendships, long walks, comfy chairs and calm spaces – and new and favourite books by talented storytellers who’ll take us on journeys far and wide. We know so many of you were looking forward to journeying to Byron for the 2021 Festival and feel so sad for all concerned that we had to again cancel our celebration. But we look to the future and take solace from local author Melissa Lucashenko who encourages us all to… keep our eyes fixed on the horizon – anything is possible there. More immediately, you may have seen that we are ‘bringing’ Jonathan Franzen to Byron (digitally) for his first Australian event to mark his new novel Crossroads. Be sure to join us for that special occasion and keep an eye out too for Judy Atkinson’s 2021 Thea Astley Address, Listening to Truth Telling. Our free digital Schools Program is available to schools across the Northern Rivers from 23 August until 17 September, so please let your local schools know to jump on board and share with their students. Thanks to the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and Southern Cross University for their support of this project. Staying positive matters, so here are some suggestions from the Festival Team of things we are loving at the moment: • Desert Pea Media’s beautiful, calming film Bunyarra featuring Arakwal Bundjalung woman Delta Kay (available on YouTube). • Armchair travel with Pip Williams’ One Italian Summer (Affirm Press) – so vividly written it salves the yearnings, especially for Italy. • Author Holly Ringland on ABC TV iView’s Back to Nature with Aaron Pedersen, exploring the wonder and awe of the Australian landscape. • The Well Gardened Mind: Rediscovering Nature in the Modern World by Sue Stuart-Smith explores the restorative power of the natural world. • AGNSW’s exhibition of Swedish visionary artist Hilma af Klint’s ‘secret paintings’ online. • Daily Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Everyday Life – a daily email meditation at dailystoic.com • Author of Darkness is Golden (HarperCollins Australia) Mary Hoang’s contemporary sound bath workshops: Listen Up! designed to enhance your relationship with both sound and yourself: theindigoproject.com. au/courses-events/ • Being Human spoken-word performance by Naima Penniman to help put everything into perspective. • If you are in Queensland, immerse yourself in the paintings of William Robinson at HOTA and the European Masters at QAGOMA. Or maybe you just want to sit on the verandah and listen to the birds… Wherever you are, we wish you solace and can’t wait till we are able to gather together with you again in person. Stay safe and well,
Edwina Johnson Director, Byron Writers Festival 02 | SPRING 2021 northerly
