A note from the festival

Artistic Director’s note

On Friday 26 August I sat at the edge of the Southern Cross University Marquee at Byron Writers Festival. The venue was packed with people eager to hear a discussion on the ‘Power of Rage’. Dylin Hardcastle, local writer and author of Below Deck, read a passage from their novel. As Dylin read from the page, a powerful energy pulsed out from the stage and rippled across the audience. I know because I watched as people sat back, sat up and breathed in their words – words of intense vulnerability and power.The effect was like a ripple across the sea of willing ears. It was more powerful than rage. It was a moment of intense exchange where writer and readers felt mutually seen and heard. And I was reminded why the public square of writers festivals is so important, essential in fact, to our wellbeing as a community. Reading is generally a solitary pursuit, but writers festivals bring authors away from their desks and readers out of their nooks to meet, exchange ideas and join in a celebration of the art of storytelling. They are a place where curious minds can discover fellow travellers and where newer ideas or less familiar experiences can find light. Following two years without meeting, we know now how special and irreplaceable this exchange is for us all. This year I was truly enthralled with the appetite amongst our audience to engage with our theme of ‘Radical Hope’. The act of listening is, I think, one of the most powerful steps we can take towards change and as I walked the festival site, I saw time and time again many of you listening, deep in thought and engaged in the life of the mind. What a pleasure it is to be tasked with bringing you all together to take part in this important act. As the dust settles on our 2022 festival, the Byron Writers Festival team and I are turning our minds to what 2023 may bring. A delicious array of new books awaits us and we look forward to pointing you towards our favourite discoveries in the coming months. I have just read Peggy Frew’s Wildflowers and cannot recommend it highly enough. In October, we’re delighted to be presenting Craig Silvey in conversation with Sarah Armstrong at the Byron Theatre. They’ll be discussing the wonderful Honeybee alongside his latest work Runt. Finally I hope you enjoy this issue of northerly, and all the books you picked up at the festival bookshop!

Zoë Pollock Artistic Director, Byron Writers Festival