A note from the festival

Artistic Director’s note

As I write this message I am watching an impossibly blue sky and hearing the trees usher in the chorus of cicadas that signal summer has arrived. It is simultaneously hard and easy to believe that we have drawn a close on the year that was 2022. One that for many in our community and beyond was exceptionally difficult. So as we ease into summer, wishing to leave the endless rains behind, I am reflecting on some of the silver linings that emerged from this last year. For us here at Byron Writers Festival, that was undoubtedly the return to stage of our beloved event. It was with great joy that we were able to present a wonderful and successful festival amidst a serendipitous final farewell to the Elements of Byron site. For many years the Festival has called Elements home, where readers and writers have met with the beach just over the dunes to celebrate and delight in their shared love of words. We are so grateful to Elements for generously hosting the festival for so long and will treasure the many wonderful memories we all no doubt share. As with all good things, an end has now eventuated and the Elements site is destined to a new owner and a new future. As we shift our focus to new beginnings, I am are delighted to share with you that Byron Writers Festival 2023 will be presented at the Bangalow Showgrounds, from 11-13 August. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Bangalow Showgrounds is a picturesque heritage site nestled in the heart of Bangalow, a charming hinterland village just a stone’s throw from Byron Bay. As a historian by training, this heritage setting makes my heart flutter and sets my historical imagination on fire. The team and I are very much looking forward to bringing the site to life and creating a playground of literary delights for you, so stay tuned as we share more details over the coming months. Until then, I invite you to dive into this issue of northerly and its fantastic selection of interviews and excerpts from authors featured at this year’s Byron Writers Festival. I hope you enjoy reading them, preferably on a beachside holiday or in the cool shade of your verandah. And do tune in to our summer podcast series Love & Wonder, a selection of six inspiring and heartfelt sessions from the 2022 festival. Finally, I want to thank you all for your ongoing support. At the heart of every organisation are its members, those who believe passionately in our mission and share our vision for a world informed and enlivened by reading and writing. Each year your contribution helps us to present our event and engage in a number of year round activities that stimulate the literary culture of the Northern Rivers region. I look forward to your continued support in 2023, and hope you will join us in Bangalow later next year to ring the Byron Writers Festival into its next era. With best wishes

Zoë Pollock Artistic Director, Byron Writers Festival