RICHARD FLANAGAN, ANTOINETTE LATTOUF AND KERRY O’BRIEN LEAD BYRON WRITERS FESTIVAL’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM

More than 150 writers, thinkers, poets and storytellers announced for three days of ideas, stories and conversation on Bundjalung Country

The Byron Writers Festival Program also includes:

Byron Writers Festival today reveals its complete program for its 30th anniversary edition, bringing together more than 150 writers, thinkers, poets and storytellers from Australia and around the world for three days of ideas, stories and conversation on Bundjalung Country, Byron Bay, from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 August 2026.

Presented at a moment of great global change, the festival embraces its theme of ‘sanctuary’, creating a place of solace and connection amongst some of the finest minds. With a new home in the heart of Byron Bay, more free programming than ever, and activations including ocean bathing and beach yoga, the 2026 program brings the community together and creates new rituals of shared connection.

Leading the 2026 program, acclaimed journalist and human rights activist Antoinette Lattouf joins Louise Adler to discuss Women Who Win, Lattouf’s book about the women who refused to play by the rules. Joing them is Richard Flanagan, the only author to have won both the Booker Prize and the Baillie Gifford Prize, to present his new work Heresies, a dazzling collection of essays and speeches spanning two decades of subversive, humane and politically urgent writing.

Australia’s number one bestselling author Trent Dalton will be in-conversation with Richard Glover for a deeply personal exploration of the stories we want to tell the world and those we shouldn’t; plus Richard Fidler and Kári Gíslason return for a live podcast session plunging into the spectral world of Norse sagas in Viking Lives: Ghost Stories.

The inaugural Rhoda Roberts Oration will be presented by playwright, theatre director and Chair of Creative Australia Wesley Enoch, while veteran broadcaster Kerry O’Brien leads the prestigious Thea Astley Address exploring lessons from history.

Byron Writers Festival Artistic Director and CEO Jessica Alice said the 2026 program marks a significant moment for the festival.

“This year’s landmark 30th anniversary festival celebrates renewal, ritual and transformation at the country’s most easterly mainland point. We gather as global voices united in the specificity of this place, together creating a sanctuary for the art and role of the writer.”

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

The festival welcomes a stellar international contingent, including Australian-born, UK-based, public philosopher Roman Krznaric, investigating why society needs more long-term vision to overcome the global challenges in the 21st century. India’s Geetanjali Shree, who made literary history with Tomb of Sand, the first novel written in Hindi to win the International Booker Prize. Thai transnational novelist and nonfiction writer Thammika Songkaeo offers her debut novel, Stamford Hospital, which was named a must-read for International Women’s Day 2025.

Chilean poet and musician Julio Carrasco’s work has literally taken flight, with poems aerially bombed across cities, and he will be joined in the program by countrywoman Faumelisa Manquepillan Calfuleo, a Mapuche poet, sculptor, craftswoman, weaver and singer-songwriter. New Zealand writer Ingrid Horrocks presents All Her Lives, following the stories of extraordinary women fighting to define themselves on their own terms. USA’s Rafael Frumkin arrives with two acclaimed bodies of work, Bugsy and Other Stories and Confidence to explore creative appropriation where writers use real people, real relationships and real pain as material.

FRESH INK AND NEW RELEASES

Several of the festival’s most anticipated sessions celebrate new releases making their first festival appearance. George Megalogenis brings Three Shocks, his forensic account of the demographic, gender and geopolitical forces that have reshaped Australian politics. Meg Mason, whose Sorrow and Bliss became a global phenomenon, returns with Sophie, Standing There, a tender and darkly funny novel about heartbreak, isolation and the redemptive power of books. Political journalist Amy Remeikis delivers Screw Nice, a sharp dismantling of the politics of civility and how demands for politeness are used to silence marginalised voices.

Economist Richard Denniss turns his forensic eye to the gas industry in More Fool Me, exposing what he calls the greatest con in Australia’s history, and Kris Kneen arrives with Rite of Spring, a psychosexual gothic novel set in a remote Tasmanian lighthouse, exploring bodily transformation, desire and the search for self.

POLITICAL IDEAS AND MOVEMENTS

Former NSW Premier and Foreign Minister Bob Carr, columnist and political heavyweight Niki Savva and former lawyer and an award-winning journalist Debbie Whitmont assess the state of federal politics, the biggest issues for government, and what lies ahead. Carr will also be joined by Julianne Schultz and Amy Remeikis to deliver incisive political analysis on Donald Trump’s second presidency and what it means for Australia. Sean Kelly, Louise Milligan and Jack Toohey tackle a program rich with urgent democratic debate, spanning housing, fossil fuels, public education and the future of democracy.

BIG FICTION

In a time of generational economic inequity and soaring property prices, Fiona Wright arrives with the sharply timed Kill Your Boomers, Booker-longlisted and winner of the Miles Franklin 2025, Siang Lu presents Ghost Cities, a novel of identity, displacement and belonging; and Steve Toltz explores love, family and the impact of AI on creativity.

Antoun Issa presents his acclaimed novel Rebirth: A Love Story from the Depths of War, and Australian rock icon and Go-Betweens founder Robert Forster offers readers a rock-and-roll road trip in his scintillating fiction debut, Songwriters on the Run. Romy Ash returns with her long-awaited second novel Mantle, while local debuts include Nicholas Timms and his Byron Bay crime thriller The Lineup, and Jay McKenzie with the internationally award-winning How to Lose the Lottery.

FIRST NATIONS

Arakwal Bumberbin Bundjalung woman Delta Kay will open the festival with a Calling to Country and weave her knowledge and wisdom throughout the weekend across multiple sessions. She is joined by fellow Bundjalung woman and poet Ella Noah Bancroft, and Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr writer Dakota Ferier, together exploring sea, country and climate.

Fire practitioner and author Victor Steffensen speaks to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, Tasma Walton, actor, author and Gunditjmara woman, brings I Am Nannertgarrook, and NRL legend Sam Thaiday, who won the Dally M Award and was named in the Indigenous Rugby League Team of the Century, delivers his new children’s book How The Fish Got Their Bones.

ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Marian Wilkinson is joined by Richard Denniss and Ben Roche for an informed and urgent discussion about what it will take to end our fossil fuel dependence and the political and industrial forces at play. Dakota Ferier and Mark Smith explore the intersection of climate and literature. Fungi photographers Stephen Axford and Catherine Marciniak reveal the hidden world beneath our feet in Planet Fungi, and father-son beekeeping innovators Cedar and Stuart Anderson celebrate their record-breaking Flow Hive story.

New Zealand’s Ingrid Horrocks joins scientist Amanda Reichelt-Brushett to explore our nature swimming habits and how we live among other animals on a watery planet, while surfing world champions Pauline Menczer and Joel Taylor will be joined by endurance athlete and passionate surfer Turia Pitt for inspiring stories of resilience, inclusivity, and making surfing accessible to everyone.

THE NEW GENERATION

Embracing the void between page-turner and social media scroller is Yorta Yorta man, broadcaster, journalist and storyteller Tom Forrest (Outback Tom), who has amassed a staggering social media following and will present his new book Gone Bush, a very tasty guide to making your own comfort food, bush style. Also announced today, ex-footballer and fellow social media star Luke Bateman (Luke Reads), who has amassed nearly a million online followers and book lovers, explores modern identity, masculinity, literature and life in regional Australia.

NON-FICTION AND MEMOIR

Osher Günsberg opens up about mental health, resilience and public life. Debut poet Damien Becker explores life, illness and lyrical grace in Thin Reed Throat, and poet, critic and provocateur Evelyn Araluen arrives with The Rot. Micaela Sahhar’s multi-award-winning debut Find Me at the Jaffa Gate will be a highlight of the Sunday program, while Sonya Voumard shares Tremor, her compelling and deeply personal account of living with a little-known movement disorder.

KIDS AND YOUNG READERS

The festival’s Kids Program returns on Sunday morning, free for all, hosted by beloved children’s and YA author Tristan Bancks. Little and big kids alike are invited to let their imaginations run wild at the Bay St Stage, with Sam Thaiday bringing to life a powerful Torres Strait teaching story, Sarah Armstrong guiding young writers through the art of suspense, the Student Writing Prizes celebrating the next generation of storytellers, and the children’s music act Poppy Galactic will close the morning with song, dance and extraterrestrial joy.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Byron Writers Festival is a treasure trove of adventures and special events, including the launch of Tricia Shantz’s new book Musicland: When the Music Came to Byron 1974–1995 with Murray Burns, Mark Pope and Shane Howard. The Guardian Australia returns with their Are You Game Show, and Beyond The Lines will be a spectacular night of spoken word and music with best-of-the-fest poets, from some of the biggest names from the festival.

The festival opens on the Friday with a live ABC North Coast broadcast, and Saturday morning offers the chance for a community Saltwater bath or beach yoga on the picturesque Main Beach. For those who can’t wait for the gates to open, Saturday and Sunday mornings offer Coffee and News to discuss the events of the day, and the festival will be closed by a performance from Janet Swain’s Big Voice Choir who will be joined by Shane Howard from iconic Australian rock band, Goanna.

BYRON WRITERS FESTIVAL

Friday 14 – Sunday 16 August 2026

Byron Bay / Bundjalung Country

www.byronwritersfestival.com

About Byron Writers Festival:

The annual Byron Writers Festival is Australia’s favourite regional celebration of books, storytelling and ideas, presented on beautiful Bundjalung Country. The line-up predominantly features Australian writers and thinkers, alongside international guests, showcasing contemporary literature in all forms and genres. Originally established in 1995 as the Northern Rivers Writers Centre, 2026 will mark the 30th year of the organisation’s flagship festival.

Full author details at www.byronwritersfestival.com

Appearing at the 2026 Byron Writers Festival will be: (A-Z)

Against The Grain

17th June, 2026

RICHARD FLANAGAN, ANTOINETTE LATTOUF AND KERRY O’BRIEN LEAD BYRON WRITERS FESTIVAL’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM