I’m
lucky enough to call Byron Bay home. It’s a wonderful place for a writer to
live. Lots of great spots to sit and write that offer fabulous views, great
coffee and an eclectic mix of people just to keep things interesting.
But
Byron offers writers (and readers) something else very special. We have our own
writers’ festival. The Byron Bay
Writers’ began in 1997 with just fifty writers. This year’s Festival will feature over 100 writers over
three days.
The
2013 program is yet to be launched by returning Festival Director Jeni Caffin, but
so far we know about two literary legends, the Booker Prize winners DBC Pierre
and Peter Carey. MJ Hyland is also coming back. Her second novel Carry Me Down was shortlisted for the
2006 Booker Prize. Other authors that have been announced include Steve Bisley,
Robert Drewe, Richard Gill, Kerry Greenwood, Anita Heiss, Cate Kennedy, Paul
Kelly, Judith Lucy, Melissa Lucashenko, Maxine McKew, Archie Roach. There will
also be lots of local Northern Rivers' talent.
One of
the best things about the Festival is that you pay one ticket price and you can
stay the whole day. How you plan your day is completely up to you as you move
between the marquees, which feature the talent. There’s amazing sculptures to enjoy, wonderful food, book
launches, an onsite bookshop, author signings and so much more. The week prior
to the Festival also features an array of fabulous writing workshops, so you
can make it a writing holiday!
If you have a completed manuscript, think about
entering the Pitch
Perfect competition. The top six submissions are invited to pitch
their book idea to a panel of publishers on Saturday 3 August at the Festival. I’ve been to the last couple
of Pitch Perfect events. The quality of the pitches is very high and can lead
to a publishing contract. A friend of mine was contracted from pitching at this
event. The deadline is for Pitch Perfect is Wednesday 3 July, so get polishing.
A few
years ago I managed the publicity for the Festival and met so many amazing
people (I still have Kamahl
on speed dial from his poetry debut). Authors at the Byron Festival mingle very
freely with the public and there are lots of opportunities to chat. The whole
event is very relaxed but full of brilliant literary discourse.
If you
have kids, think about heading to the dedicated children’s program, which is
always fantastic and often very funny.
Early
bird tickets are still available but word on the street is that they are
selling out fast. So, do yourself
a favour and come to Byron for three days of writerly fun. I’ll be there as the
gates open every day, so see you there!
