Byron Writers Festival calls for community support ahead of 30th anniversary

BYRON Writers Festival is appealing to the community for donations to help keep the beloved literary event alive and thriving as it approaches its milestone 30th anniversary in 2026.

Artistic director Jessica Alice said she had been moved by the number of ticketholders who opted to donate their refunds back to the festival after the weekend’s sessions were cancelled due to heavy rainfall.

“We know that it’s not possible for everyone and we absolutely understand that and that’s why we are offering refunds,” she said.

“This is obviously a really difficult time for the festival. We earn so much of our income through ticket sales. This festival has always been a community effort and run through a combination of partners, sponsors, ticket purchases and friends of the festival memberships, which together goes towards the sustainability of the festival.

“We’re letting the community know that if anyone is in a position to lend a bit of extra support it would be very gratefully received.”

Alice said that organisers still offered cancellation fees to the writers whose sessions didn’t go ahead, recognising the importance of this income for their livelihoods.

“The average author income is $18,000 per year so the opportunity to come and do these events and promote their books is where they make a lot of their income,” she said.

 

Alice is also encouraging people to support the authors by purchasing their books from local Book Room stores in Byron Bay or Lennox Head.

With the festival’s 30th anniversary on the horizon, Alice said she hopes to deliver something truly special as a thank you to the community.

“I’m so committed to this festival and to the community of the Northern Rivers and the Byron Shire,” she said.

“I know how much the festival means to this place. All of us here at the festival really want to make sure that we have that wonderful 30th anniversary and we achieve all the goals we have for the festival.”

Alice also called for greater government support for the events industry in the wake of climate change.

“It’s a very familiar issue to many people in the Northern Rivers,” she said. “The affordability of insurance in multiple different scenarios is so difficult and we know that the festival and live events sector has been doing a lot of work with the government around what can be done to support events like this.

“We really do need something like a guarantee against loss scheme that assists festivals so that if there is a scenario where we may lose box office income we can be supported so we don’t have things disrupting the sector. We need cultural events and organisations in the community.”

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Byron Writers Festival, visit byronwritersfestival.com/get-involved