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The Byron Bay Writers Festival is locked in for this year July 25-27 with the workshops starting July 21. It will be held at the usual location at the Byron Bay Beach Resort, which is undergoing changes but I still look back with some nostalgia on those first festivals. The scattered marquees around The Lakehouse, the outdoor tables which became a floating party as people table-hopped and networked. Punters picnicked on the lawns beside the lake and if you couldn't get into a session it was broadcast outside. Several things made our Festival different from others - authors and publishers all stayed in cabins on site. Which made for some legendary parties and escapades. The cocktail party at my house - Di's Drinks - was started so people could meet socially before the hectic festival and that grew into a bit of a legend as well!
Everyone was treated the same, all cabins were basic, cold and draughty. I used to hand out hotties, doonas and blankets to shivering visitors. And in the those early days we didn't have any government funding or the generous sponsors we have now... though those early sponsors, supporters and volunteers were terrific...so we couldn't afford to bring in big names or people from across the seas. So almost by default we became an all Aussie festival...and readers loved that. The same egalitarian attitude exists today, even though big names do appear, everyone is paid the same fee and treated equally whether you're a Lismore poet or a Sydney novelist.
The workshops before the festival sell out so take advantage of the Early Bird 3-Day passes that go on sale March 21 online at www.byronbaywritersfestival.com or at Jetset Byron Bay.
New features for the Festival this year will include a soapbox corner a la Hyde Park Speakers Corner, a mini marquee where unpublished writers can apply to read their manuscripts in public, a writers cabaret and a living library where people can be borrowed in place of books. A sneak preview of attendees...Bruce Beresford, William McInnes, Arnold Zable, Morris Gleitzman, Bryan Dawe, Geraldine Doogue. I can't wait to hear David Stratton talk about his book - "I Peed on Fellini"!
See you there!
Cheers.
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