The recent announcement of the 2025 Miles Franklin Literary Award shortlist, featuring festival author Michelle de Kretser for her new novel Theory & Practice. Will it be her third win? Don’t miss your chance to see the see the two-time Miles Franklin winner at Byron Writers Festival 8—10 August.

Literary phenomenon Robbie Arnott, twice awarded The Age Book of the Year, will appear with his latest Dusk, which won the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year 2025, while Miles Franklin 2023 winner Shankari Chandran is back with Unfinished Business, a breathtaking political thriller set in Sri Lanka.

South Korea-based author Cameron Stewart, who grew up on a farm near Mullumbimby, will feature as winner of the 2025 MUD Literary Prize for the best debut Australian novel with Why Do Horses Run?, and Jumaana Abdu joins us with Translations, which won her a place as one of this year’s SMH Best Young Australian Novelists.

Explore the full program featuring these and many more award-winning writers from Australia and around the world.

Experience all three days of the Byron Writers Festival main stages at Bangalow Showground with a 3 Day Pass, gaining access to over 110 festival sessions. Tickets available online.