2019 Annual Report

A world connected through stories

BYRON WRITERS FESTIVAL 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Byron Writers Festival is a non-profit member organisation presenting workshops and events year-round, including the annual Festival. We acknowledge the Arakwal Bumberbin People of the Byron Shire as the Traditional Custodians of this land.

During 2019 Byron Writers Festival was chaired by Adam van Kempen, with Board members Cheryl Bourne (Treasurer), Russell Eldridge (Secretary), Jesse Blackadder, Marele Day, Lynda Dean, Hilarie Dunn, Lynda Hawryluk and Anneli Knight. Edwina Johnson continued in her role as Director, leading an expanded team of Festival staff.

Key Achievements

New PremisesByron Writers Festival has purchased a two-storey office space in the Byron Bay industrial estate at 2/58 Centennial Circuit, Byron Bay. Byron Writers Festival paid cash ($614,700) with a drawdown facility held with NAB against the value of the building. Purchasing our own premises means we will save $3159 on rent monthly, a figure of $37,908 annually. The $5935 per annum saved from additional lease outgoings will now go to pay council rates and strata fees, which includes building insurance.

Owning our premises will ensure sustainability for the organisation and security of tenure for the future, allowing Byron Writers Festival to support the careers of more writers and contribute further to literary culture. Our new premises are sleek in design and highly functional, offering a larger workspace that reflects the innovative ideals underpinning Byron Writers Festival. We look forward to welcoming members and guests to our new home.

MembershipsIn 2019, Byron Writers Festival attained the highest membership numbers ever achieved, providing services to thousands of people in the Northern Rivers area. Membership increased from 916 in 2018 to 1017 in 2019. Generally, membership feedback reveals high satisfaction levels with Byron Writers Festival year-round activities and the services provided.

ANNUAL BYRON WRITERS FESTIVAL

Three days with story-creators, idea-makers and risk-takers

Byron Writers Festival 2019 featured more than 140 writers, thinkers and commentators who came from across Australia and around the world to Byron Bay for a packed program of inspiring, engaging and enlightening storytelling and discussion.

The Festival attracted the highest box office sales in its 23-year history with 3-Day and Saturday Passes selling out, and capacity crowds filling the marquees throughout the weekend. Book sales were the highest in our history.

‘Stories help us make sense of the complexity of our world,’ said Festival Director Edwina Johnson. ‘Byron Writers Festival provides a space to find meaning and connection, to reflect on the importance of stories and their telling, and to engage our hearts and minds.’

While Friday was a day of rainbows, Saturday and Sunday provided glorious weather, perfect for patrons to enjoy the sculptures and natural parklands as they sauntered between marquees, food stalls and artisan markets.

Kids Big Day Out on Festival Sunday enjoyed a huge turnout for stories read aloud, games, and jokes that kept the kids in giggles.

ANNUAL BYRON WRITERS FESTIVAL

Reducing waste was a focus at this year’s Festival and patrons helpedto save 2,752 plastic water bottles and thousands of single-use coffee cups from landfill by bringing or hiring reusable cups and making use of the water refill stations at the Festival site.

• Total ticket sales for the Festival: $817,895 (GST inclusive) • Total sponsorship $153,113 cash and $213,145 in-kind• Book sales at the Festival bookstore were the highest ever,

tallying $243,104.28• Cultural Partners Collaboration in 2019 took place with many arts

organisations, including Bendigo Writers Festival, Griffith Review, NORPA, Lismore Regional Gallery, Screenworks, WordTravels, Newcastle Writers Festival and Tweed Regional Gallery

• AUSLAN teams were engaged to interpret 12 sessions in the main Festival program and to provide an on-demand service, and for Festival satellite events

• PEN Empty Chair was part of Byron Writers Festival 2019. The Empty Chair model was used on multiple stages with chairpersons reading statements about writers imprisoned for their writing. Writers represented in 2019 included Behrouz Boochani, DareenTatour and Me Nam. The Empty Chair acts as a powerful symbolic gesture and Byron Writers Festival will continue its ongoing support of PEN initiatives

• Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) For the sixth year running the ILF was the charity supported by Byron Writers Festival. ILF had a clear presence on-site and their volunteer staff were bold among the crowd. An ILF statement was read at selected sessions during the weekend to help encourage patrons to support the cause. ILF raised a record $8000 to help support remote Indigenous communities

• Flash Fiction Competition In 2019 Byron Writers Festival held a flash fiction competition garnering 172 entries. Ten stories were shortlisted and displayed at the Festival site, while a winner and two runners-up won Festival passes

• Susie Warrick Young Writers Award 2019 was presented to Niamh Montgomery (Years 7-9) and Gabrielle Hill Smith (Years 10-12). They received $500 each in prize money, individual mentoring sessions with author Jesse Blackadder and had their work published in northerly. In addition, Gabby Le Brun, the StoryBoard project manager, compiled the Susie Warwick Young Writers Anthology, Volume 1, published in December 2019. SWYWA continues to be supported by the Bangalow Lions Club and Brian Warrick and demonstrates the creative potential of young people in the Northern Rivers

• Kids Big Day Out Sunday’s Kids Big Day Out was a huge success and included a series of activities and workshops throughout the day to complement the main stage programming

2019 Festival Facts

• 12,000 tickets sold to Festival events• 3,000 student participants in schools’ days• 2,149 trips on the solar train out to the Festival site• 121 onsite Festival sessions • 17 satellite events• 15 workshops • 14 sessions for schools• 12.5% increase in box office sales• 7 regional towns visited with Festival authors for Writers on the

Road• 91% rated the Festival program as excellent or good• 93% said they would return in 2020• 94% rated the Festival atmosphere as excellent or good• 30% attended for the first time• $8,000 raised for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Top selling books

o No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochanio Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoeo The Yield by Tara June Wincho Women Men and the Whole Damn Thing by David Lesero Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoeo 2040: A Handbook for the Regeneration by Damon Gameau

Primary Schools Day Program

Primary Schools Day events were held across four locations to full houses with the following author/illustrator teams:• Lismore City Hall – Isobelle Carmody and John Flanagan• Murwillumbah Civic Centre – Zoe and Georgia Norton Lodge and

Tony Flowers• Byron Bay High School

o AM: Isobelle Carmody and John Flanagano PM: Zoe and Georgia Norton Lodge and Tony Flowers

• The Saraton Theatre, Grafton – Zoe and Georgia Norton Lodge and Tony Flowers

The inaugural Grafton event was a big success. The Saraton Theatre, a beautiful restored Art Deco theatre and cultural hub for the Clarence Valley, was the perfect venue to host approximately 400 students from the region. The majority of our volunteer event supervisors were teachers, which connected the event with the wider school community. All volunteers were experienced with kids and had WWC checks.

An Indigenous student from a Grafton primary school gave the Welcome to Country to open the event.

Secondary Schools Day

There were 900+ attendees at our Secondary Schools Day on-site event, which is a record high. Feedback indicated that the programming was very well received, offering a diverse mix catering to all student attendees.

Speakers included Tara June Winch, Eddie Woo, Adam Spencer, Tishani Doshi, Nevo Zisin, A.C. Grayling, Clementine Ford and Omar Sakr. Student MCs were from Ballina Coast High School.

Volunteers, many of whom were experienced teachers, were enthusiastic, positive and happy to help out in anyway. Our long-term venue supervisors, Michelle and Richard, noted that audience engagement was the best they had ever seen.

The final session for the day with Adam Spencer and Eddie Woo was programmed with no competing sessions, so our Schools Day finished with a capacity crowd in the marquee. The session went over time, owing to the wonderful interaction between the presenters and the students: the kids didn’t want it to end!

Kids Big Day Out

The Kids Big Day Out main stage program expanded significantly from the six author spots of previous years to nine, in addition to MCs Shep and Simi’s introductions. The varied and extremely experienced authors included the 2019 Children’s Laureate Morris Gleitzman and Alison Lester, who held their audiences captivated.

The Kids’ Tent broadcast a dedicated playlist crafted especially for kids, which had the kids and adults alike dancing along before and between sessions. Beanbags borrowed from Brunswick Picture House were also very popular and added to the happy relaxed vibe.

StorySpace

Imaginations were ignited through a series of free workshops at the StoryBoard StorySpace outdoor area. Workshops were co-ordinated by Shel Sweeney and her sidekick Colleen Butler, with assistance from Festival volunteers.

More than 100 kids and their parents/carers/friends participated across four workshops including:

• Circus writing with Simi Genziuk• Crazy Illustrations with illustrator, Tony Flowers• Story Safari with Tristan Bancks• Portraits with a Twist with illustrator Misa Alexander

Audience Profile: Snapshot

The 2019 Festival attracted 51% of its audience from outside the local region, and maintained strong local support from within the Northern Rivers (49%). People visiting from elsewhere mainly came from Sydney, country NSW, SE QLD and Melbourne.

50% of visitors stayed for four days or more, and 8% for over seven days. 65% of those visiting stayed in paid accommodation. 97% said they came to Byron Bay specifically to attend the Festival.

There was a significant proportion of newcomers, with 30% attending for the first time. 93% said they would come again next year.

Primary topics of interest for attendees were social issues, politics, environmental issues, fiction and arts and culture (in that order).

94% rated the Festival atmosphere as excellent or good, 91% rated the program as excellent or good, and 89% agree or strongly agree that the festival plays an important part in the cultural life of NSW.

8% of attendees came from a non-English speaking background.

There continues to be a strong bias towards females.

Festival Marketing and Communications

Byron Writers Festival 2019 was promoted through a combination of targeted media partnerships, festival digital channels, and a comprehensive publicity campaign:

• Print, digital and radio advertising: The Saturday Paper, Dumbo Feather, Byron Shire Echo, Paradiso, Blank GC, Lismore Echo, Byron Shire News, Bay FM, Byron & Beyond, Rusty’s Byron Guide

• Campaign on Festival digital channels – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, e-newsletter, website

• 38,000 printed programs distributed in The Byron Shire Echo and in books and cafes on the east coast

• A publicity campaign resulting in coverage on ABC Radio National, Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, The Courier Mail, Gold Coast Bulletin, The Byron Echo, Byron Shire News, The Northern Star, Lismore Echo, Bangalow Herald, Style Magazine, Blank GC, Paradiso Magazine, ABC North Coast, ABC Gold Coast, Bay FM, River FM, NBN News, Prime 7 News

• Random Acts of Reading campaign: 200 wrapped books were delivered to cafes across the Northern Rivers to help us spread the love of reading to our local communities. Recipients were encouraged to post their book on Instagram, read it, and pass on to a friend

Digital and Social Media Reach

Period from 1 April (Extra Early Bird sales) to 11 August (post-Festival)

• 276,531 web pages viewed

• 60,000 website sessions

• 38,000 website users

• 11,500 e-news subscribers

• 8,128 Facebook followers

• 576,495 Facebook page reach

• 4,046 Instagram followers

• 3,888 Twitter followers

• 256,000 impressions on Twitter

• Social media followers are predominantly women 25-44

What others are saying about Byron Writers Festival 2019:

‘Everything about this festival works. Community, friendship, stimulation – just wonderful!’ Tim Costello, author

‘Excellent program, beautiful setting, loved it.’ Festival patron

‘It was my first time at the Byron Writers Festival and I loved it.’Stephanie Alexander, writer

‘That’s what Byron Writers Festival is all about…important ideas and conversations with real people in open settings.’ Prime 7 News

‘What a great festival - I loved the sessions I took part in, but I also loved the ones I watched as a punter. So many fascinating people to listen to!’ Jock Serong, author

‘It is simply sensational. I love the line-up of incredible authors, activists, politicians and people.’Festival patron

‘As always, the most wonderful experience. Beautifully programmed, organised and delivered. #dreamfestival.’Clare Wright, author

‘The Festival shared stories of hope, courage and change…reminding everyone of the power of words and conversation…it also reminded us of the need to relish the beauty and curiosity of our surrounds and the world in general.’Blank GC magazine

‘I had such a lovely time at your fabulous festival, and I am so grateful for the invitation and the generosity shown me. It was thought-provoking and enriching and so much fun!’ Vicki Laveau-Harvie, author

ANNUAL ACTIVITIES

Year-Round Events

• There were 26 events and workshops held in 2019; of these, six events were free of charge

• Overall workshop and event income for the year was $26,695, and featured such notable writers as Nick Earls, Marele Day, Kayte Nunn and Benjamin Gilmour

• Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer delighted a Byron Theatre audience in May, discussing his prize-winning novel Less with author Jesse Blackadder

• In November, Lemn Sissay returned for an evening at Elements Resort, interviewed by Adam Shoemaker, Vice Chancellor of Southern Cross University

• In March, we partnered with Sydney Opera House Talks and Ideas for the live-stream of All About Women, free to Byron Writers Festival members at the Byron Bay SAE campus

• In May, we again presented Live and Local live-stream from Sydney Writers Festival, free for members of Byron Writers Festival

Mentorships and Opportunities

Residential Mentorship

In 2019, Hayley Lawrence, Polly Jude, Nick Westhoff and Robert Walker were selected to take part in the Byron Writers Festival Residential Mentorship. The recipients spent five days staying in Possum Creek in the Byron hinterland, and received one-on-one mentoring from author and board member Marele Day, who has lead the program for the past 18 years.

Members Mentorship Scheme

Byron Writers Festival continued its Members Mentorship Scheme this year, providing four members with the opportunity to receive feedback on their work from an industry professional free-of-charge. Three writers, Diana Jarman, Richard Everist and Zacharey Jane, received a Firsthand Feedback session with Sarah Armstrong, Laurel Cohn and Jock Serong respectively, while Jodie Mehrtens participated in a block mentorship with Marele Day.

Editorial Consultations

Byron Writers Festival facilitated editorial consultations for members and the general public in 2019. Four 30-minute consultations took place at Bellingen with editor Laurel Cohn in September. Following this, 10 individual consultations of 20-minutes took place in Byron Bay in November, with editor Shel Sweeney and literary agent Alex Adsett.

Meet the Publisher

During the 2019 Byron Writers Festival we facilitated seven 40-minute consultations for writers with publisher Annette Barlow from Allen & Unwin and Faber Writing Academy. Barlow offered feedback on the first 20 pages of the applicants’ manuscripts, discussed its suitability in the current market place and suggested ways forward for each writer.

2019 FUNDRAISING OVERVIEW

• New Partnerships Co-ordinator, Aarna Hudson, started part-time in January 2019

• Total 2019 sponsorship $153,113 (cash)

• Total 2019 sponsorship $213,145 (in-kind)

• Donations: $19,572

• Major partners of Byron Writers Festival 2019 were: Southern Cross University, Feros Care, Greenstone Partners and Copyright Agency

• New partners included G Adventures, Bolinda, Enova, Stone & Wood, Wine Selectors, 89 Degrees East (cash) and Husk Distillers (in-kind)

• Grant funding received from:

o Create NSW: $125,000 (organisational multi-year funding)

o Australia Council: $33,500 (Festival 2019)

o Multicultural NSW: $5,000 (Festival 2019)

o Catalyst/Australia Council: $100,000 (StoryBoard multi-year funding)

o Regional Cultural Fund: $80,000 (Writers on the Road: split over 2018/2019)

o Australia Council: $7,340 (International Arts Strategy Outcomes Fund)

Financial

In 2019 income and expenses for the year-round organisation both increased resulting in a pleasing overall net surplus of $64,800. This surplus was put to good use by investing in a permanent home for the Festival premises. Net assets at the end of 2019 were $596,555.

With thanks to all our partners and sponsors for their ongoing support

STAFFING

In 2019, the Board continued the Byron Writers Festival commitment to supporting staff in their professional development and workplace comfort. We secured a new premises at 2/58 Centennial Circuit, Byron Bay, which offers a more spacious working area.

By the end of 2019 staffing levels were:

• Director – full-time position (37.5 hrs per week)

• Head of Operations – full-time position (37.5 hrs per week)

• Head of Development – permanent part-time position (30 hours per week)

• Partnerships Co-ordinator – permanent part-time contract (22.5 hours per week)

• Communications Manager – permanent part-time contract (22.5 hours per week)

• Festival Administrator – permanent part-time position (22.5 hours plus 7.5 hours SB admin support)

• StoryBoard Co-ordinator – (24 hours a week on contract)

• Travel Manager – contract position

• Bookkeeper – permanent part-time position (5 hours per fortnight)

• Magazine editor and designer – contract positions

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Edwina Johnson Sarah Ma Emma Keenan Anika Ebner Emily Brugman Gabby Le Brun Cherrie Sheldrake

Staff members were supported by the following professional development opportunities:

• Director, Edwina Johnson was selected to participate in the Australia Council for the Arts “Arts Leaders” program for 12 months commencing February 2019. She was also appointed to the Create NSW Artform Advisory Board: Multi Arts & Festivals Board in 2019

• Head of Development, Emma Keenan attended the Culture Business Sydney 2-day fundraising workshop in October (ticket scholarship provided by CPA)

• Festival Administrator, Emily Brugman attended the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle and Accessibility in the Arts at NORPA

• Partnerships Co-ordinator, Aarna Hudson attended The Fundamentals of Fundraising half-day workshop in September run by CPA

• Communications Manager, Anika Ebner, Emma Keenan and Emily Brugman participated in the Facebook Social Media Advertising training, held at the Byron Writers Festival office

Volunteers

Volunteers remained an integral part of Byron Writers Festival throughout

2019, as every year. They offer assistance to the Program Manager during the

northerly mail-out, as well as ongoing administrative support throughout the

year. The staff and Board of Byron Writers Festival continue to be enormously

grateful to our volunteers for the time, energy and enthusiasm they bring to

the organisation.

MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS and PUBLICITY

Annual Festival

• Development and implementation of 2019 marketing strategy informed a more strategic approach to marketing messaging, channels and budget allocation

• Proposed implementation of additional (Extra) Early Bird phase was successful, contributing to 35% increase in 3-Day Pass sales on 2018 and more than $100K increase in overall sales revenue

• Allocation and implementation of social media advertising budget bore excellent results with an average ROAS (return on ad spend) of 26 ($26 for every $1 spent)

• Word of Mouth reigns supreme as the most popular (over 50%) source of first exposure to the Festival (2019 Survey data)• Website, printed program and e-newsletters continue to be top-three sources of Festival information (2019 survey data)• Productive media partnerships with The Saturday Paper, The Echo, Paradiso Magazine, Blank Gold Coast Magazine, byronbay.com and

Dumbo Feather magazine• 21 Festival Podcasts were produced in-house and made available to the public via Soundcloud

Year-Round

• Social Media engagement experienced steady growth. Facebook continues to be the most effective social media platform for reach and engagement (31% growth). Instagram continues to experience the highest rate of growth in followers (33% in 2019)

• Annual memberships continued to grow with 2019 our biggest year yet at over 980 members (550 during February 2019 Membership Drive)• Year-round events experienced 63% capacity overall, slightly up on 2018• Digital newsletter subscriber base: 12,400 subscribers• Publicity: 160 articles and interviews year-round across local and national media• Year-round advertising was supported by our media partnership with The Echo

Key Statistics (digital and social media reach)

Period 1 January – 31 December 2019

• 366,000 web pages viewed• 83,000 website sessions• 53,000 website users• 45% desktop, 44% mobile, 11% tablet• 12,400 e-news subscribers• 9,400 Facebook followers• 3,878 Twitter followers• 4,200 Instagram followers

Northerly

Our member magazine northerly underwent a redesign: switching to full colour, more pages and distributed quarterly in Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer.

2019 Overview

The StoryBoard project came in with a small surplus in 2019,

enabling the program to begin 2020 without a deficit.

We delivered 165 school student events, comprising:

• 24 Focus School visits (Goal: 20 visits)

• 67 one-off visits, including multi-schools in one event (Goal: 60 events)

• 68 Masterclasses (Goal: 60 Masterclasses)

• 2 holiday programs

• 4 Byron Writers Festival on-site workshops

• 1 Mentorship (from 2 offered)

• 2 regional tours (Writers on the Road)

This far exceeds the StoryBoard goal of 120 events. Overall, we

reached 9915 young people across the Northern Rivers

through 116 workshops and 73 presentations, plus an

additional 1500 students during the Writers on the Road

regional tour, which extended our reach south and west.

StoryBoard 2019 Overview continued

The target number of students to be reached over three years was 11,065. StoryBoard has well exceeded this target, reaching 25,570 (7043 in 2017, 8612 in 2018 and 9915 in 2019).

School visits included 70 primary schools and 21 secondary schools. StoryBoard school-based workshops, run by professional authors and illustrators, covered a range of narrative storytelling devices, strategies and concepts including: free writing, slam poetry, story outdoor safaris, editing, book illustration, short stories, collage, and creating story worlds and compelling characters.

Workshops for high school students generally took a more specialised approach around the craft of writing. StoryBoard and Byron Writers Festival offered two free HSC English Extension workshops, which attracted over 100 students from nine high schools in the region, with their teachers.

StoryBoard continued to develop in-depth engagement through our Focus Schools Program. Students from selected schools (identified with geographical, economical and/or educational disadvantage) received repeat visits with extended workshops throughout the year. The activities are intended to build rapport with authors and the group, facilitate ongoing skills development, deepen engagement with the creative writing and visual storytelling process, draft, write and submit a short story for publication.

Participating schools included Ballina Public School, Casino Public School, Rivers P-12 Learning Community (Secondary and Primary groups).

StoryBoard Masterclasses

Regular Masterclasses ran throughout the year at Ballina, Lismore and Byron Libraries. These sessions culminated in two print anthologies, one online publishing platform, radio plays and audio books.

Published Works and Launches

StoryBoard gave participants the chance to celebrate their achievements with family, friends and the wider community. Published works included:

• Ballina Masterclass groups published Let’s Play Radio Plays and Now Hear This audio books

• Byron Masterclasses Short stories and flash fiction pieces published on a new website platform

• Rivers Focus Schools (Primary and Secondary groups) published Rivers Brainstorm 2

• Casino Public School Focus school participants published two collaborative books

• Lismore Masterclass participants published two anthologies (Junior and Senior)

Extension of Program to Teachers and Educators

In 2019 StoryBoard offered the following opportunities for teacher engagement:

• StoryBoard presented and ran a workshop at the North Coast Librarians Network Meeting (48 teachers – Secondary and Primary)

• Teachers Notes provided with each StoryBoard school visit for use in the classroom

• Teacher participation in the 116 in-school creative writing workshops was encouraged

StoryBoard HSC and Teacher/Librarian Workshops

• 2 x full-day Extension II English high school workshops free of charge to students from nine schools, and their teachers

• Participation in these increased significantly from 2018 to 2019 once participation fees were waived

Artist/Artsworker Employment

We also provided regular and meaningful local work for a core team of 10 authors and illustrators, while giving early career authors and illustrators the opportunity to work or volunteer alongside our established facilitator to gain experience in workshop delivery. We created two ongoing Workshop Co-ordinator positions to support our author facilitators, and to maintain consistency and quality in workshop logistics and delivery.

Staff

• 2019 marked the second full year as StoryBoard Project Manager for Gabby Le Brun

• We retained a consistent, committed core team of authors: Sarah Armstrong, Jesse Blackadder, Tristan Bancks, Zanni Louise, Samantha Turnbull, Lucas Proudfoot, Zacharey Jane, Siboney Duff and Melaina Faranda

• Additional Authors/Ilustrators: Tony Flowers, Misa Alexander, Hakea Hustler, Carl Merrison, Michelle Dawson, Dave Petzold, Simi Genziuk, Benjamin Gilmour, Lian Hearn, Stephen Axelson, Holly English, Jackie French, Matt Ottley and Sarah Temporal

• Emily Brugman offered a valuable and essential contribution to the Program as StoryBoardAdministrator (eight hours per week from StoryBoard budget)

• Workshop Co-ordinators, Andi Davey and Shel Sweeney divided the school visit shifts between them to create workshop consistency and to provide regular hours

• Emma Keenan moved into a managerial role as overseer of StoryBoard, developing a co-ordinated approach to StoryBoard’s management, day-to-day and big picture

• We engaged consistent volunteers matched with consistent Workshop Co-ordinators for regular and meaningful workshop and school visit tutoring

Jesse Blackadder

Tony Flowers

Sarah Armstrong

Carl Merrison

StoryBoard Bus

The maintenance and care of the bus has continued with Peter Clark, who is now overseeing the service book, cleaning, repairs and regular up-keep of the bus to keep her on the road. We are very appreciative of his time and dedication to our beloved StoryBoard bus.

Parking has moved from Trip-A-Deal carpark to the Circus Arts Carpark.

Community Events

• Collaborating with festivals and events expanded and diversified our reach

• Brunswick Heads Library Holiday Program –Illustrating with Misa Alexander

• Lismore Youth Festival – Illustrating with Misa Alexander

• St Mary’s Primary School Grafton Writing Festival –Tristan Bancks and Samantha Turnbull

• Write Camp at Casino Christian School – with Zacharey Jane

Additional Beneficiaries from StoryBoard 2019

535 additional beneficiaries included parents, teachers and volunteers who attended in-school workshops and presentations, masterclasses and book launches.

StoryBoard visits 2018 StoryBoard visits extended 2019

Writers on the Road 2019

Writers on the Road (WOTR) is an initiative of Byron Writers Festival and Create NSW, taking acclaimed Australian writers, illustrators and poets to regional towns in the Northern Rivers. Over five days WOTR visits schools and community venues in each town, offering free workshops and community events. In each town, WOTR partners with community groups, councils and libraries to connect with new and returning book-lovers, in sessions designed in collaboration with teachers and community leaders.

2019 Tours

Week 1, April with author Melaina Faranda, Arakwal traditional oral storyteller Delta Kay, illustrator Tony Flowers, performance poet Andi Stewart and tour manager Zacharey Jane. The artists delivered workshops to students at high schools in Grafton, Kempsey, Wauchope and Taree. Community events were held at Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Nambucca Heads, Wauchope, Port Macquarie and Taree. Approximately 950 students and community members were reached.

Week 2, July with poet Omar Sakr, authors Kristina Olsson, Michael Robotham, Jock Serong and tour manager Zacharey Jane. They toured to schools in Mullumbimby, Nimbin and Casino, and held community events at Ballina, Lismore, Mullumbimby, Nimbin, Kingscliff and Casino. At the Lismore Gallery event, young writers from the Lismore StoryBoard Masterclass interviewed the touring writers on-stage, then read excerpts from their own work. The tour connected with approximately 950 community members before arriving at Byron Writers Festival for the Thursday Schools Day.

In December 2019, Writers on the Road received a $98,600 grant from Create NSW to fund four tours over 2020-21.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Appreciation

Building on the success of 2018, Byron Writers Festival began 2019 on sound financial footing. Advanced planning ensured another successful Festival and a diverse range of out-of-season events that were all well received. Byron Writers Festival 2020 is profiting from our 2019 success, with the annual program well underway, all organised from our excellent new office space. We continue to monitor rising production costs and are vigilant in pursuing all avenues for funding.

In late 2019 the Board committed to developing a new Strategic Plan with consultant Jill Eddington leading the process, the results of which will be presented at the AGM. We are motivated by our newly agreed Festival Values of Creativity, Adventure, Connection, Respect and Integrity. Our Mission: Byron Writers Festival is Australia’s regional meeting place of storytelling and ideas. We provide shared moments of human connection. Our Vision: To create gatherings with powerful outcomes.

Ultimately, the success of Byron Writers Festival is due to the hard work and expertise of our core team and Board, generously supported by our many and amazing volunteers and of course, the community of Byron Bay.

Board

In closing, I would like to acknowledge the enormous efforts made by all current Board members Adam van Kempen (Chair), Cheryl Bourne (Treasurer), Russell Eldridge (Secretary), and committee members Jesse Blackadder, Marele Day, Lynda Dean, Hilarie Dunn, Lynda Hawryluk and Anneli Knight. All gave generously of their time and wisdom, as ever. A special mention must be made of Jesse Blackadder, a super-hero for StoryBoard program funding.

Byron Writers Festival will continue to focus on its core values to support writers and readers in the world of words and big ideas, and share the knowledge and experience within our organisation to all who seek it.

Edwina Johnson, Director

and the entire Festival team:Sarah Ma, Head of OperationsEmma Keenan, Head of DevelopmentAarna Hudson, Partnerships Co-ordinatorAnika Ebner, Communications ManagerEmily Brugman, Festival AdministratorGabby Le Brun, StoryBoard Project ManagerZacharey Jane, Writers on the Road Co-ordinator