Byron Writer’s Festival and 5 Great Books Set in Byron Bay

Byron Writer’s Festival and 5 Great Books Set in Byron Bay

If you’re a booklover and you’re a Byron Bay local then you know that the Byron Writer’s Festival is in full swing this weekend. The festival program for 2019 features a stellar line-up of more than 140 writers and thinkers spanning a mix of genres including fiction, memoir, crime, environment, society, politics, poetry, art, comedy and music. There is also plenty to do for kids. Check out our article about the ‘Kids Big Day Out’.

For those of you visiting Byron for the festival… or at any time really, we’ve put together a list of Byron based books to help you get into the local laid-back vibe.

The Upside of Over by J.D. Barrett

While not completely set in Byron, it is one of the settings in J.D. Barrett’s fantastically funny novel, as is nearby Mullumbimby.

Olivia Law had always been the good girl. Great grades, perfect career, husband, house and hairdo. She’d learnt image was everything so she refused to look below the surface of her life. When not at work, her minutes were filled with causes, chairing boards and dining at fabulous restaurants with her equally fabulous husband, David. She kept up the Botox, blow-dries and worked hard. It wasn’t enough, but whenever doubt crept in she’d head to a pilates class or plan a renovation on her trophy house.Then she turned 45.Olivia wasn’t prepared for David to leave. The fact that they hadn’t had sex for two years should have triggered warning bells … it didn’t.In an attempt to fix her broken marriage Olivia exposes herself like never before. But when her confession goes viral, the husband, house and job disappear. The woman who once offered glamorous reassurance and a steady gaze is labelled a princess of perversion. Humiliated, defeated, facing fifty shades of failure, she’s left wondering who the hell she really is? Stripped bare, she abandons perfection … and something remarkable happens.Olivia Law just might get her sass back (and this time, it’s the real thing).

The Bay by Di Morrissey

Di Morrissey lived in Byron Bay when she wrote The Bay, and the release of the book had many locals flicking through the pages to see if they were portrayed there.

The Bay is a beautiful and peaceful town on the Australian east coast, a melting pot of city escapees, alternative life-stylers, feral dropouts, lost kids, backpackers, and men and women in search of love and a new sense of identity. When Sydney corporate wife Holly Jamieson turns 40, she shocks her husband by buying an old house in The Bay and transforming it into a charming B&B. What began as a gesture of independence changes her life. Holly soon discovers that beneath its tranquil surface, The Bay is a whirlpool of passions and conflicts. Once a whaling town, then a sleepy resort that became trendy… and now developers are moving in for the kill. Holly, her family, and an unusual band of new friends are in the battle lines. It’s a story of contemporary issues, but the ghosts of the past haven’t left town. The Bay is a place to change your life.

The Byron Journals by Daniel Ducrou

Andrew and his mate Benny have finished school and are heading for the holiday of their lives in Byron Bay. They are not sure what they’re looking forward to most: the surf, the girls, the music, the partying or just being away from Adelaide.

Things don’t go to plan, and Andrew loses his mates. But he finds Heidi. Heidi is not like anyone he’s ever met before, and she takes him into her world, which feels a million miles away from his past. But is Andrew really prepared for the ride he’s about to take?

The Byron Journals is an exciting debut novel by a fresh new voice in Australian literature. Fun, and sometimes frightening, it takes a clear-eyed look at the desire to escape your past and the dangers of running headlong into your future.

Mullumbimby by Melissa Lucashenko

Mullum is a short Kombi drive from Byron. This is a wonderful novel that gives you a real feel for the land and the local Bunjalung people, from this year’s winner of the 2019 Miles Franklin Literary Award (for Too Much Lip).

A darkly funny novel of romantic love and cultural warfare. When Jo Breen uses her divorce settlement to buy a neglected property in the Byron Bay hinterland, she is hoping for a tree change, and a blossoming connection to the land of her Aboriginal ancestors. What she discovers instead is sharp dissent from her teenage daughter Ellen, trouble brewing from unimpressed white neighbours, and a looming Native Title war among the local Bundjalung families. When Jo stumbles into love on one side of the Native Title divide she quickly learns that living on country is only part of the recipe for the Good Life.

Told with humour and a sharp satirical eye, Mullumbimby is a modern novel set against an ancient land.

The Road to Byron by Isabelle Rowan

Matthew Kellett and Craig Jeffries are lifelong friends and neighbours. They thought they knew everything about each other, but some secrets seem too big share. Craig hides the truth about his father—but Matthew’s secret is his own.

To celebrate their high school graduation, Craig, Matthew, and Craig’s girlfriend take a road trip up the east coast of Australia to Byron Bay. Then one night on the beach, everything changes: Matthew meets Damien, a college student who senses what Matthew is hiding. Though the connection between them is undeniable, Matthew scrambles to keep it secret. It will take a shocking revelation from Craig and a lot of courage to get Matthew back on the road to Byron—and the boy waiting there.

Do you know any other books set in Byron? Let us know.

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