Following the success of the inaugural 2014 Five Writers Road trip, Byron Bay Writers Festival is going back on the road.
Once again the 555 Road Trip will send five writers to five towns in five days. The 555 starts at Coffs Harbour on Saturday 1 August, then travels on to Grafton, Casino, Alstonville and Murwillumbah, bringing a flavour of BBWF to book lovers throughout the Northern Rivers region. The 555 will hold author events at libraries, schools, pubs and clubs, finishing at the beautiful Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah.
Festival Director, Edwina Johnson, is predicting another successful Five Writers Road Trip to kick off this year’s BBWF: “The 555 Trip is a wonderful opportunity for lovers of books in this region who can’t get to Byron Bay Writers Festival. BBWF started as a community event almost 20 years ago and we are so pleased to be able to widen our community with this literary roadshow.”
This year’s 555 Trippers are: Mark Dapin, award winning author and columnist; Chris Flynn, novelist, critic and felinologist; Lian Hearn, best-selling author of the Tales of Otori series; award winning Indigenous writer Ellen Van Neerven; and Zohab Zee Khan, spoken word artist and National Slam Poetry Champion.
Author Zacharey Jane will be returning as chairperson of the author panels and referee of the 555 Tag-Team Storytelling Games: a cross between Theatre Sports and Spicks and Specks, where writers create live on stage. Ms Jane said: “I remember the excitement of the
Bookmobile coming to town when I was a child. The Five Writers Road Trip goes one better and brings the actual writers to your town to show what they do, live on stage: it’s like the Bookmobile and the circus all rolled into one!”
About 5 Writers Road Trip
The 555 Road Trip was started in 2014 to take the BBWF to regional audiences and reached approximately500 book lovers across five towns in regional NSW. The Road Trip is sponsored by the Australia Council and Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre and supported by community groups in every town it visits.
All events are free and open to the public.
The 555 Road Trip will tour:
Coffs Harbour – Saturday 1 August
Grafton – Sunday 2 August
Casino – Monday 3 August
Alstonville – Tuesday 4 August
Murwillumbah – Wednesday 5 August
For further information visit www.byronbaywritersfestival.com.au
