Budding writers head to Byline Festival

Where did the idea behind Byline Festival come from?

Peter Jukes and I run a crowd funded platform for independent journalists, Byline.com. We are a great collection of journalists many of who are speaking at the festival.

The idea of Byline is to connect good journalists with their readers and supporters and as part of this we ran events where people could listen to panel discussions with journalists and other experts.

Also last year was such a strange year with the election of Trump, fake news and the Brexit referendum that we thought we needed to do something about it and create a bigger event – to get people together and discuss and hopefully change the dangerous course that the world seemed to be on. Of course we also wanted to make it a full blown festival with satire, music, spoken word and festival fun.

What makes it different from every other festival on the market?

Our tagline is Dance, Discuss, Laugh and Change The World because we believe there is a gap in this very crowded sector for a festival which has more sense of purpose, bite and is prepared to confront the big questions of the day than literary festivals (which we think can become a bit navel gazing and self satisfied) and music festivals which are becoming more and more commercial as big organisations like Live Nation buy them up.

We hope to appeal to a festival goer that has out grown other festivals and is looking for something different but of course we do have great music with Badly Drawn Boy, Pussy Riot and The Blow Monkeys as well as great comedy with John Cleese, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Alexis Style.

Another thing that is important to us is that we want our festival and festival goers to be far more diverse and representative of the country as a whole.

Why do you think a festival focused on journalism and media has such an appeal?

Last year 3,000 people turned up and had a great time because journalists are talking about the news and the big questions of the day whether it is Trump, Russian influence, Syria or how the NHS could be improved or how Artificial Intelligence is going to change their life.

Also have politicians from all the three main parties, writers like Bonnie Greer, AL. Kennedy and Kate Mosse as well as broadcasters like June Sarpong and Jonathan Dimbleby.

Also this is not just a festival for journalism but also for the pursuit of truth and justice which is what all good investigative journalists believe in and do. This gives the festival its activism and campaigning feel to want to change the news and to stand up to fake news.

You have Pussy Riot headlining, a band who have caused so much controversy and garnered mainstream media attention in the last few years. What makes them the perfect headliner for the show?

Pussy Riot are the perfect headline for Byline Festival because the festival believes in truth and justice.

The Pussy Riot collective led by Nadya Tolokonnikova are feminist, anti Trump and Putin all core themes within the festival and also they are keen to change the world.

This activism is a key part of the festival just as we see investigative journalists and whistleblowers like Chris Wylie, The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower that Byline has helped, as part of leading this change as well.

We can’t wait for Pussy Riot to perform their spectacular audio visual protest art and performance on Saturday night at the festival. In fact we couldn’t think of anyone better to be headliners.

You also have non-musical stars like John Cleese and Gary Lineker attending. What will their roles be?

John Cleese was brilliant at running the Bad Press Awards last year and we are looking froward to him making them even more satirical this year. Andy Hamilton and Joanna Scanlan will also be helping with the awards.

Gary Lineker is talking about politics and football. We have lots of theatre, a circus from New Orleans as well as the LiveWire poets led by our Festival Poet Laureate Salena Godden and many comics including Hardeep Singh Kohli and the House of Comedy.

Do you have to be a certified journalist to see the appeal in this festival? Or is this the place to go if you’re just considering a career in journalism?

Just like the Hay Festival it doesn’t require you to be a writer, or Sundance doesn’t require you to be a film producer, Byline Festival appeals to the general public who are interested in current events, the big issues of the day and love festivals that are a different.

Of course if you are a journalist or thinking of being a journalist it is going to appeal to you but not exclusively by any means.

What else will be on offer for the public?

Byline Festival is diverse in content, appeal, and age. Our Other Bit at Byline has the Miss Byline Drag Queen Pageant, live urban art, rap battles, DJs and the cooler part of the festival.

The Trumpton Village Fete offers a post Brexit dystopian vision curated by Mike Dicks from Hove, with a sexy vegetables competition, Morris Dancing and warm beer in the Trumpton Arms.

There is a gallery in the trees and a silent disco in the forest. The spectacular opening event will feature a circus from New Orleans, The Jam Tarts choir from Brighton and world renowned opera singer.

Our workshop programme is included in the ticket price and includes lessons in comedy stand up, how to write a protest poem, make a protest banner, a best-selling podcast in your bedroom or deal with post Trump PST.

Our BBC Virtual Reality Tent will let you break the land speed record and find the source of the Nile.

Also the festival is great for families. The House of Fairy Tales is creating the Media Planet experience for children to create their own newsroom with daily performances for their parents and our director of fun and experience is leading wide games in the forest. Also there are creative writing, art and nature activities for kids of all ages.

What would you say to get people down to Byline this year?

Join us for a unique opportunity to Dance, Discuss, Laugh and Change the World.