Anthony and Will have been playing and discovering music together since the day they met, taking influences from bands like Puma Plue and Zach Hill all the way to Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks. Head on down to the Rebel Rebel stage on Sunday to see two best buds create some eery soundscapes

Are you a songwriter, spoken-word artist, poet or just have something important to say about the state of our world today? Well then join the line-up of Byline Festivals first ever Soapbox!

Details in the info tent

Jenny Nibbingley and Burton Mastrick truly need no introduction. As two of Britain’s most published, though least read, novellists, it’s not surprising they have been invited to today’s book festival. Their event’s moderator, Tim Timminey, likewise significant, should be turning up soon, but until then, Jenny and Burt agree to read sections from their books. Bad decision. As an ex-couple, their writing seems mainly to consist of ongoing digs at the other’s character and work. But is that all that is going on? Might this all be a reading from another book about a book talk going horribly wrong? Or is that also part of something else?

BookTalkBookTalkBook combines a parody of awkward live author events; an exploration of artificial intelligence and the creative process; a Beckettian live theatre experience and an experiment in the limits of patience regarding card tricks. Layer folds into layer; story reflects story – this is a piece that constantly changes direction, challenging an audience, while being continually entertaining. Funny and wise, imaginative and original, it will add a surprising and delightful twist to any book festival’s programme.

The show has received a excellent response from a bright and engaged audience. The Idler’s newsletter called it ‘utterly brilliant’ and ‘the highlight for many’, and the social media response was similarly positive, with Tweeters calling it ‘amazing’ and ‘a mandatory booking at every book festival in the country.’

*Rhythm & Flow Movement meditation inspired by Yoga Trance Dance® created by Shiva Rea *

Join us for an epic experience of moving meditation, yoga, music and free form dance! We are ecstatic to hold space for Yoga Trance Dance®, created by Shiva Rea of the Global Samudra school of yoga .

Whether you love to dance or loath to dance, we invite you to enjoy and immerse in universal rhythmic beat of Yoga Trance dance which is a contemporary exploration of the spirit of dance within yoga.

The sound scape is a blend of epic world dance music that connects to the natural rhythms of the earth, water, fire and air.

Beginning with prana vinyasa yoga, yoga trance dance flows into an exploration of free-form, breath driven movement to liberate one’s creative life force and cultivate embodied freedom. Join us for a fun community ritual celebration of dance!

Get ready to move the way love moves!

Vicx Morton

Vicx Morton (London) teaches vinyasa flow yoga which integrates physical fluid movement with breath work(pranayama) with chanting to create a sense of aliveness, calm, clarity & healing. Vicx came to yoga over 18 years ago with a background in dance & gymnastics. She first studied Ashtanga with the likes of John Scott, Gingi Lee, Liz Lark, Danny Paradise, Maria Boox, many of whom are students of K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. She discovered the joy of Vinyasa Flow 8 years ago through Mercedes Ngoh (with whom she completed her first teaching qualification) and over the last 5 years has been studying Prana Vinyasa Flow with Shiva Rea of the Samudra Global School of Living yoga California. Both teachers really helped her to embody and embrace yoga as a way to shift emotional blocks & create a sense of feeling centred & connection to self & the community & world around us.

Bryony Hamerton

A full time yoga instructor since 2008, Bryony completed The Minded Institute 550 hour training in 2017.

Director of the Be-Yoga studio and training school in Sussex, Bryony teaches classes and workshops for students of all ages and physical abilities, Be-Yoga is a place for everyone to enjoy the benefits of yoga.

Working as a trainer for Yogahaven from 2011-2013 was an opportunity for Bryony to mentor many new yoga teachers, she now runs the Be-Yoga Academy which offers a foundation 200-hour course with an emphasis on inclusion and the therapeutic benefits of yoga, in its fourth year now with 95% of trainees currently teaching.

Working as a yoga therapist in the last year Bryony sees clients 1:1 and in small groups.

We know Extinction Rebellion's third demand is that Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice. But what exactly is a Citizens' Assembly? How are they run? Why should we call for one?

Join an interactive conversation with members of the XR Citizens' Assembly working group to find out and have the opportunity to be part of Byline Festival's very own mock Citizens' Assembly.
You will be guided through the process of Citizens' Assembly from formation to deliberation to decision making, all in a single afternoon.
- Learn about how Sortition (the random selection of participants) works and participate in it in action.

- Hear the testimony of a panel of experts and help inform the deliberation on our chosen topic: Demand 2: The Route to Rapid Decarbonisation

- Support the binding decision of Byline's Citizens' Assembly on climate emergency

Chaired by Prof Rupert Read

Most of us now realise that excess carbon in the atmosphere is causing the world to heat, which in turn causes ice caps to melt which raises sea levels, extreme heat waves and droughts. Further in turn erratic weather threatens our food and water sources and shelter, the basics of our survival.

Andrew Simms - Co-Author of The Green New Deal and fellow of the New Economics Foundation.

Anna Hughes - Flight Free UK

We know Extinction Rebellion's third demand is that Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice. But what exactly is a Citizens' Assembly? How are they run? And show are the representatives selected?

Join an interactive conversation with members of the XR Citizens' Assembly working group to find out and have the opportunity to be part of Byline Festival's very own mock Citizens' Assembly.
You will be guided through the process of Citizens' Assembly from formation to deliberation to decision making, all in a single afternoon.
From 1.30pm Learn about how Sortition (the random selection of participants) works and participate in it in action.

From 3pm Hear the testimony of a panel of experts and help inform the deliberation on our chosen topic: Demand 2: The Route to Rapid Decarbonisation

From 4pm Support the binding decision of Byline's Citizens' Assembly on climate emergency

Dark Money & Climate Change Propaganda with

Chair: Malini Mehra

Mat Hope - Editor of DeSmog UK
Nick Mabey - Chief Executive and a founder director of E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism)
Adam Ramsey - co-editor of openDemocracyUK and also works with Bright Green

Chaired by Anita McNaught

We know there is going to be another global recession but we don’t know what will trigger it. We worry about epidemics and antibiotic resistance. We can see many farmers are struggling. We understand our soils are giving out. Many blame over population, others say greed is the problem. The rich are running to the hills but you can’t hide from the climate emergency. At some point, the stressors on our civilisation will become too great and it will break. Where are we most vulnerable? What are the biggest threats that we try not to think about? What could the domino effect be? Our planet is now a game of Jenga.

A conversation between Prof Rupert Read, Systems Collapse expert Dr. Nafeez Ahmed, and author and journalist David Wallace-Wells will discuss their views on the greatest threats we face.

Prof Rupert Read

Author of This Civilisation is Finished, Reader of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia, Green Party Campaigner and chair of the ecological think-tank, Greenhouse. Prof Read is also a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. 

Dr Nafeez Ahmed, 

Academic, journalist, change strategist and author of Failing States, Collapsing Systems: BioPhysical Triggers of Political Violence.

David Wallace-Wells 

Author of bestselling The Uninhabitable Earth and Guardian Journalist. 

You may have seen the logo or heard the name, but you’re still not quite sure what Extinction Rebellion is really about. 3 Demands? 10 Principles? This is starting to make my head hurt.

Come and straighten out the misconceptions in our quick intro talk.

If you’re really enamoured by us, maybe you could head over for an induction in our training space after the talk.

Yoga and meditation provide an opportunity to connect with nature - both our inner nature and our connection to the earth. Explore the relationship between your body-mind and the earth through a guided meditation in movement and in stillness. This session aims to leave you feeling refreshed, inspired, and more connected with yourself, others, and the environment.