A low-key, alternative to round off your festival

Join us to offer your thoughts and opinions as to how Byline Festival can not only be more sustainable as we grow but how we can grow our positive social impact

Discuss with the XR activists lobbying at the local level

This rebellion is being led by the youth, hear what they have to say

Taking home what empowers you . This workshop will help you to identify and align with what energises you and fits with your life’s path, by developing intuition and mindful awareness.

This workshop is for everyone but will include meditation, so it is not suitable for young children who may get distracted, but I always encourage young people to join the discussions.

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.

The Chipko ('embrace') movement started 40 years ago where people in the Himalayas would embrace the trees to stop deforestation. Now, more than ever, our Earth needs us to embrace it. Come and enjoy some electronic beats ranging from house to quirky to techno and hug this planet through dance.

Celebrities have an annoying habit of being too important, or too dead, to perform on the UK comedy circuit. But a new, fool-proof system allows largely fool-based improv troupe Amorphous Horse to bring a prominent figure of your choosing to life before your very eyes.

Join them as they summon the great and the good through the magic of Wikipedia, then use the celebrity monsters they’ve created to inspire comedic scenes. Past luminaries have included Nicolas Cage, Mary Queen of Scots, Tupac Shakur and Keith Chegwin.

Fun, fast and feminist!

No explanations, no apologies and no pause for breath.

Derek's MoJo are two improvisers out to entertain and challenge the world one story at a time.

Think loud, think fast, think OMG did that just really happen?

A completely improvised high octane adventure inspired by the audience's suggestions.

#BAME #Queer #WomenOfAllAges #PlusSize #Multicultural #Improv #Storytelling #Comedy

“Derek’s Mojo are full of energy, funny and captivating. The audience loved them.” Guleraana Mir, Early Bloom Festival 2018

"If you book improv shows book Derek's Mojo they are brilliant" Steve Roe, Hoopla Improv

"Improv Acts You MUST See in 2019" The Phoenix Remix

Get your funny on as Elle Bert leads us through an evening where you get to take the stage and try out your best new material. Take inspiration from our festival themes or write your own piece, it’s completely up to you. If you want to have your chance on the Byline stage sign up by emailing festival@byline.com. Please title: Comedy open mic and send us your name where you are from and a funny/quirky fact about yourself. All you need to do is prepare a 3-5 minutes stand up set on whatever topic you like. Your spotlight will be turned on at 7pm on Saturday 24th August on the Rebel Rebel Stage. The funniest stand up will be able to perform with House of Comedy at midnight on Sunday 25th (Rehearsals will be provided on the Sunday). Elle Bert our MC extrordinaire will also be running a stand-up workshop on Saturday at noon! Head over to the workshop tents to hone your set before you take the stage.

Joanna is a multi-award-winning comedian, who was nominated for Best Newcomer Comedy Award at Edinburgh Fringe for her first solo comedy show and nominated for Best Show at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival in 2016. She specialises in her own highly original character comedy shows, which always include interpretive dance. As well as live shows, Joanna played Judith in Ideal for BBC for six series, and other TV and radio.

Joanna is currently touring a new show with Ben Moor called Booktalkbooktalkbook and  a new solo comedy show for 2019 called Wife On Earth (3000 Light Years From Doing The Ironing)

Laughter Yoga is a non-bendy, non-intrusive, all-inclusive, fun ‘workout’ that deals with all stress!

Laughter Yoga helps people benefit tremendously mentally as well as emotionally, and to boost their physical health as they laugh regularly. This is a combination of laughter exercises, clapping, Breathing and relaxation. It was developed by Dr Madan Kataria in Mumbai and is now in over 100 countries worldwide. Benefits include, Increased oxygen to the brain, stress reduction via the release of endorphins and pain relief via the release of dopamine. It is suitable for all ages and abilities.

UnitedMind specialise in long-lasting personal and professional growth through laughter, joyfulness, happiness and holistic health in the workplace, the community, and at home.

For more than 15 years UnitedMind has provided workshop and training programmes for teams and individuals across the UK and the rest of Europe.

Gavin Turk (b 1967) is a British born, international artist. He has pioneered many forms of contemporary British sculpture now taken for granted, including the painted bronze, the waxwork, the recycled art-historical icon and the use of rubbish in art.

Turk’s installations and sculptures deal with issues of authorship, authenticity and identity. Concerned with the ‘myth’ of the artist and the ‘authorship’ of a work, Turk’s engagement with this modernist, avant-garde debate stretches back to the ready-mades of Marcel Duchamp.

Turk has recently been commissioned to make several public sculptures including L'Âge d'Or (2016), sited on the south corner of the Press Centre building in the Olympic Park and Nail, a 12-meter sculpture at One New Change, next to St Paul’s cathedral, London, England.

Introduced by Anita McNaught 

Human society as we know it is coming to an end. The unfolding climate crisis will bring us global famines, mass human migration, devastating weather conditions, and in all likelihood, the breakdown of civilisation.  This is becoming the consensus. This panel will discuss how we need to shift our attention to deal with this future. ‘Deep Adaptation’, a phrase coined by Professor Jem Bendell, takes climate-induced societal collapse as now unpreventable. This pragmatic view of what lies ahead proposes instead that resilience, relinquishment, and restoration, is what we need to focus on for the human race to survive.

Prof Rupert Read

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

Marc Lopatin. 

Marc has worked closely with Prof Jem Bendell co-authoring articles for the Huffington Post. Marc is also a former communications consultant for UN Environment and Royal Dutch Shell and journalist for papers such as the Guardian and the Independent. 

Roger Hallam. 

Roger is one of the founders of the most talked about direct action groups of the 21st century, Extinction Rebellion.

The environmental movement has surfaced in recent years as a white, middle-class-led movement, however for the last few decades people across the world, predominantly from the Global South, have been fighting the injustices of the western society, one that has brought the worst consequences of climate breakdown to the people who contribute to it the least, by those who contribute the most. Come and listen to members of Extinction Rebellion discuss how we can transform a white-majority led, white-majority issues campaign into an intersectional struggle that incorporates an understanding of and commitment to eradicating colonialism, structural racism, and other forms of systemic oppression that lie at the heart of our ecological crisis.

Join the author’s of ‘This is Not a Drill - an Extinction Rebellion Handbook’ to discuss this book of truth and action. It has facts to arm you, stories to empower you, pages to fill in and pages to rip out, alongside instructions on how to rebel. The author’s will take you through the process of writing this book as well as answer your burning questions about Extinction Rebellion.

By the time you leave this talk you will have become an Extinction Rebellion activist.

In the past year over 100,000 have joined Extinction Rebellion (XR) to rebel against the British Government for criminal in-action on the climate crisis. Why has this happened and what changes is XR bringing about? Are we going to be able to deal with the climate and ecological emergency and, if so, how? Roger Hallam, co-founder and a strategist for XR, will provide an outline of was has happened and what comes next.

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.

Jane Simpson with over 15 years experience having tried out a huge range of classes from South Indian ashrams and strong Hatha, in 2009 she completed a BWY training, and more recently with the excellent Jamie Blowers. Her classes will be hard working but full of cheek and fun. Not exactly a size 10 and with limited range she has always championed classes for all.