The event, now in its second year, took place at various locations throughout the Bellinger Valley and featured authors, poets and musicians from northern NSW.

High-profile authors Morris Gleitzman, Robert Drew and Richard Glover were also in attendance.

Local writers and musicians were also given the chance to showcase their work in a free “talking tent” at Meeting Place Park.

Festival artistic director John Bennett said attendance had increased at the weekend.

“This year is bigger, we have more events and over 50 writers, whereas last year it was 30 writers,” he said. “We’ve had beautiful weather, we have a much more professional talking tent set up and the vibes have been terrific.”

He said one of the more unique components of the festival was Paddle With A Poet, where patrons canoed up the Bellinger River and listened to poetry in the outdoors.

“We stepped on the riverbank and the poets read some poems, and it was wonderful having space to breathe and hearing poems in a different environment,” he said.

Armidale was well represented at the festival, with local author Sophie Masson, poet Michael Sharkey and staff and students from the UNE School of Arts taking part in sessions and discussions.

Mrs Masson launched her new children’s novel, Boggle Hunters on Saturday and visited several schools as part of the festival.

“It’s really important for regional writers, but also for regional readers to realise that they can also enjoy the whole festival atmosphere, meet some of their favourite authors and find out a lot of stuff without having to go far away,” she said.

UNE writing senior lecturer, Dr Jeremy Fisher said the atmosphere at the festival was more relaxed and intimate than its metropolitan counterparts.

“It reminds me of other festivals I’ve been to outside major cities, such as in Alice Springs and Darwin, where you get a very comfortable feeling and people are relaxed in terms of how they’re engaging with both writers and reading,” he said.