melbourne writers festival

The 2009 dates for the Melbourne Writers Festival has been confirmed for Friday, August 21 to Sunday, August 30 2009

Founded in 1986 as a joint initiative between the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and the City of Melbourne, the Melbourne Writers’ Festival was set up to raise awareness of the importance of the contribution of writers and their work to Australian society and also foster and encourage interest in literature generally, especially amongst the young. It was to provide a forum for intellectual and cultural debate on a local, national and international scale.

In 2008, the Festival bids a fond farewell to its base for 18 years, The CUB Malthouse Theatre. The new Festival hub will be in the heart of Melbourne in Federation Square, giving it a prime location to attract new audiences, both young and old. There will also be new explorations in subject and technology. Ambitious plans are afoot to video-stream interviews with authors from around the globe on the Square’s video screen and have closer links to other festivals, particularly the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The Festival has already entered the connected world of blogging and even has its own myspace page. The old world of “smokers huddling outside the Malthouse” Dorothy Porter spoke of can prolong that sense of festival togetherness via the internet all year round. Go to www.myspace.com/melbwritersfest. That old festival charm is being taken in new and exciting directions.

You can subscribe to the Melbourne Writers Festival e-newsletter by going to their site at www.mwf.com.au.