Reading and writing – They always seem to be one step away: Readers and authors mostly don’t meet each other. But activities like Writers’ Festivals try to create chances for them to meet, in order to close the gap between them. That’s probably why Writers‘ Festivals are so popular in Australia. In 1962 there was only one but by 2012 there were over 30 and they have steadily increased in size and scope.
Among other Australian Writers’ Festivals, the Sydney Writers’ Festival plays the most important role. It’s Australia’s largest annual celebration of literature and ideas and it is truly enormous – the third largest event of its kind in the world. Each year, it hosts nearly 300 local and international writers in some 300 events, attracting a 100,000 plus crowd. As a non-profit organization, the goal of the Sydney Writers’ Festival is to bring together writers from various forms and backgrounds, including the best contemporary novelists, screenwriters, musicians and writers of cutting edge nonfiction, and some of the world’s leading public intellectuals, scientists and journalists. With the finest writing and storytelling at its core, its programming is driven by the ideas and issues that animate all types of literature.
This year, famous writers, such as Gloria Steinem, Kate Tempest and Jonathan Franzen, will feature at the festival and share their thoughts with the audience.
You can find the live stream from the Sydney Writers’ Festival on May 21 on whats live?.
Source: Sydney Writers‘ Festival / Australian Government
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