A new literary festival is landing in Hobart, bringing 60 authors together for five days of conversations, panels and performances.
The Island Readers and Writers Festival will run from May 28 to June 1, featuring a mix of established names and emerging voices from across the country.
Of the 60 authors taking part, 40 are Tasmanian.
Program curator Jane Rawson said she is excited about the calibre of writers involved, including Hannah Kent, Robbie Arnott and Booker Prize-shortlisted author Steve Toltz.
“I am super excited to have Evelyn Araluen coming to Hobart,” she told Pulse.
“She is such an interesting social commentator and a thrilling poet.”
“We don’t often get writers, great First Nations writers coming down here from the mainland and so I’m really excited to hear what she has to say.”
Rawson said she is also looking forward to seeing reclusive Tasmanian writer Amanda Lohrey on stage, along with graphic novelist and picture book creator Shaun Tan.
She said festivals like this matter now more than ever, given the tough times facing writers and publishers.
“I feel like this is a time when the world is super, super complicated,” she said.
“I wanna hear from authors, particularly fiction authors, about how they imagine a better future for us.”
“These are people who spend their whole lives thinking, ‘How might things be different? How can I make things up?'”
Produced by Island, Tasmania’s leading literary organisation since 1979, the festival has been funded by the state government as a one-off, but Rawson is hoping a strong turnout will make the case for it to return.
“I am hoping that loads of people will come along, that everyone will really enjoy it and that we will show the government and politicians that this is something that Tasmanians want,” she said.
“And that we love and that we value and that we’d like to see it again in the future.”
The program includes panels on topics ranging from animals in fiction to what really counts as a Tasmanian story, along with masterclasses for writers looking to sharpen their craft.
Venues include The Hedberg, the University of Tasmania’s new forestry building and Bevs.
A series of free events is also on offer, including live readings from Tasmanian storytellers and sessions for aspiring authors on how to build a writing career.
