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Ubud releases festival program for 2017

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) has released the full program for its 2017 festival, which will run from 25-29 October in Ubud, Indonesia.

Among the newly announced international guests are British-Chinese writer Jung Chang, author of the autobiography Wild Swans; and British writer, journalist and broadcaster Simon Winchester.

Some of the festival’s ‘fresh voices’ include ‘the wild child of the South Korean experimental literary scene’, Han Yujoo; editor of the first English language anthology of Tibetan fiction, Tenzin Dickyi; and Jhoanna Lynn B Cruz, who wrote the Philippines’ first sole-author collection of lesbian-themed stories.

They join other international guests first announced in July, including Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin; Canadian novelist Madeleine Thien; Malaysian author and activist Marina Mahathir; English food writer and cook Fuchsia Dunlop; and Australian authors Saroo Brierley, Tim Flannery, Robert Dessaix and Kate Holden.

Indonesian guests include journalists and authors Leila S Chudori and Seno Gumira Ajidarma; feminist icon Nh Dini; poet Joko Pinurbo.

This year’s festival carries the theme ‘Origins’ and features over 150 speakers from 31 countries. The program explores climate change, poetry in public discourse, travel writing, Iranian literature, and political and social issues in Southeast Asia and Latin America, among other topics.

Festival founder and director Janet DeNeefe said of the program: ‘At a time when the severity of regional and global events leaves us feeling disempowered, it is vital to hear as many different perspectives as possible, and to share with the world Indonesia’s national motto—unity in diversity.’

To see the full program, click here.

 

Category: Festivals Local news