NT Writers Fest launches 2021 program, new residency for NT writers

The program for the 2021 NT Writers Festival (NTWF), which will be held at the Olive Pink Botanic Garden in Mparntwe/Alice Springs from 26–29 August, has been announced.

Storytellers from the NT will be joined by guests from around the country including Craig Silvey, Rick Morton, Alice Pung, Nardi Simpson, Evelyn Araluen, Mark McKenna, Laura Jean McKay, Fiona Foley and Omar Sakr. Ngukurr Elder and artist Karen Rogers will also appear at the festival, reading from her picture book written in both Kriol and English, Main Abija/My Grandad (A&U).

The festival also features events combining music, song, dance and words such as ‘Full of Sound and Fury: Troublesome Women of Central Australia’, which combines readings and a discussion about historical female figures of the Central Desert Region with arias from the forthcoming Olive Pink Opera performed by Kristina Kidd.

The theme of the 2021 festival ‘Anpernirrentye/Everything is connected’ draws from the Arrernte concept of anpernirrentye, the Arrernte relationship system that describes the way everything is connected to everything else.

Artistic director Dani Powell said, ‘Over the years we have been developing a writers festival shaped by place, so that people not only get to hear from an incredible lineup of writers from across the NT and Australia, but can also immerse themselves in the beauty of this desert environment and come to appreciate the linguistic and cultural diversity of the region.’

The festival also announced the inaugural NTWF Writing Residency, supported by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. This residency offers two writers currently residing in Alice Springs a two-week stipend to enable them to devote themselves to working on a writing project of their choice, along with a free pass to all events at NTWF 2021.

To view the full NTWF program, see the NT Writers’ Centre website.

Kimberley Writers Festival lineup announced

The 2021 Kimberley Writers Festival, to be held from 20–22 August in Kununurra, also announced its lineup earlier this month.

In its 15th year, following a hiatus in 2020 due to Covid-19, the program features authors including Dervla McTiernan, Holden Sheppard, Susan Midalia and Christian White. The festival is supported by Writing WA, the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley, East Kimberley College and Children’s Book Council WA.

For more information see the festival website.

Category: Local news