Full program announced for Ubud 2023

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) has announced the full line-up for its 20th-anniversary festival program, which will run from 18–22 October 2023 in Ubud, Indonesia.

Australian and New Zealand speakers at the festival include authors Anna Funder, Geraldine Brooks, Leigh Sales, Behrouz Boochani, Annabel Crabb, Tracey Lien, André Dao, Kathryn Heyman, Adolfo Aranjuez and Broede Carmody; Melbourne Writers Festival program manager Sonia Nair; former New Zealand Poet Laureate Chris Tse; documentary producer Kirsti Melville; and academics Omid Tofighian and Edwin Jurriëns.

International guests include Booker Prize winners Bernardine Evaristo and Shehan Karunatilaka, as well as International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree. Among local Indonesian speakers are senior journalists and writers Goenawan Mohamad and Leila S Chudori, novelist, artist and screenwriter Putu Wijaya, and cultural icon Sujiwo Tedjo.

Chudori, who won the 2020 SEA Writes Award for the translation of The Sea Speaks His Name (Penguin), said, ‘After 20 years, I’ve always considered the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival as a home for writers and readers, to create, to share, to learn, while engaging in discussions with each other. A fragment of my novel was written there … a few years later, the same novel was also launched at the 2017 festival, as one of the materials to be discussed. I hope the UWRF will continue to be a home for the global book community, providing a safe yet passionate space for all. Happy rebirth, UWRF!’

Also announced was the appointment of Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana as festival ambassador by UWRF parent organisation Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati. In her capacity as ambassador, DeNeefe Suardana will be responsible for presenting the festival to the public, partners, and friends of the foundation, as well as raising awareness about the festival’s impact on promoting literacy and cultural exchange.

Another recent appointment to UWRF was Hannah Curtis as head of international programming. Curtis is a literary programmer who has worked at National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of NSW, and the Melbourne Art Book Fair. She replaces Gene Smith, who has joined the Emirates Literature Foundation.

The full UWRF program is available on the festival website.

Category: Local news