EWF 2025: ‘tending to and forging of community’

The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) had its ‘most successful’ festival since 2018, according to organisers.

In 2025, the festival hosted 240 artists in 79 events over 8 days, almost doubling the number of events from 2024, which saw 49 events run over 11 days.

EWF also reported that more than 3300 attendees took part in the festival.

EWF artistic director and co-CEO Jess Zanoni said, ‘EWF this year far surpassed what we had hoped, our most successful and fortuitous festival since 2018, and compared to last year’s eleven-day festival. EWF25 saw eight days of celebration, deep listening, and the tending to and forging of community. Important conversations were had, yielding both laughter and tears. New skills & perspectives were discovered, relationships were built, and at any given workshop, the flurry of pen to paper, inspiration in full flow.

‘We are so grateful to have the amazing community that we do. Thank you to each and every artist and festival-goer, and to all the phenomenal venues and partners that we worked with to make this year’s festival happen.’

EWF board chair Gab Ryan said, ‘This year’s festival was immense in ambition, heart, mind and impact, stretching out across the city and into the regions, while cultivating a vibrant hub at its inner city home in the Wheeler Centre building. It was invigorating to see so many different venues, writers, partnerships, and ways of engaging in storytelling work together to provide a foundation for emerging writers and the literary community at large.’

More information about the festival is available on the festival website.

Category: Local news