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Sydney Writers' Festival

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Sydney Writers' Festival
GenreLiterary festival
BeginsMay
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Years active27
Inaugurated1997
Participants300
Attendance100,000
Websitewww.swf.org.au

The Sydney Writers' Festival (SWF) is an annual literary festival held in Sydney in May, with the inaugural festival taking place in 1997. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

History

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The festival began in January 1997,[1][2] with most events initially held at the State Library of New South Wales. The first independent Sydney Writers' Festival ran from 12 to 17 May 1998, with 169 participants appearing in venues in, and around, the centre of Sydney.

Since then, the Festival has rapidly expanded. Events have also been held at venues stretching across Sydney, including Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney Town Hall, City Recital Hall, and Sydney Opera House. Events are also regularly held in regional and suburban locations including Parramatta, Ashfield, Auburn, Blacktown, Bankstown, Campbelltown, Hornsby, Penrith, Blue Mountains and Wollongong.

The Festival moved from Walsh Bay to Carriageworks in May 2018 (as Walsh Bay was undergoing a major refurbishment).

The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[3]

Now held mid-to-late May each year, the Festival involves over 400 participants and presents over 300 events. Approximately one-third of all Sydney Writers' Festival events are free of charge. Festival attendances have reached over 90,000 each year since 2007.[citation needed]

Sydney Writers' Festival Limited is a not-for-profit company with an independent board of directors.

Chairs of SWF

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Past and present chairs of the festival include:[citation needed]

Artistic directors

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Artistic directors for festival years include:[citation needed]

  • 1998: John Nieuwenhuizen, with Meredith Curnow the Program Director. Meredith Curnow became Festival Director for the period *1999–2002: Meredith Curnow
  • 2003–2006: Caro Llewellyn (AD & CEO)
  • 2007-2009: Wendy Were (AD & CEO)
  • 2010–2012: Chip Rolley
  • 2013–2016: Jemma Birrell
  • 2017–2020: Michaela McGuire (appointed November 2016)[4]
  • 2021–2022 : Michael Williams, interim director (since August 2020)[5]
  • 2022– : Ann Mossop

Executive directors

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  • 2009–2014: Ben Strout[citation needed]
  • 2015: Jo Dyer ED from 2015; promoted to CEO in November 2016, when she also joined the Festival board of directors.[4]
  • 2018–2021: Chrissy Sharp, CEO[4] [6]
  • 2021– Brooke Webb

Past international guests

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Past guests have included:

Past local guests

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Closing address

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Organisational structure

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The festival is led by CEO Brooke Webb and programmed by the Artistic Director, Michael Williams.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Dessaix, Robert (24 January 1997). "After The Plague". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  2. ^ a b Tom, Emma (11 January 1997). "The Best Young Australian Novelists 1997". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  3. ^ Sydney Writers’ Festival cancelled for 2020 Mumbrella 17 March 2020
  4. ^ a b c "McGuire appointed SWF artistic director". Books + Publishing. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  5. ^ Steger, Jason (17 August 2020). "Michael Williams joins Sydney Writers' Festival as interim director". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Sharp steps down from SWF; new head of sales, publicity manager for Hachette". Books+Publishing. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Alan Duff on Both Sides of the Moon". Book Talk on Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 1999. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Program Summaries and Transcripts". Books and Writing on Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1999. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  9. ^ "Events". Festival News 2002. University of Technology Sydney. 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Program Summaries and Transcripts". Books and Writing on Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Highlights from Festival 2003". Festival 2003. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Highlights from Festival 2004". Festival 2004. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2004. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Highlights from Festival 2005". Festival 2005. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Highlights from Festival 2006". Festival 2006. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  15. ^ a b "Highlights from Festival 2007". Festival 2007. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  16. ^ a b "Highlights from Festival 2008". Festival 2008. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Highlights from Festival 2009". Festival 2009. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Highlights from Festival 2010". Festival 2010. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  19. ^ "Festival Nights". Festival 2012. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  20. ^ a b c Haroldson, Peter. "Sydney Writers' Festival 2013". Sydney Life. Destination New South Wales. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Sydney Writers Festival 20–28 May 2017" (PDF). Sydney Writers Festival. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Program Summaries and Transcripts". Books and Writing on Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2001. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  23. ^ "Highlights". Festival 2012. Sydney Writers' Festival. 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  24. ^ "2017 Closing Address : Susan Faludi". Sydney Writers Festival. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  25. ^ "Executive office". Sydney Writers Festival. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
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