A LETTER FROM UBUD

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It’s hard to believe it’s already 2010. The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival team is now back on the job, invigorated after a well-deserved rest. And there is movement in the office as the staff prepares to relocate to the Left Bank Lounge, next to Indus Restaurant, the home of the festival. The extra floor space will be a welcome and refreshing change and will also become the venue for some surprising and entertaining literary activities this year. Stay tuned for a schedule of planned events. By February 2010, the crew will be in their shiny new environs, sitting merrily once again, behind their faithful computers!

The 2010 theme is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika: Harmony in Diversity, and will open hot debates on religious dogmas, political ideologies and national allegiances that bitterly divide the world. The questions of universalism and shared humanity will be addressed alongside issues of human rights and the fate of marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Why in a time when the world has never been so informed and aware of diversity and difference do we see fear, intolerance and the force of monoculturalism on the rise? The deliberation on diversity will continue as we unearth a dialogue on living harmoniously with our natural environment, focusing on global warming and warring.

This year the festival welcomes writers from Bosnia, Malta, Argentina and Iran: voices of those seldom heard. Enter the new wave of young Moslem spoken-word performers who use hip-hop to dispel misconceptions of Islam alongside some of the hottest poets in the region. Emerging and established authors from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas will once again take centre stage in four days of conversation, readings, panel discussions, workshops and performances in breathtaking venues across Ubud.

With the festival now in its seventh year, the feasting continues in Ubud’s elegant hotels and magnificent homes with a menu of literary lunches, dinners and cocktail parties in a celebration of words, wine and song. And don’t forget the workshops that teach you the how-to’s of writing from poetry to prose, from journalism to memoir. In fact, this year we promise to be better than ever!

So pencil in the dates and watch this space for updates: October 6-10, 2010.

Warmest regards,
Janet de Neefe
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival
Festival Founder & Director
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia