Boochani, Fidler, Winch announced in first line-up for Ubud 2019

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) has announced its first guests for the 2019 festival, which will run from 23–27 October in Ubud, Indonesia.

Headlining the festival is Kurdish-Iranian journalist and author Behrouz Boochani, whose memoir No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison (Picador) won the Victorian Prize for Literature at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and a special award at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Boochani will appear at the festival via WhatsApp.

Two Australian guests will appear at this year’s festival: radio presenter and author Richard Fidler and Wiradjuri author Tara June Winch.

Other international guests announced include: Chinese-American writer Jenny Zhang, Indian-American analyst and global theorist Parag Khanna, Zimbabwean-American author Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, American journalist and author Susan Orlean, and Israeli-English chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Indonesian guests include poet and author Laksmi Pamuntjak, Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono and author Lala Bohang.

The full program will include more than 170 authors, artists, and activists from over 30 countries. The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Karma’, which will delve into the impacts of our personal and collective actions on our social and physical environments. ‘At a time when climate change is confronted daily and political certainties are shifting, the ancient spiritual principle will encourage us to ask whether we truly understand the consequences of our actions, and how we can best respond to the actions of others,’ said UWRF in a statement.

An Indonesian film program will run alongside the festival, with screenings of local productions and industry panels.

The full line-up will be released on 13 August. To find out more about this year’s festival, see the website.

Category: Festivals Local news