Pascoe withdraws from Perth and Adelaide festival events

Author Bruce Pascoe has withdrawn from scheduled appearances at Perth Festival and Adelaide Writers’ Week, citing a need to return to his bushfire-affected home in East Gippsland.

Pascoe announced he would cancel upcoming appearances via a statement from his publisher, Magabala Books, last week.

‘Bruce has made the difficult decision to scale back his various commitments so he can focus on addressing the damage on his property and assist in the recovery efforts in his local community,’ said Magabala. ‘Bruce sincerely apologies for the inconvenience this may cause. Bruce is grateful for the support he and his local community of Mallacoota have received from across Australia and around the world following the devastating bushfires.’

Perth Festival Literature & Ideas curator Sisonke Msimang said: ‘Bruce Pascoe is a great Australian and I offer the Festival’s warmest wishes and support as he deals with the terrible personal and community impact of this bushfire emergency.’

Adelaide Writers’ Week director Jo Dyer said: ‘Whilst we are very disappointed that Bruce is no longer able to join us at Adelaide Writers’ Week this year, we completely understand his need to prioritise his community and the rehabilitation of his property. It has been a sobering and unsettling start to the year and we know Bruce has been at the heart of the fire crisis. He has our admiration and support and we hope he can join us in Adelaide in 2021.’

Pascoe recently faced sustained criticism from conservative commentators including Andrew Bolt over his 2014 book Dark Emu, and was also the subject of a public dispute over his Aboriginal heritage, which was ultimately dismissed by the Australian Federal Police.

Category: Local news