Local authors affected by late cancellation of Asian American Literature Festival

A delegation of 10 Australian and New Zealand writers that were due to attend the Asian American Literature Festival in the United States in August have been informed the event will not go ahead.

The festival, which is produced by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), was due to have been the first since 2019 and was expected to draw thousands of attendees to Washington, reports the Washington Post. The newspaper quoted an email from APAC acting director Yao-Fen You in which You stated: ‘We regret deeply the situation and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.’

Leah Jing McIntosh and Rosabel Tan, leaders of the planned local delegation, told the Post they received You’s email while on a planning call for the event. ‘We had just been talking to the festival team, hours earlier, about really very specific logistics,’ said Tan. ‘And it just seemed like it had come out of nowhere.’

The newspaper reported the Australian and New Zealand governments had invested $63,600 in funds for programs they had organised at and around the festival, including a 10-day residency, a reading with New Zealand poet laureate Chris Tse and events at the New Zealand Embassy. The newspaper said Tan and McIntosh had asked the Smithsonian for reimbursement of nearly $24,000 they had spent on flights, visas and other costs, but had received a response offering Tan an honorarium of $750 and McIntosh $250.