‘One of the top six writers festivals in the world’ - Harper’s Bazaar, UK, 2007
14 – 19 October 2008
It was, and is, and hopefully will always be a wonderfully intimate festival. I have made great friends of writers and readers, heard exciting talks, and eaten meals I did not know existed. Booker prize-winning author Michael Ondaatje, 2005
Where East meets West – a literary celebration like no other.
There will be unparalleled dialogue this year in Ubud.
The theme for UWRF 2008 is Tri Hita Karana, a Balinese Hindu concept that translates as the relationship between God, Humanity and Nature.
Invited international guests include acclaimed Indian author Vikram Seth, US novelist John Berendt, award-winning UK writer Caryl Phillips, Mexican author Alberto Ruy-Sanchez, Australians Alexis Wright and Helen Garner and 2007 Man Booker Prize short-listed writers Indra Sinha and Mohsin Hamid.
The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival has become the stage where voices from China, India, South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are heard. In 2008, we will engage writers from beyond Asia into the heart of Africa and Central America.
Collision of cultures will be one of the underlying themes with established and emerging writers confronting the issues of ‘Us and Them’. Issues such as the environment, world religions, languages and lifestyles will be explored together with the subject of migration and its impact on communities. Hot debates addressing crime and punishment in Asia, and more specifically drugs, civil rights and moral dilemmas, will take centre-stage.
Satisfy your hedonistic passions with our acclaimed stars by luxuriating in the lush surroundings of Ubud’s elegant hotels and gracious homes at our literary lunches and dinners. Join our Long Table feast in the rice fields featuring acclaimed chefs and food writers as they showcase Bali’s vibrant food culture. Enjoy workshops that teach the craft of writing or cultural activities that offer a peak into the mystical, magical world of Bali, in between book launches, performances, exhibitions, cocktail parties and celebrations into the early hours of the morning.
And if that is not enough, the 2008 Festival will take to the streets, literally, with international street performers matching their wits against Ubud’s youth in a carnival of skill and artistry.
Ubud lies on the fertile crossroads of two rivers, two oceans and two continents and is fast reinventing itself as a meeting place for writers, poets and artists from all parts of the world.
The festival was the best I have been to anywhere in the world… an extraordinary bridge between east and west, Muslim and Western, in the most exotic setting, and huge fun to boot. Richard Flanagan, Australia, 2007
Please check our website regularly for updates and news. A full program will be available in August.