Held annually in Ubud, Bali’s cultural heartland, the festival is Southeast Asia’s flagship literary organisation.
Praised worldwide for its diverse and intimate program, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival gathers over 150 of the world’s most exciting writers, thinkers, and performers for five days of electrifying conversation, thoughtful debate, and joyful celebration of literary culture. Alongside author in-conversations and panel discussions are a wide-ranging offering of Indonesian dance and performance, literary lunches, guided tours of Ubud’s famous markets, temples and rice fields, late night comedy, musical, and spoken word galas, as well as book launches, workshops, and events designed to enrich and inspire the imaginations of emerging writers and young people.
Over the years, we have presented the likes of Nick Cave, Richard Flanagan, Hanya Yanagihara, Jeffrey Eugenides, Colson Whitehead, Anne Enright, Teju Cole, Yotam Ottolenghi, Fatima Bhutto, Amitav Ghosh, Mohsin Hamid, Etgar Keret, Audrey Magee, Shehan Karunatilaka, and many more—all in friendly, relaxed, and beautiful tropical surroundings.
In 2023, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary edition. Conceived in 2003 as a community-healing response to the first Bali bombing, the last two decades has seen the festival grow significantly and develop a loyal audience.
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We’re excited to introduce Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana as the official Ambassador of Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, the driving force behind the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and the Ubud Food …
In the lead-up to this year’s Festival, our new Head of International Programming, Hannah Curtis, sat down with us to talk about her new position, the aspirations for the future …
Sister festival:
