Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival

An initiative to support new creative writing from Asia and the Pacific brings together academics and literati from Australia, Asia, the Pacific islands and beyond. It will launch the Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership at the 2007 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali this September.

The Partnership supports diversity of cultural expression, and literature that crosses borders. It champions the notion that literature enhances understanding between cultures and seeks to create stronger international interest in new writing from the region.

While the Partnership has had a small presence at literary events in Asia and Australia for the past 18 months, its launch marks the start of a more focused collaborative effort.

Also attending the launch are writers, academics, publishers and literary festival organizers from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and East Timor, as well as representatives from the New South Wales, Northern Territory and Byron Bay writers’ centers.

According to the Partnership’s Australian initiator, Jane Camens, desired outcomes of the inaugural Board meeting include collaborative research projects on writing and identity in the region, mentorship and writing programs, and development of writer centers in the region.

Camens is a former journalist and cofounded Hong Kong’s international literary festival with Chinese-Malaysian writer Shirley Geok-Lin and Sri Lankan writer Nury Vittachi. — JP

The launch of the Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership is at 4 p.m., Thursday Sept. 27, at Indus Restaurant, Ubud. It is a free event for all at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.