tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7903215.post-72390024732232154272007-10-03T17:48:00.000+08:002007-10-03T18:26:25.309+08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1052/1457782096_bae9d3a6e6_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1052/1457782096_bae9d3a6e6_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">After nearly hundred literary events the Ubud Writers and Readers festival 2007 has come to a succesful end. Trisha Setori, contributor to the Jakarta Post has the story:</span><br /><br />The 2007 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival closed late last week with a promise of an even bigger festival next year. The gala closing event was held at the Blanco Renaissance Museum during an evening of dance and music.<br /><br />Festival director and founder Janet De Neefe said South American writer Isabelle Allende was already lined up for next year's event, which will run from Oct. 14 to 19.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />The festival is a boon for the local economy, worth hundreds of millions of rupiah, according to Ngurah Wijaya of the Bali Tourism Board. He said the festival was helping to turn around a tourist industry that has been ailing since the two terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005."While the festival is economically valuable, its power to inspire writers and readers is a repeat of the 1930s when writers told the world about Bali," said Wijaya.<br /><br />More than 600 participants joined this year's festival, nearly double the previous year."This festival was extra special. We doubled our sales and there was a wonderful energy in the combination of writers, readers and events," said De Neefe on the sidelines of the closing ceremony.</span>Paradise Newsnoreply@blogger.com