Reflections on the 2007 Writers Festival

The writers from Australia and other countries are gone, live goes on in Ubud. But we like to recall the memories of the 'Event of the year in Ubud'. Let's start with what some of the writers have to say about the 2007 festival:

Miles Merrill summed up his experience with "it was the perfect place for those who tell stories. My dreams were full of spirits and ghosts".

Richard Flanagan claimed our event "was the best I have been to anywhere in the world. It was at its best, an extraordinary bridge between east and west, Muslim and Western, in the most exotic setting, and huge fun to boot. There could be no better answer by the Balinese to the horror of the bombings. Nothing was everyday, everything was joyful, and nobody remained unmoved".

Rana Dasgupta wrote, "Have just arrived back in Delhi and wanted immediately to thank you for a fantastic week in Ubud. The place is of course enchanting, but you also created a wonderful environment for conversation and thought".

Somaya Ramadan added, "It is an experience I shall always remember. The magic of Bali lingers on in my soul and I think I shall find my way back in the near future".

Nury Vittachi sent his good wishes, saying "Like everyone at the festival, I think we were all really thrilled at what a fabulous event it was. It was fabulous. Not just the best Ubud fest, but one of the best lit fests I have ever been to anywhere".

All quotes from the 'Reflections on the 2007 Festival' by festival director Janet de Neefe - read on for the whole article.

There is a funny mix of elation and sadness that comes with the end of each Festival. Elation over the success of the event and sadness at saying farewell to new friends. Somehow this year's line-up of writers was more special than ever - a truly marvellous group of people who came together with a generosity of spirit and extraordinary warmth. If Jeni Caffin, director of Byron Bay Writers Festival, fell in love six times a day, I must have fallen in love twenty times a day - with both the writers and the events.

There were so many wonderful and dynamic writers this year that I can hardly begin to list my favourites. But I would have to say that apart from the charismatic and eloquent Shashi Tharoor (those eyes!), Kiran Desai, Patrick Gale and Richard Flanagan were probably the writers who stole most people's hearts. Richard's carefully prepared papers on asylum-seekers, indigenous people and environmental concerns were so deeply moving that they left me speechless. As Deepika Shetty, Producer of Prime Time Morning on Channel News Asia later said, "Richard was amazing, amazing, amazing. I have yet to meet a man of his intellect who is so supremely grounded". Booker-prize winner, Kiran Desai was a breath of fresh air and her warm, down-to-earth manner was infectious and inspiring while UK writer, Patrick Gale, lived up to his charming reputation of being one of the jolliest writers in literary land.

But it was the Egyptian women, Somaya Ramadan and Iman Mersal, who I loved most of all. Saying farewell to Somaya Ramadan had me close to tears - it was one of the moments where you have to change the topic for fear of crying. And Iman Mersal became my 'Egyptian sister'. We spent most of our nights together, along with the ebb and flow of other writers, sipping wine while she smoked cigarettes in a sultry Lauren Bacall fashion. Her magnetic charm and wit had us laughing for hours. The night she sang Egyptian love songs at the Casa Luna Festival Club was sheer magic and one I will never forget.

Other writers I particularly enjoyed included Indonesian poet, Wiratmadinata, who added great gusto to our wine tasting event; Catherine Lim with her haunting stories of life in Singapore; Miles Merrilll with his theatrical wow-words preached to a packed poetry slam; Cok Sawitri who entered the realms of the seen and the unseen with her cosmic wisdom; and Angelo Suarez who belted out his angst at the Jazz Café. Nury Vittachi used shock tactics to make his mark in the last session of the Festival with an overt display of simulated passion with Indonesian man-killer, Julia Suryakusuma that left the audience both stunned and in stitches.

Tuesday night at the Sofitel Seminyak Bali was the unofficial final night of the Festival featuring the lovely Kiran Desai in a literary dinner with yours truly doing the interviewing. It was a romantic candle-lit affair, with the breezy backdrop of a midnight ocean, silhouetted palm trees and a waning moon. To say it was special is an understatement. Our host and generous sponsor, Dedi Panigoro from Medco Energi, provided a superb dinner with the additional entertainment of a smooth salsa dancing couple and guitar-strumming singing minstrels. No expense was spared. Just another night in paradise!

But let's have a look at what the writer's wrote about Ubud and the Festival.

Miles Merrill summed up his experience with "it was the perfect place for those who tell stories. My dreams were full of spirits and ghosts".

Richard Flanagan claimed our event "was the best I have been to anywhere in the world. It was at its best, an extraordinary bridge between east and west, Muslim and Western, in the most exotic setting, and huge fun to boot. There could be no better answer by the Balinese to the horror of the bombings. Nothing was everyday, everything was joyful, and nobody remained unmoved".

Rana Dasgupta wrote, "Have just arrived back in Delhi and wanted immediately to thank you for a fantastic week in Ubud. The place is of course enchanting, but you also created a wonderful environment for conversation and thought".

Somaya Ramadan added, "It is an experience I shall always remember. The magic of Bali lingers on in my soul and I think I shall find my way back in the near future".

Nury Vittachi sent his good wishes, saying "Like everyone at the festival, I think we were all really thrilled at what a fabulous event it was. It was fabulous. Not just the best Ubud fest, but one of the best lit fests I have ever been to anywhere".

You see what I mean? Wonderful words from a magical mix of people.

Our deepest thanks to everyone who participated in this year's Festival from writers, to audience members to volunteers and sponsors. It was a pleasure to have you all along for the ride and we'll see you in 2008!

Janet De Neefe Read more!

Reason to visit the Ubud Writers Festival

One Reason to Attend the Next Ubud Writers and Readers Festival: "You'll catch one of the festival unique highlights. Such as this.



The above incident occured during the panel titled 'Something to Say', featuring four columnists: Made Wijaya, Shashi Tharoor, Nury Vittachi and Julia Suryakusuma. Deepika Shetty moderated the discussion. The audience could also enjoy a glass of complimentary arak. Enough to fire you up but far from enough to loosen up. So all happened without any chemical influences whatsoever.

In short, Made Wijaya was boring the audience with his long-winded speech and reading. Since Made wouldn't even stop after a couple of hints (Nury pretended to snore, for one), Nury went for more drastic measures with Julia.

And even after all that, Made kept reading.

For the full story, you can read the South China Post article in Nury's blog, or Deepika's post.

Nury's take on the discussion may be the ultimate conclusion of the topic, '[A column]'s not about you. It's about your readers.' About the courage to represent readers, Nury himself claimed that he had been sacked six times and sued nine times. Shashi interjected, 'And the tenth would be from Julia's husband.'

Nury related a story in early 1997, when the Chinese people were concerned about the health of Deng Xiaoping, at the time the leader of Communist Party of China. The government issued an official statement, 'Deng Xiaoping's condition is normal for a man of his age.' In reaction, Nury wrote in his column, 'The normal condition for a 92-year-old man is DEATH.' And fate showed that it has a sense of irony. Not long after that, Deng Xiaoping passed away. And so Nury got himself into some troubles.

He finished on this note, 'A column isn't just a privilege. It's something that you must use, to get sacked or sued for.'

(Source The Fool Has Landed.)

Read more!

2008 Ubud literary fest October 14 - 19

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:

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.

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.

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.

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. Read more!

Travel warnings for Australia, London and New York

While we were travelling the States and especially Hawaii last year it sprang to my mind, that the US and other governments are using travel warnings as a tool to keep tourists away for the sake of their own tourist industries. The only room below 100 bucks we found on Hawaii's famed Waikiki beach strip was smelling strongly and restaurants were competing in restricting guests personal freedom - most amusing to see how lovers got separated through an invisible smokers fence, which does not allow to smoke inside of open air properties, but only in a distance of approx. 6 meters from it's borders.

One of the world’s leading travel writers has just emerged from trips to Australia and Bali bemused at the huge difference between the fears about Bali often generated in this country and the exquisitely rich and tranquil experiences of those who actually visit there.
Pico Iyer – author of eight books whose articles are published worldwide in magazines such as Time, the New York Times and the Financial Times – says he encountered superb security, among the best in Asia, and “Aussies who couldn't believe that so many of their friends and neighbors were staying at home”.

He also found the island was bustling and crowded with visitors from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other parts of Asia while many Australians missed out on the attractions of one of the top destinations in the world. Asian millionaires were flying in hundreds of guests for weddings while the Japanese (among the world’s most security conscious people) were coming in record numbers because it is one of the places where they feel most able to relax, he says.

“The island struck me as far safer than Los Angeles, where I maintain a home, or Delhi, which I visited soon afterwards, or New York, or carjack-filled London, or most of the places I visit. The murder rate in American cities has long been higher than even in cities in the midst of civil war, and since the September 11 attacks it is even more the case that places like New York, Paris, Madrid or London are less safe than less high-profile places. Certainly, I felt much safer in Ubud, say, or Nusa Dua, in Bali, where I was staying to promote the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in September than I do in Southern California or in London.
 
“I met many Australians in Bali who couldn't believe that their friends and neighbors back home asked about danger in Bali when, statistically, it remains one of the safer places in Asia. “Indeed, I found myself in my hotel talking every day to an 80 year-old gentleman from Perth who had come to spend four months on the island, even though he was wheelchair-bound. After a lifetime in the hotel industry, living everywhere and grateful to be based in Perth since 1946, he couldn't stop telling me how HAPPY and well taken care of he felt in Bali, to the point where he was taking the first extended vacation of his life there.” (more...) Read more!

September 2007 - Writers and Readers come to Ubud

The dates for the next Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2007 have been set to the 27-30 September 2007. The theme this time is Sekala Niskala : The Seen and Unseen.

The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival has itself established as a stand-out, world class event in the Asia Pacific region. The festival attendance in 2006 doubled the year before and festival organisers said feedback from 2006’s event was better than ever. And they continue: 'Of course, all of this would not be possible without the support and enthusiasm of the festival’s many sponsors, scores of volunteers and the community of Ubud'.

We promise to keep you updated, but please mark the last week of September already as 'have to go to Ubud'. Read more!