The Brisbane Writers Festival has held the place of Queensland’s premier literary event for twelve years.

It brings the world of writing and ideas to Brisbane, and showcases the best of local, national and international writing to Brisbane, and to the world. For five days in September each year the festival takes over the spectacularly re-developed State Library of Queensland (next to the iconic Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery) in the South Bank cultural precinct alongside the Brisbane River.

The Brisbane Writers Festival is more than a Festival for writers, it’s for everyone who reads. From the world’s headlines, climate change, China or the US Elections, BWF is an event that has meaning and relevance to every single one of us, in every aspect of our lives. This year, there are strong personal voices emanating from the pages of the Festival’s books.

The 2008 festival will bring together approximately 220 writers from around the world including some of the world’s leading authors including the winners of some of the world’s most prestigious literary awards including the Man Booker Prize, the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize as well as the winners of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award and the Miles Franklin Literary Award.

The festival runs from the 17th to 21st September 2008. Don’t miss it…

At almost 23 years old, the Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an institution. But it has never been the must-do event in Melbourne’s jam-packed calendar the way other festivals – film, flowers, footy, food and fashion – have. But that’s all changing. A new CEO and a partnership with the brand design consultancy Elmwood have reinvigorated the MWF over the past couple of years. A quirky character called Pencil is writing the future for this Festival. So you might just want to pencil it in!

According to Rosemary Cameron, who became the Festival Director in late 2005, the biggest issue facing the Melbourne Writers Festival was its inaccessibility to a broad audience. It was considered a “serious” writers festival. The concept of “fun” was not part of its brand. As a result casual attendees, including younger people and lay bookworms, were isolated from the Festival.

To increase accessibility and reach new audiences the Festival needed a makeover. It needed a new look & a new program. So what are you waiting for? Catch the festival from the 22nd August to 31st August 2008.

You’ll find new inspiration at the Byron Bay Writers Festival 2008 . Expect new writers with new writing, new ideas and new media. The best of Australian writing awaits, although it may not always wear the face you’d expect!

The Byron Bay Writers Festival had its beginnings in 1997, when a small group of locals led by Chris Hanley wondered whether authors might accept an invitation to spend a winter’s weekend in Byron Bay. They did, and an audience of two hundred locals enjoyed a gathering of fifty Australian writers. Since then, the Festival has grown from a single venue event to fill four huge marquees and venues around town and sells 45,000 individual tickets.

The focus of the program is firmly on Australian writing, with recognition of our physical place in the world through the inclusion of Indonesian and Asian authors. The Byron Bay Writers Festival enjoys a close relationship with the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival and believes that through words and ideas, bridges are formed that cross cultures and schisms. Fundamentally, the Festival provides a forum for intelligent discussion and guests are invited to address the issues that matter to them as writers and which necessarily concern us all. It is a celebration of the vitality of thought and creativity with a healthy emphasis on fun.