The Director of Newcastle Writers Festival has appealed to the community for support after the popular event was postponed a second time due to COVID-related logistics.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Newcastle Writers Festival was due to be held from September 24 to 26 this year, but its tentative postponement until April 2022 was announced on Thursday.
“It’s disappointing because we hoped that by moving from our initial date in April [2021] to September that we were taking a safe option,” NWF Director Rosemarie Milsom said. “We were giving the country time to recover. Going on predictions from last year, we thought vaccinations were going to be a lot further along than they are.”
The announcement came as NSW recorded 239 overnight COVID cases. In addition to the health risks of holding the event, which usually draws a crowd of 10,000, a number of Sydney writers were due to present at the festival, creating uncertainty as to whether they could travel to Newcastle.
“It’s disappointing because it’s a lot of work,” Milsom said. “Creating a program with 120 writers is a lot and the program was done.”
Festival organisers made the decision to postpone now rather than wait to see what happens in Sydney in August.
“Unlike last year, where we were three weeks away from the festival and we had spent a lot of money, paid for accommodation and flights, here we decided to take a safer option,” Milsom said.
Newcastle Writers Festival relies on ticket sales as its main revenue source. The event was cancelled in 2020, now marking two years without income. It has prompted Milsom to appeal to the community for donations.
“We know people are doing it hard and we aren’t putting any pressure on people. But if people could spare some money, it would be really appreciated,” Milsom said.
Resources will be funnelled into a free online writing program for primary school students to be held on September 14. In previous years the program has attracted positive feedback from teachers and students. It will feature award-winning author Maxine Beneba Clarke and illustrator Graeme Base.
Entries for the $5000 Fresh Ink Emerging Writers Program closed at the end of July. A separate ceremony to announce the winner is hoped to go ahead later this year.
“COVID is a really good example of what books and writing can do. I think we’ve all turned to reading in much higher numbers since COVID took hold,” Milsom said.
“I think we rely on writers and storytelling to help lift us up, particularly when we feel like everything is gloomy. I think we are drawn to stories. They help bring us together and connect us as a community and I think that’s what the festival does so well.”
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Lauren Freemantle