MEDIA RELEASE Embargo: Friday July 7 2006
The word is out in Cradle Coast Poetry with coffee, words with wine and writing in the in the wilderness are among more than 20 Tasmanian Living Writers’ Week events in the Cradle Coast Region, launched in Hobart today (see embargo) by the Minister for Tourism, Arts and the Environment Paula Wreidt.
The festival’s 30-page program of reading and writing will be held around the state from Friday 11th to Sunday 20th August
Cradle Coast arts@work Project Officer, Nicki Fletcher, said the festival would be celebrating words in over a hundred ways.
“Writers are naturally inventive and the local response to our call for creative community events for Living Writers’ Week has been marvelous.
“Cafés in and around Devonport will be serving poems as a side-dish, well-known wine columnists will be waxing lyrical at local vineyards, there will be art exhibitions featuring words and creative writing workshops will be held on both weekends of the festival,” she said.
One of the feature events is a West Coast Tasmanian wilderness writing adventure which includes a rail journey, Gordon River cruise and helicopter flight to Discovery Beach with Tasmanian authors who have published books about the region.
Ms Fletcher said a Poet-Tree competition was being held by the Tasmanian Aboretum at Eugenana and members of parliament would be encouraging people to nominate their favourite books for ‘The Tassie Mixed Dozen’ in the lead-up to the event.
“This festival which has mostly free events celebrates the depth and diversity of Tasmanian writing in all its forms, and is as much for people who love to read as it is for writers,” Ms Fletcher said.
The full program of events will be available in libraries from next week and will be delivered to households in the region on 5th of August. It is available on the arts@work website on www.artsatwork.com.au
ENDS
For further information contact: Nicki Fletcher arts@work Project Officer Cradle Coast Authority Ph 6431 6284 Mb 0417 221 260 Email: nfletcher@cradlecoast.com