PA/02/08 25 January 2008
Flavour of Australian writing in India
Celebrated Indigenous writer Alexis Wright participates at the 2008 Jaipur Literature Festival
Continuing the Australian participation at the 2007 Jaipur Literature Festival, Alexis Wright, one of Australia’s best-known Indigenous authors, will feature at the 2008 festival. Ms Wright will participate in a discussion on Pen as a Sword along with Indian author, Indra Sinha, in conversation with Shoma Choudhary (12:15 pm on 26 January)
Touring India with sponsorship from the Australia-India Council (AIC), Ms Wright will additionally participate in an Australian studies conference in Ajmer (27 – 28 Jan); the Kolkata Book Fair (1 Feb) and the New Delhi World Book Fair (6 Feb). She will also speak at select schools and universities teaching Australian Literature in Jaipur, New Delhi and Kolkata.
“Given the considerable interest in India in Aboriginal writing, as well as Australian heritage, art and culture, we are pleased to be able to present Alexis Wright, who is one of Australia’s best known indigenous authors,” said Mr John McCarthy, Australian High Commissioner to India.
“There is a growing interest in Australian writing in India, shown by the overwhelming response a number of eminent Australian authors like Peter Carey and Tom Keneally have received while touring India in recent years,” he added. “I am sure the work of Ms Wright will receive appreciation in India and will strike a chord with the Indian taste for heritage and culture”, said Mr McCarthy.
Ms Wright’s novel Carpentaria (Giramondo, 2006) won several awards, including the 2007 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Central to the book are the issues of land rights, mining and social issues affecting Aboriginal people. Her other works include Grog War, Plains of Promise and Take Power.
A writer, researcher, and social commentator, Ms Wright has worked for many years on campaigns for Aboriginal land rights, Indigenous self-government and constitutional change in the Northern Territory, and for the prevention of Indigenous injury. Ms Wright is a member of the Waanyi nation of the southern highlands of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Ms Wright holds the position of Distinguished Fellow at the University of Western Sydney, Writing and Society Research Group, College of the Arts where she is working on a new novel and completing a doctorate on Indigenous Storytelling. She is a member of the Writers Advisory Panel for Sydney PEN.
For further information, please contact, Ms Asha Das, Country Manager, Australia-India Council, on (0) 98108 60451.