From Jane Camens:
Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership
PRESS RELEASE
6 October, 2009
WRITING ACROSS CULTURES
Bringing some of the world’s top creative writing programs to Asia
Writers teaching in some of the world’s top Creative Writing programs will talk about how they mentor students and important aspects of craft at ‘Writing Across Cultures’ in Hong Kong, 9-11 March 2010.
‘Writing Across Cultures’ is a two-day event for students and teachers of creative writing in Asia, organised by The University of Adelaide based Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership and The English Department of The City University of Hong Kong, in conjunction with the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival.
Instead of academic papers, ‘provocateurs’ will talk for four or five minutes about aspects of craft and teaching writing then open the discussion to the audience. A roundtable on the first day will focus on teaching creative writing in the academy. The next day will focus on teaching creative writing in English in Asia.
‘Not many countries in the region offer creative writing at university level,’ said the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership’s founding director, Jane Camens. ‘I know of a number of excellent emerging writers who have left Asia to study creative writing abroad, generally in the United States or UK. Few know about the excellent programs on Asia’s doorstep in Australia.’
‘Writing Across Cultures’ will feature representatives from top writing programs in Australia, the United States, Britain and the region. They include:
* Robin Hemley from the Iowa Writers Workshop, University of Iowa,
* Andrew Cowan, Director of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia,
* Brian Castro, Chair of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Adelaide (home of the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership),
* Marilyn Chin, who teaches Creative Writing in the Master of Fine Arts program at San Diego State University.
* Catherine Cole, Chair of Creative Writing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT),
* Kim Cheng Boey who teaches Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle,
* Jose Dalisay, Director of the Institute of Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines,
* Dai Fan, Chair of English at Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou (China), who teaches creative non fiction in China.
The Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership’s first event was held in India in October 2008. It strives to hold events throughout the region in conjunction with local universities and writers organisations and bring to those events its international network of writing talent.
The Partnership is based within the Creative Writing Program of the University of Adelaide under the auspices of distinguished Australian writer Professor Brian Castro. Its founding director Jane Camens also founded the Hong Kong International Literary Festival with writers Nury Vittachi and Shirley Geok-lin Lim.
For the full program and registration details see http://apwriters.org/wac/
Media Contacts:
Jane Camens (APWN Founding Director) jane.camens@apwriters.com
In Australia: tel +(61) 2 66804906
Xu Xi (APWN Chair) xuxi@xuxiwriter.com
(schedule USA to Oct 14 • Hong Kong to Nov 10 • New Zealand to Nov 29 • Hong Kong to Dec 9
tel USA (1) 917.494.5071 • HK (852) 2559.4944 or 9175.2839/cell • New Zealand (64) 3.465.8486)
Issued by the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership
www.apwriters.com
