Month: March 2020

by

Festivals going online

calendarThe calendar of Australian literary events is piling up with cancellations and postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but numerous writing organisations are heading online to keep the words flowing and the connections intact.

I’ve listed festivals offering online programming at the top of the calendar as well as in chronological order, and I’m curating a page at Ballarat Writers listing activities available online, such as joining in spoken word and poetry gigs, tuning in to award ceremonies, and listening to readings.

Please share recommendations here.

by

Clunes Booktown cancels

booktown in clunes 2013Even before the announcement yesterday of advice against gatherings of more than 500, Clunes Booktown announced it was pulling the plug on its May festival due to the coronavirus battle. Expect more to follow in the wake of this, Swancon convention and Tassie’s Dark Mofo.

by

Swancon cancels

swancon convention logo 2020
I’ve just heard that the national science fiction convention, being hosted by the annual Swancon convention in Perth April 25-27, has cancelled for this year.

It’s a preemptive strike against the coronavirus outbreak and, while it’s the first literary event to be cancelled due to that threat, it possibly won’t be the last. I’ll do my best to keep abreast of it for the 2020 literary event calendar, but feel free to let me know of any you hear of (or any events I’ve not got listed!).

Swancon is offering to carry the tickets for this year on to next year, or a refund. See the website for more.