Literary festivals link up in Word Alliance
The Bookseller - 31.08.10

Five international literary festivals have formed The Word Alliance (TWA) as a way of collaborating on both events and resources.

The alliance was launched today (31st August) by Nick Barley, director of Edinburgh International Book Festival. Alongside Edinburgh the five festivals involved are the Melbourne Writers Festival; the Bookworm International Literary Festival, Beijing; the International Literature Festival in Berlin; and the International Festival of Authors in Toronto.

Barley said: "Edinburgh is already a leader in collaborative working, evidenced by such organisations as Festivals Edinburgh, the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and the Literature Forum for Scotland. To take this expertise worldwide is the logical next step. All five festivals involved are leading literature festivals which are committed to international working and programming. We are very excited about the opportunities that now exist for taking the best of our home grown writing around the world, and for continuing Edinburgh’s great reputation for bring leading international authors to Scotland."

It is expected that the alliance will expand to include Africa, India, the USA and Latin America.

A statement from TWA said: "TWA will be a platform for artistic collaboration, expansion of online content, professional, audience and organisational development and an international touring programme for authors." A touring programme for next year will be announced over the next few months.

Ulrich Schrieber, director of the International Literature Festival Berlin, said: "With The Word Alliance we are reaching a new dimension of cooperation between our festivals as well as between the literary styles and cultures these festivals are set in."