Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2012

Now that Early Bird discounted passes have begun to fly, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is following up with more good news. John Pilger, Australian journalist and documentary maker based in London, has confirmed his participation as featured guest in the main Festival program. Pilger has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award and his devastating and internationally renowned documentaries have polarised media and public opinion for decades. In 2009, he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in recognition of his courage as a foreign and war correspondent in enabling the voices of the powerless to be heard. Said UWRF International Program Director Jeni Caffin "John Pilger is a fearless and impassioned journalist who has fiercely criticised Australia's treatment of its First Peoples and who has steadily turned his gaze to British and American foreign policy. He is simply impossible to ignore and we at the UWRF are proud to announce that he is finally able to fit the Festival into his relentless schedule." Pilger's name is the first to be trumpeted from the list of 130 Indonesian and international guests to confirm their participation and will inevitably attract widespread media comment. While his role call of documentaries is too extensive to list here, his seminal works include Year Zero: the Silent Death Of Cambodia, Death of a Nation; the Timor Conspiracy, Inside Burma: Land of Fear and Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror. Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror. A feature of John Pilger's UWRF involvement will be a screening of his 2010 documentary The War You Don't See, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel/Palestine conflicts. Said Pilger "the theme of power, media and propaganda has real resonance these days." He has agreed to conduct a no holds barred Q&A immediately following the screening. Early Birds are on the wing, the names are starting to be whispered and the program of the UWRF is flexing its muscles. Join us 3-7 October for the best conversations of the year: you won't have to say a word. Our first batch of tickets are now available on the UWRF site for a limited time. These early bird tickets are for the 4 day main sessions only and are at 20% are less than the regular price. This year, the UWRF takes its theme This Earth of Mankind, from the title of one of the great Pramoedya Ananta Toer's epic novels. Exploring its many strands, the festival shines light upon the best contemporary writing and introduces you to new and significant voices. Embracing the new is integral to the festival's program; new writers, new ideas, new directions and new media. 'In choosing the writers for the ninth festival, we have read hundreds of books. Here, in this program, you will experience the writing that most inspired, enlightened, staggered and delighted us. Please take advantage of the Early Bird offer to ensure you share in the riches contained within' says Janet de Neefe - Festival Founder and Director. The full program including supplementary workshops, literary lunches, dinners and gala events will be available at the end of August.