Asia-Pacific Writers supports S.E.A.Write Festival 2012

Asia-Pacific Writers (AP Writers) will hold its inaugural gathering in Bangkok, Thailand, 5-9 November 2012, to dovetail with this year’s Southeast Asian Writers’ (S.E.A.Write) Festival and Gala Awards.

AP Writers (http://www.apwriters.com) is working with the S.E.A.Write Organising Committee to bring together the 2012 S.E.A. Write award winners with translators, festival directors from around the world, publishing professionals, other authors from Asia-Pacific and beyond, and others, for a series of events designed to further support writers from the region.

The S.E.A.Write Awards have been presented annually since 1979 to authors and poets in Southeast Asia. The Award was initiated by Thailand’s legendary hotel – The Oriental - and its business allies in cooperation with two literary associations – PEN Thailand and the Writers Association of Thailand. A member of the Thai royal family presides over the gala awards dinner at Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel, famous throughout its 135-year history for its relationship with international authors. Legendary authors who have stayed there include Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and James Michener.

Books by S.E.A.Write winners have not always been available in English. This partially accounts for the lack of recognition of the writers, the award and much excellent literature from the region. Translation into English is often a first step to translation into many other languages.

AP Writers will work with the British Centre for Literary Translation, the Translators’ and Interpreters Association of Thailand and others to organise translation workshops that produce English excerpts of some of the 2012 award winners’ work.

Readings of the winners’ work, together with readings of the translations, will be held in Suan Pakkard Palace, a former royal residence now operating as a fine arts museum and made available courtesy of S.E.A. Write Organising Committee Chair, M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Governor of Bangkok.

Working with the Writers’ Association of Thailand, PEN Thailand, and others, AP Writers will organise Creative Writing workshops to enable Thai writers and other emerging writers from the Asia-Pacific region to work with internationally-established authors. Consultations with literary agents and publishers may also be arranged, if possible.

AP Writers’ key forum will be a series of provocations leading to roundtable discussion and debate on the themes ‘TRANSLATING ASIA’ and ‘THE VALUE OF LITERARY PRIZES’. The forum will be held 4-5 November at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
AP Writers thanks other members of the organising team and those who have already committed to the success of this event. They include:

– Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s General Manager Jan D. Goessing, and Somsri Hansirisawasdi, Director of Public Relations.
– Surapeepan Chatraporn, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Associate Professor of English, Chulalongkorn University.
– Professor Emeritus Srisurang Poolthupya – Translators’ and Interpreters Association of Thailand, & the Royal Institute of Thailand.
– Binlah Songkalagiri – Writers’ Association of Thailand.
– PEN Thailand.
– Panadda Lerlum-Umpai, S.E.A. Write Committee, formerly a senior executive with the Bangkok Bank and President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.
– British Centre for Literary Translation
– The Walkely Foundation for Journalism (awarding excellence in Australian journalism)
– Julianne Schultz, editor Griffith REVIEW and judge of the Miles Franklin Literary Award (Australia).
. Asia Pacific Writers is an association of authors from the most dynamic and populous region of the world. It recognises fine writing from the region and advances the career of authors. It also assists writers from Asia and the Pacific to participate more fully in global literary discourses.

For more information about the Bangkok events or/and AP Writers, contact Jane Camens: Tel +61 (0) 437873930 or email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Issued by Jane Camens, Director of LEAP+ on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership (AP Writers) http://www.apwriters.com