Malaysia | George Town Literary Festival 2013
![GTLF Poster](https://culture360.asef.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/10/GTLF-Poster.jpg)
George Town Literary Festival on the theme
The Ties That Bind will be held over three days (29 November to 1 December 2013) in the historic city of George Town, Penang. The Festival will host 18 acclaimed writers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, India, Australia, Italy, Malaysia, the United States and Canada.
The inaugural festival started in 2011 with five internationally recognised Malaysian writers, who explored the theme
History and Heritage – Where Are Our Stories? This year’s GTLF will continue its celebration of world literature in poetry, prose and spoken word. The theme this year is
The Ties that Bind, which will look at how writers deal with homelands and hope, love and loss, memory and history.
The headlining author is Malaysian icon
Datuk Lat, writer and cartoonist, who is known and beloved the world over. Other Malaysian writers include
Tash Aw, whose third novel was recently long-listed for the Booker Prize,
Shamini Flint, Glasgow-based
Chiew-Siah Tei, scholar and poet
Dr Ghulam Sarwar-Yousof, Penang-based writer and poet
Cecil Rajendra and noted playwright
Huzir Sulaiman.
The list of esteemed international writers attending the festival include
Michael Kleeberg (Germany),
Christine Otten and
Rodaan Al Galidi (Netherlands),
Aruni Kashyap (India),
Annelies Verbeke (Belgium)
Marco Ferraresse (Italy) and
Madeleine Thein (Canada).
The festival aims to feature indigenous writers as well; award-winning
Ali Cobby Eckermann, a Torres Strait aboriginal poet from Australia and
Mahat anak China, a Temuan writer and poet.
We will also be featuring
Wayang Kata VXI, a spoken word/poetry event which will showcase the diversity of Penang’s many cultures through expat and local poets. Last year’s event featured work in Malay, English, Thai and Tamil and was one of the most memorable events of the festival.
The moderators for this year’s festival include a stellar line-up of Malaysian writers and critics who include
Umapagan Ampikaipakan, Sharaad Kuttan, Ann Lee, Yin Shao Loong, Sharon Bakar, Khoo Salma, Jasmine Low and the Indonesian translator/writer
Kadek Krishna Adidharma. We will also have nightly film screenings curated by filmmaker/publisher
Amir Muhammad.
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