National Geographic (2013): Literary Magic in Bali
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/12/literary-magic-in-bali/ Literary Magic in Bali Posted by Don George of National Geographic Traveler in Travel with Heart on November 12, 2013 Last month I had the opportunity to participate for the second year in a row in the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival on the Indonesian island of Bali. At the six-day festival, I taught two travel writing workshops, spoke on a panel about the evolution of the genre, and hosted a luncheon conversation with the co-founders of Lonely Planet, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, this year’s fest was the biggest gathering yet, with more than 200 authors, musicians, and performers from more than 20 countries participating, and many hundreds of literature-lovers from around the Pacific Rim, Southeast Asia, and beyond attending. As with last year, I was exhilarated to encounter in panels and dinners and performances acclaimed and groundbreaking journalists, novelists, poets, and nonfiction writers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Egypt, Syria, Germany, France, Ireland, and England, as well as bright-eyed, book-hugging readers inspired by what these writers create. One of the festival’s highlights was the aforementioned travel writing panel, facilitated by Lisa Dempster, director of the Melbourne Writers Festival. [...]