Happy New Year!
We hope you are all safe and well. For many of us, these last few months may not have been as calm and restful as we had hoped, but wherever you are, whatever the weather, we wish you strength.
Creativity may have been a lifeline to you or largely inaccessible. If you’re hoping to reconnect with your creative energy, meet new people, and experience new perspectives, the Follow the Sun writing and literature conference is here!
Follow the Sun is a literary festival-meets-conference (28th-30th January), bringing together writers, artists, and scholars of all disciplines and specialisms to explore transnational literature, writing, and performance. As the sun travels across the sky, you will hear stories from award-winning poets, literary translators, and novelists, with the option to participate in a masterclass on 30th January (more info below). Scholars from around the world will share their latest research on detention, displacement, and disappearance.
The key theme is ‘Place and Displacement’, inspired by keynote speaker Aminatta Forna, who said in 2020 that ‘we have seen place displaced’ as a reflection on our current state of being, both bound at home and displaced from our normal modes of interaction. As such, this event has no fixed abode; it will take place entirely online (via Zoom) and ‘follow the sun’ as morning travels around the world, beginning in Adelaide, Australia, and moving across the sky to Mumbai, London, and New York. Whether you choose to participate as the summit crosses your time zone or watch asynchronously, you will join a worldwide community on a creative journey – and anything you have missed live will be available to watch at your leisure via a private link after the event.
Early bird tickets are available only until the 22nd January, after which time tickets will revert to their full price. All tickets are available on a sliding scale, depending on your income, location, and the range of events you wish to attend. Head to Eventbrite now to book.
Event Highlight:
Masterclass: Performance Poetry in the Online World
9am-2pm Saturday 30th January
Led by renowned writer, Zena Edwards, the masterclass is a unique opportunity to meet others, be inspired, and hone your public speaking and performance skills. Limited tickets are available and are selling quickly.
A full programme will be released shortly.