Exodus leaves Melbourne Writers Festival searching for next chapter

An exodus of board members and administrative staff from the Melbourne Writers Festival just weeks out from this year’s program has raised questions about the future shape and viability of the event, which is financially dwarfed by literary festivals in Sydney and Adelaide.

This year will also be the first where audience members are not allowed to ask live questions of authors.the MWF has told its session moderators to dispense with audience questions – a standard feature of literary festivals – to keep the event running on time and preserve the “safety and comfort of all artists and audiences”.

“Yes, we’ve recently experienced some changes in personnel at the Melbourne Writers Festival, which is not an uncommon occurrence given the cyclical nature of festival operations,” she said in a statement provided to this masthead. “Despite this, our dedicated and experienced team is fully committed to delivering an outstanding event next month, featuring what may arguably be the MWF’s most robust program to date.

This masthead has confirmed that Alice Hill, in the months leading up to her resignation, held preliminary discussions with Wheeler Centre chair Kate Torney, a former chief executive of the State Library, about closer collaboration. Hill did not respond to questions from this masthead. Michael Williams, a former artistic director of the Sydney Writers’ Festival and Wheeler Centre director who now edits, said the Melbourne Writers Festival was an important institution central to Melbourne’s status as a UNESCO city of literature.

The Melbourne Writers Festival’s most recent financial documents published by the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission show that in 2022 the festival generated total revenues of $1.66 million, 50 per cent of which came from ticket sales. In the same year, the Sydney Writers’ Festival booked $4.27 million in revenue. It is more generously supported by government and private philanthropy, which reduces its reliance on ticket sales.

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