Melbourne Writers Festival
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. The Festival runs during early September each year. Melbourne Writers Festival is part of the Word Alliance, a partnership of eight international literary festivals which support and showcase the work of writers. In 2020, MWF was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently ran an entirely digital program, curated by Associate Director, Gene Smith. In September 2020, the Melbourne Writers Festival appointed Michaela McGuire to the role of Artistic Director, replacing Marieke Hardy who created the 2018 and 2019 festivals. History MWF was founded in 1986 as a joint initiative between the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and the City of Melbourne. It was organised as a sister festival to the Spoleto Festival, and was known in the first year as Spoleto Melbourne Festival of Three Worlds. It was held at the Athenaeum Theatre. The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were presented as part of the festival for the first time. In 1990, the Festival was no longer known under the Spoleto name, and became a part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival. It also moved venues from the