Invitation – Cassandra Wunsch, Sue McKerracher, Lucy Christopher and Todd Babiak, on behalf of the Hobart City of Literature Working Group, 5 April 2023

Briefing on Hobart’s bid to be a UNESCO City of Literature

Writing and storytelling has been part of our city life for a very long time.

  • Tasmania’s Aboriginal community drew on history, resilience, and creativity to create palawa kani, a hybrid of lutruwita’s Aboriginal languages which has seen this island’s original culture and stories revived.
  • Literature flourished early in Hobart – Australia’s first novel was published in Hobart in 1818.  Hobart had the nation’s first public library and published the nation’s first ‘free press’ newspaper.
  • Hobart has a thriving and award-winning contemporary culture of writing, reading, theatre, poetry and storytelling.
  • Hobart is also home to a multitude of award-winning and best-selling authors who punch well above their weight in terms of national and international prizes won, including the Vogel Award, Stella Prize, Commonwealth Writers Prize, Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and the Booker Prize.

We want to recognise and celebrate this on the world’s stage. We want to use this community energy to address one of Tasmania’s most pressing challenges: literacy.

That’s why we are working to submit a bid to be recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and join the international network of Creative Cities.

We’d love to brief you on the bid and seek your support for it. Your commitment won’t be onerous. It could be as simple as a letter of support or a few seconds on camera.

We’re hosting two briefing sessions and hope that you can make it to one of them.

  • 12 – 1pm, Monday 17 April

or

  • 5 – 6pm, Tuesday 18 April

Both sessions will be held at the Lord Mayor’s Court Room, Town Hall, 50 Macquarie St and refreshments will be served.

This bid will be stronger with the engagement of support of organisations and individuals who’d love to see Hobart recognised for the special creative city that is.

Please RSVP to [email protected] by 12 April 2023, indicating the session you would like to attend.