George Town Literary Festival | |
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Genre | Literary festival |
Location(s) | George Town, Malaysia |
Years active | 2011 – present |
Website | georgetownlitfest |
The George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) is an annual literary festival which takes place in the city of George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It is currently the largest world literature festival organised in Malaysia and the first literary event in Southeast Asia to receive the Literary Festival Award at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards. [1]
GTLF celebrates world literature, translations, and the literary arts, with various writers, artists and thinkers from diverse locations and disciplines coming together annually to engage in intellectual discourse. It is the only literary festival funded by the state government in Malaysia. [2]
The festival generally takes place every last weekend of November. Admission to the festival is free to all members of the public. [3]
GTLF was initiated in 2011 by former Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng. Debuting with a line-up of 5 writers, the festival's last edition featured over 80 writers and speakers while its upcoming edition will take place from 21–24 November 2019. [4] Since 2016, the festival has been organised by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau. Previously, Penang Global Tourism led production from 2011-2014 while Penang Institute took charge in 2015.
The festival's first eight editions (with the exception of 2014) were curated by Bernice Chauly under the direction of the State Government of Penang. She was appointed festival director in 2015 and continued leading the curatorial team until 2018.
GTLF's inaugural edition was themed “History & Heritage: Where are our Stories?” and comprised 7 events held across 26 & 27 November 2011. Taking place in the then-newly established China House and the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, the festival's five headliners were Malaysian authors Muhammed Haji Salleh, Farish A. Noor, Iskandar Al-Bakri, Shih-Li Kow and Tan Twan Eng. [5]
Themed "Voyages. Hopes. Dreams." the second edition of the festival was the first to feature an international lineup comprising writers from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Held at Sekeping Victoria, China House and Studio @ Straits, the festival spanned 20 events while its duration was extended to 3 days. Its line-up of 26 writers and moderators included A. Samad Said, Alfian Sa'at, David van Reybrouck, Linda Christanty and Nii Ayikwei Parkes. [6]
Due to increased support from foreign embassies and government agencies, the 2013 festival programme grew to feature 37 events in Sekeping Victoria, China House and 179 Victoria Street. Themed "The Ties That Bind", 20 speakers headlined the festival including Ali Cobby Eckermann, Eric Hansen, Tash Aw, Christine Otten and Lat. [7]
The 2014 edition was notable for being curated by the Cooler Lumpur Festival. It took place in Whiteaways Arcade and was themed "Capital". The festival shifted its focus to writers, with programmes aimed at developing local writing and the publishing industry. There was also a fringe programme comprising a stand-up comedy performance and a pub quiz. [8] It spanned 38 events and featured 27 speakers including Eddin Khoo, Miguel Syjuco, John Krich, Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh and Susan Barker.
In 2015, the festival was themed "We Are Who We Are/Are We Who We Are?" in conjunction with its focus on dissecting the human and Malaysian identity. and featured 36 speakers including Wajahat Ali, Evan Fallenberg, Robin Hemley, Pablo Jofré and Hanne Ørstavik. The keynote was delivered by Marina Mahathir. [9]
In recognition of the displacement of communities across the globe, the 2016 festival was themed "Hiraeth". The festival, which took place in Wisma Yeap Choy Ee, Black Kettle and China House, brought 40 writers together across 44 sessions. The festival keynote was delivered by Zainah Anwar, preceding a lecture on the theme by A. C. Grayling. Other headliners included Adriaan van Dis, Nathalie Handal, Mahesh Dattani, Olga Martynova and Stephen James Smith. [10]
The festival's growing presence and increasing public attention led to pro-government supporters defacing an exhibition by Zunar, whose works commented politically on former Prime Minister Najib Razak's corruption allegations. Zunar's eventual arrest drew international attention from human rights watchdogs as well as support for the festival's position as a platform for free speech. [11] The launch of his book, Wasabi, was cancelled as a result. [12] The 2016 edition of the festival is also notable for scoring a nomination in the Literary Festival Award category at the LBF International Excellence Awards. [13]
In 2017, the festival featured a theme of "Monsters & (Im)Mortals". Featuring a larger curatorial team due to the addition of Gareth Richards and Pauline Fan as co-curators, the festival line-up comprised 46 writers and 55 activities. Among the year's headliners were Gerður Kristný, Mei Fong, Latiff Mohidin, Laksmi Pamuntjak and Gündüz Vassaf. The 2017 edition became the first literary festival in Southeast Asia to receive the Literary Festival Award at the LBF International Excellence Awards in the following year. [14]
The 2018 edition was themed "The State of Freedom" to commemorate the anniversaries of human rights milestones around the globe, the state of Penang's commitment to freedom of expression, and Malaysia's first change in government since achieving independence 59 years prior. [15]
Extended to run across 4 days, the 2018 edition featured the largest line-up of writers and number of events in the festival's history. 82 writers were present at the festival's 65 events, including Sjón, Lemn Sissay, Ivan Coyote, Arshia Sattar and Jean-Christophe Rufin. Notable events at the 2018 edition included a conversation with Anwar Ibrahim, a section on LGBTQIA+ discourses, as well as the inaugural Malaysia National Poetry Slam. [16]
The 2019 edition is themed "forewords/afterwords" in reference to W. H. Auden's final collection of essays. Taking place from 21–24 November 2019, the festival will be directed by Pauline Fan and Sharaad Kuttan, marking the first time two co-directors will helm the festival in its 9-year history. The line-up of the festival will include 2019 Man Booker International Prize winner Jokha al-Harthi, as well as 2019 EBRD Literature Prize winner Hamid Ismailov. [17]
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. They are connected by Malaysia's two longest road bridges, the Penang Bridge and the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge; the latter is also as of May 2019 the longest oversea bridge in Southeast Asia. The second smallest Malaysian state by land mass, Penang is bordered by Kedah to the north and the east, and Perak to the south.
George Town is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. George Town is Malaysia's third most populous city with 708,127 inhabitants as of 2010, while Greater Penang is the nation's second largest conurbation with a population of 2,412,616. The historical core of George Town has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
Butterworth is the largest urban settlement in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang. It lies approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) east of George Town, the capital city of Penang, across the Penang Strait. As of 2010, Butterworth contained a total of 71,643 residents.
The KOMTAR Tower, in the city of George Town in Penang, Malaysia, is the state's tallest skyscraper and the eleventh-tallest building in Malaysia. KOMTAR is an acronym for Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak, named after the second Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a government gazetted heritage building located on Leith Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The mansion's external decorations and indigo-blue outer walls make it a very distinctive building, and it is sometimes referred to as The Blue Mansion. Built by the merchant Cheong Fatt Tze at the end of the 19th century, the mansion has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 vernacular timber louvre windows. It served as Cheong's private residence as well as the seat of his business activities in Penang.
The Chingay Parade is an annual street parade held in Malaysia and Singapore in celebration with the birthdays of the Chinese deities or the procession of the Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin) as part of the Chinese New Year festivities. The term Chingay itself originated from the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, which is a phonetic equivalent of both the Chinese words "真艺" (zhēnyì) which means "true art" in the Penang version, and "妆艺," (zhuāngyì) which means "a decorated miniature stage" or float in the Singapore version. PAYM has been an active contributor to chingay in Singapore. Today the parade is celebrated by all communities of both Malaysia and Singapore.
Bayan Lepas is a town within the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, near the southeastern tip of Penang Island. Founded in the 19th century, Bayan Lepas is now home to the Penang International Airport and an eponymous Free Industrial Zone, dubbed the Silicon Valley of the East due to its size. Various multinational electronic and engineering firms, including Bosch, Motorola, Dell, Intel and Hewlett-Packard, have set up factories and assembly plants within the town.
Teluk Bahang is a town within the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, near the northwestern tip of Penang Island. Established as a fishing village, Teluk Bahang has evolved into a tourist destination, with a number of attractions built within the vicinity of the town. Notably, it is also home to the Teluk Bahang Dam, the largest reservoir on Penang Island.
Batu Kawan is an island in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It is geographically separated from the rest of Seberang Perai by the Jawi and Tengah rivers. As of 2010, Batu Kawan contained a population of 5,537.
The State of Penang in Malaysia, home to the country's second largest city as well as part of Malaysia's second most populous conurbation, has a relatively well-developed transport infrastructure. The city-state is well-connected by land, air and sea; the Penang International Airport is one of Malaysia's busiest, while the Port of Penang is the main harbour and transshipment hub within northern Malaysia. The North–South Expressway, the main highway along western Peninsular Malaysia, runs through Penang, while the two geographically separate halves of the state are now linked by two bridges and a ferry service.
Sungai Nibong is a residential neighbourhood near the eastern coast of Penang Island in Malaysia, about 8.6 km (5.3 mi) south of the centre of George Town, Penang's capital city. The neighbourhood, within the Northeast Penang Island and Southwest Penang Island District, was named after the rivers flowing through the area.
Tan Twan Eng is a Malaysian novelist known for being the first Malaysian recipient of the Man Asian Literary Prize., the first Malaysian novelist to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and the first Malaysian author to win the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.
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The George Town – Bayan Lepas route will be the first light rapid transit (LRT) line in the Malaysian state of Penang. Conceived by the Penang state government as part of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), the proposed 22 km (14 mi) line within the city of George Town will link the city centre with the industrial town of Bayan Lepas to the south.
Penangite Indians, also known as Chulias are Malaysian Indians that live primarily in the state of Penang, Malaysia. Most are the descendants from those who migrated from India during the British colonisation of Malaya. However, historical sources prove that the ancient Indians arrived in Penang during the Chola dynasty. Today, the Penangite Indians are one of the most successful ethnic groups in Penang state and whole of Malaysia. Penangite Indians forms a large percentage of the state's professional community such as business, law and medicine as well as politics, it can be proved by the appointment of Dr P. Ramasamy as deputy chief minister of Penang. It made him the first Malaysian of Indian origin to hold the post of deputy chief minister in any state of Malaysia. In addition, first Tamil Vernacular School in Malaysia was established in Penang.
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Bernice Chauly is Malaysian writer, poet, educator, festival director, actor, photographer and filmmaker. Born to Chinese-Punjabi teachers, she read Education and English Literature at the University of Winnipeg, Canada as a government scholar and is recognised one of the most significant voices of her generation.
The George Town Festival is an annual cultural festival held within the city of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. The 16-day arts festival will take place from 13 - 28 July this year throughout the city.
Penangite Chinese are ethnic Chinese Malaysians of full or partial Chinese ancestry who either hail from or live within the State of Penang. As of 2017, nearly 42% of Penang's population belonged to the Chinese ethnic group, making ethnic Chinese the largest ethnic community within the state.
Lee Toong Leon, better known as Leon Lee, is a Malaysian businessman, public speaker and entrepreneur based in Penang, Malaysia. He is the founder and current CEO of Zeon Properties Group, a Malaysian property consultancy firm with more than 500 personnel and agents in Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. Leon has been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in 2016 and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2010 by Penang State Governor, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas for his services to the state. A King Scout since 2000, Leon also received the National King Scout's Merit Award in 2010.