00:02Rosemary, thank you for joining me.
00:03My pleasure.
00:05You're stepping into the Adelaide Writers' Week
00:07director role after the implosion of this year's event.
00:10What made you want to take on the job?
00:12Look, I think it's an incredible festival.
00:14It's got a long legacy, it's much loved,
00:17and this year was regrettable,
00:19but it doesn't represent that long history
00:22and I wanted to help repair what has happened and move on.
00:29What did you make of the events and, I guess, the decisions
00:32that led to the cancellation of this year's festival?
00:35Look, I think it seems multifaceted
00:37and I think it was disappointing that the decisions were made
00:41and unfortunate that it happened,
00:44but hopefully now, you know, lessons have been learnt,
00:47really important lessons have been learnt.
00:49There's a new board.
00:50I feel very confident in the new leadership
00:53and I also feel really confident about the commitment
00:55to curatorial independence.
00:57To what extent do you feel like the curatorial independence
01:00of literary festivals is being put under question
01:04or under increased scrutiny?
01:06Definitely.
01:07I think externally.
01:08The pressure's coming externally.
01:11When that pressure arrives, it's very, very hard.
01:15It's a terrible feeling.
01:17You're under attack.
01:18It's relentless.
01:19The emails are coming in.
01:21You're getting, you know, social media backlash.
01:24It's not an uncomfortable, it's not a comfortable position
01:27to be in, I should say.
01:28But the idea that you discard an artist because of that pressure
01:33and because of that scrutiny, I think it's a slippery slope.
01:37What confidence or promise can you give the public that your programming
01:42as director of the Adelaide Writers Week will be independent
01:46and you won't succumb to any of those external pressures?
01:50Well, you've got to remember that it wasn't the director
01:53who succumbed to any pressure.
01:54It was the board who succumbed to pressure.
01:56So I think there has to be a separation there.
01:59So when I applied for the job, one of my core questions was,
02:03do you have a policy of curatorial independence?
02:06And that was assured.
02:07And the festival has invited Randa Abdul-Fattah to appear
02:11at Writers Week next year.
02:13Is that something you welcome?
02:15Yes, I think that was another important gesture.
02:18And I think it signified that the new board wanted to move ahead
02:23in a positive direction and rebuild that trust with writers.
02:27That's so important.
02:29You don't have a festival if writers aren't supportive.
02:32So yes, I think, I mean, I know she hasn't formally accepted it,
02:36but that will be a conversation I will pick up with Dr Abdul-Fattah
02:39when I'm officially on board.
02:41What kind of role do you see her playing in the festival?
02:44The same role that she would have played if she'd appeared this year,
02:47which is to speak about her book.
02:49Thank you for your time.
02:50No problem.
02:54No problem.
02:54No problem.
02:54Youرうたしてた方がいる Santa Marte炎には取り組it
02:55C. You're not a dude. No
02:55role will happen. So yes. You're not a
02:55We're not a dude. No problem.
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