WRITERS FESTIVAL TO CLOSE OFFICE AND SCALE BACK

In the face of budget cuts from the City, the Ottawa International Writers Festival will be closing its office in the By Ward Market and scaling back its annual celebration of the word from ten to five days in 2004.

"We want to first of all thank the citizens of Ottawa for their generous and loyal support over the past seven years. With their help the Writers Festival has played an increasingly important role in the cultural life of this City," says Neil Wilson, Founding Director of the Festival. "'We have not only brought over 500 of the world's finest new and established voices from around the world to share the stage with Ottawa's best, we have also been able to subsidize all of our children's programming so those events, held throughout the year, are free for all young readers."

"It has been our dream, from the outset, to produce the best Literary Festival in the world, and to help position Ottawa as a truly international cultural capital," says Artistic Director Sean Wilson. "Now, we're doing everything necessary to continue serving the community. If continuing to offer a world-class Festival with free children's programming without support from our local government means a drastic cut to the size of the Festival and our staff setting up home offices, so be it. Last year there was so much demand for our free children's programs we decided it was time to expand our commitment to youth literacy. We're still committed to expanding our work with children and Ottawa's Beacon Schools, but to do that, we need to find new partners. In spite of this setback, we are hopeful that we will find an angel or two who share our passion for literacy and the arts and its importance to our community's quality of life."

Using the City of Ottawa's own measuring stick, the Writers Festival has generated about $10 million in spinoff benefits for the local economy since 1997.

This year, the annual Festival will run from September 29 to October 3 at the Library and Archives Canada complex at 395 Wellington Street.

To become a Festival Member or to make a charitable donation please call us at (613) 562-1243

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Oneness-World Communications
Ottawa International Writers Festival
www.writersfest.com
(613) 562-1243
298 Dalhousie Street, Box 52066
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7E0