By Jason Steger
LISA Dempster, the former director of the Emerging Writers Festival, will be the new director of the Melbourne Writers Festival. She will take over from Steve Grimwade after this year's literary bash.
Dempster (pictured) told The Age from Bali, where she is on an Asialink fellowship at the Ubud writers festival, her vision for the Melbourne festival included more festivity, a greater sense of community, opportunities to connect writers, publishers and the literary community, and to celebrate the written word.
Lisa Dempster will be the new director of the Melbourne Writers Festival.Credit: Richard Kendall
''I have a great passion for Melbourne as a city of literature. I want to activate its citizens to see themselves as citizens of literature.''
Dempster said she was keen to build on what the festival had achieved and was aware that her new job would be significantly bigger than her previous one.
''The Emerging Writers Festival really focuses on writers and writing. The Melbourne Writers Festival has a broader focus on writing, politics and ideas. The organisation has more resources but … I will be undergoing changes in the way I work.''
Dempster's account of a Buddhist trek through Japan, Neon Pilgrim, was published in 2009. She was for five years publisher at Vignette Press and served on the board of Express Media, a young writers organisation.
The Age is a festival sponsor.