Introduction

As director of the Sydney Writers' Festival, Wendy Were is responsible for organising and managing a week-long celebration of books and writing, involving hundreds of writers participating in more than 350 events at a number of different venues throughout the city and suburbs.

In 2007, Dr Were's first year as director, 87 000 people attended festival events. This makes the Sydney Writers' Festival, ten years after it began, the third largest writers' festival in the world.

In Writers talk, Wendy Were tells how she came to be director of Australia's premier literary festival. She discusses the challenges she faces in her role and talks about how she selects writers and puts the program together. She also shares her thoughts on why the audience is growing and what the future might hold for the Sydney festival.