Staff
Dr Wendy Were - Festival Director & CEO

Wendy Were took up her role as Director of Sydney Writers' Festival in August 2006. She came to SWF from the Institute of Advanced Studies, a crossdisiplinary research institute at the University of Western Australia, where she was Deputy Director. Before that, for three years she curated and managed 'Words and Ideas', the literature and talks program of the Perth International Arts Festival where she developed a reputation for her adventurous and rigorous programming. A passionate reader, she strongly believes that work across territories yields exciting ideas and has a keen interest in crossdisciplinary and multi-arts collaborations.

Wendy has a PhD from the Department of English, Communication and Cultural Studies at UWA. Her thesis entitled "Reading the Wound" considered traumatic memory and the redemptive potential of art in the novels of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison and was awarded with Distinction. During her PhD candidature, she worked as a lecturer and tutor at UWA, teaching in the areas of contemporary narrative and theory, film, women's studies, cultural studies and professional writing.
 
Lisa Torrance - Associate Director & Business Development Manager

Lisa Torrance has worked on a variety of arts, literary and film festivals for the past 12 years in Scotland and Australia.

From 1997 to 2002 she divided her year between Sydney and Edinburgh holding positions as Head of Marketing & Press for the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Senior Publicist for Sydney Festival before moving on to become Head of Press for the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

In 2002 she joined Sydney Writers' Festival as Development and Communications Manager. In her current position she is responsible for development and management of corporate partnerships and creating and implementing a marketing and communications campaign for the Festival.
 
Annette Alderson - Operations Manager

For 20 years, Annette Alderson has worked across Australia as a production and stage manager on many of Australia's premier arts events, including nine years with Sydney Festival.

From 2002 - 2005, Annette was Head of Production for The City of Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations. Annette holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Fine Arts from Sydney University, and a Diploma in Performing Arts from Wollongong University.

Contact Annette for any productions issues regarding Sydney Writers' Festival.

 
Linly Goh - Marketing & Audience Development Manager

Linly has worked in marketing and communications for the past eight years, including roles at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Commission for Children and Young People, and Sydney Festival. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sydney University.

Linly came to SWF from Sydney Festival in April 2007. At Sydney Writers' Festival Linly is responsible for creating and implementing the marketing and communications campaign. She also manages the Festival's education program, children and YA events, and suburban and regional events in addition to providing support to the Artistic Director.

 
Stella Collier - Administrator

Stella has a background in bookselling and bookshop management. She spent seven years working for Waterstone's in Edinburgh before moving to Sydney, where she obtained a postgraduate diploma in English Literature from UNSW. In the past ten years she has worked in administrative roles for The Australian Society of Authors, The Australian Copyright Council and most recently, Accessible Arts.

Stella started work for the Festival in January 2007 and is responsible for the organisation's accounts and office administration.

 
Emily Mann - Administrative Assistant

Emily has worked in television production over the past ten years.  She worked in program production at the Nine Network Australia, then as a subtitler and manager with the Australian Caption Centre. She holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of Wollongong and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Communication from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Emily joined the Festival team in October 2008. She is responsible for office administration and organising the travel and accommodation for visiting Festival guests.
 

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