Marieke Hardy resigns from Melbourne Writers Festival

Artistic Director Marieke Hardy has resigned from the MWF with one year of her contract remaining, in order to focus on her own creative practice.

Marieke Hardy has announced her resignation as Artistic Director of the Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) two years into a three year contract.

Hardy – whose idiosyncratic reshaping of the festival resulted in significant box office growth, but also attracted criticism from some corners of the literary world – has stepped down from the AD’s role in order to pursue other artistic opportunities, including dedicating more time to her own writing.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts