22 May 2006 - The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney, Australia reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that a Philippine entry will be participating at the 2006 Sydney Writer's Festival from 25-27 May 2006.

Consul General Maria Theresa P. Lazaro said writer and poet Alfred "Krip" Yuson, who will be representing the Philippines, is among the 70 foreign writers who have been invited to participate in what is considered to be Australia's biggest annual literary event.

The Festival, now on its ninth year,  brings to Sydney international authors, editors, publishers, speakers, and philosophers to interact together with the public through poetry readings, debates, panel discussions, workshops, and book signings.

Krip Yuson, the only Philippine-based writer to participate in the Festival's history, will be participating in a poetry-reading session and a panel discussion during the Festival.   Krip has authored 22 books, including novels, poetry, short fiction, essays, children's stories and biographies. He currently teaches fiction and poetry at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he holds the Henry Lee Irwin Professorial Chair.

Krip has garnered various awards: the Stalwart of Art and Culture Award in Manila in June 2003, and a Rockefeller Foundation grant for residency at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Italy in October 2003.   He was conferred the SEA Write (South East Asian Writers) Award by the Thai Royalty for lifetime achievement, and has been elevated to the Hall of Fame of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature which is the Philippines' most prestigious literary distinction.

He is also a documentary filmmaker and scriptwriter and had won a FAMAS Award and a Catholic Mass Media Award for a feature-length film screenplay.  He contributes a weekly literature and culture column in the daily, The Philippine Star. END