In a statement from the festival's board, they said it was a difficult decision to end the "labour of love" but was necessary due to the "loss of funding from our major supporter, Create NSW".

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"Running a not-for-profit festival also comes with overhead expenses, and the loss of this key state grant means we are regrettably unable to continue paying our staff, artists, contractors and other operating costs," the statement said.

"We know we are not alone in the pain of having to make a decision like this. Many of our peers in the literary community have had their funding applications denied in recent years."

Despite the global pandemic, the festival persevered in 2020 but in a digital form with some of the nations most celebrated authors like Helen Garner, Tara June Winch, Tony Birch.

"Thank you to our staff, volunteers and contractors whose collective imagination and passion created an experience for audiences that pushed the boundaries on what a literary festival could offer," the statement said.

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