A new national writers' organisation with an ambitious agenda was launched at the Wheeler Centre last night. Writing Australia is a national organisation founded by a federation of five state-based writers' centres in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT.
With funding from the Australia Council for the Arts, Writing Australia will coordinate a national program to support Australian writing and literature, raise the profile of local writers and their work and look for opportunities to promote these writers and their work overseas. The organisation has floated several initiatives it will pursue, including the development of a national writers' touring circuit, a national writers' conference, a residencies program, a web portal of resources for writers, and national strategic partnerships with other cultural organisations like the ABC and the National Library.
Writing Australia will be headed by former journalist and politician Mary Delahunty. She’s the author of Public Life: Private Grief.