Westerly is proud to introduce Dr. Josephine Taylor as our new Associate Editor.
Josephine joins the Westerly team from Edith Cowan University, where she is an Adjunct Lecturer in creative writing. Since completing her PhD in writing in 2011, Josephine has continued to present and publish material drawn from her award-winning thesis, with work published across a variety of print and online journals, including Westerly, Axon, Outskirts and Southerly. She is a member of the editorial board of Margaret River Press, and reviews regularly for Australian Book Review. She is interested in creative responses to chronic pain, and passionate about Australian writing, especially here, in Western Australia.
‘I have watched with excitement the growth of the literary community in Western Australia in recent years, especially in the context of economic contraction,’ Josephine said. ‘I’ve also noted the central and significant role of Westerly in encouraging new writers, while continuing to support those with an established reputation, locally and nationally. So I am delighted to join the Westerly team, and look forward to contributing to this. The future looks bright!’
Josephine will work alongside Editor Dr. Catherine Noske and the Westerly team to continue to develop the magazine as a platform for lively and intelligent fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and scholarly offerings.
From Catherine: ‘We are delighted to have Josephine working with us. She has already demonstrated in her efforts a sincere commitment to supporting new Australian writing, and we are excited to see what she will achieve with the Magazine.’
Westerly has been able to form the new role of Associate Editor thanks to the generous commitment of funding from the University of Western Australia. ‘We are very grateful for the support and faith that this investment in the Magazine represents,’ said Catherine. ‘It offers Westerly a chance to consolidate and build a strong foundation from the rapid growth of the previous two years.’
The expansion of the team, combined with the continued support of the Australia Council for the Arts, of Culture and the Arts WA (DLGSC), and of the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, promises great things for the coming year.
Josephine is commencing now as Associate Editor of Westerly and working towards the release of our next issue, which will come out in November and focus specifically on the cultural networks between Australia, Asia and the Indian Ocean.