from the editor's desk
The Launch of Issue 61.2, and #writingmatters
This year has been an incredibly exciting one for Westerly, filled with new beginnings and new opportunities, and culminating now in the release of Westerly 61.2. We hope you will join us to celebrate on Tuesday the 6th of December at the New Fortune Theatre, in the Faculty of Arts building at the University of Western Australia, between 6pm and 8pm.
Issue 61.2 will be launched with an address by Delys Bird, there will be a reading of poetry from Paul Hetherington, and copies will be available for purchase on the night. Christmas drinks and nibbles will be on offer!
Admission is free, but tickets are limited so RSVP is essential: https://westerly61-2.eventbrite.com.au
Other News…
The DCA’s Writing Sector Review
The Department of Culture and the Arts are currently running a review of the writing and literary sector, to identify the challenges faced and opportunities available. This is an excellent chance to have our say and help shape the future for our local writing sector.
The consultants engaged to run the review, Positive Solutions, are currently disseminating a survey. It closes on the 5th, so we encourage you all to respond as soon as possible.
Take the survey by clicking here. Please note, the survey is designed for writers. If you are not a writer, but would like to register your thoughts regardless, we encourage you to contact the consultants at: info@positive-solutions.com.au.
#writingmatters
Our literary sector peak body, writingWA, are taking the opportunity of the review and the upcoming state election to make a clear statement about the importance of writing as a cultural form, and the need for investment in the sector.
To support this effort, they have created the hashtag #writingmatters, and a petition which will be delivered to both the Hon. John Day, Minister for Culture and the Arts, and the Hon. Michelle Roberts, Opposition Spokeswoman for Culture and the Arts.
To sign the petition, click here.
And get sharing with that hashtag, because #writingmatters!
I’m signing as a writing practitioner and industry freelance professional because Writing WA is clearly the best literature independent peak body in the country. It has led the other States as an innovator in the field and continues to deliver the best outcomes of any State’s literary peak body. Writing is the powerhouse and workhorse behind nearly all art forms and its importance in sustaining these forms cannot be minimised if we are to have a vibrant cultural sector. —Tom Flood, NSW, in support of the #writingmatters petition.
Shortlist Announced for the 2016 Dorothy Hewett Award!
A huge congratulations to our friends at UWA Publishing, on the announcement of the shortlist for the second annual Dorothy Hewett Award for an unpublished manuscript. We are thrilled to see some writers there we know!
The shortlisted authors are:
- Anne-Marie Priest, ‘A Free Flame’ (Queensland; narrative non-fiction).
- Odette Kelada, ‘Drawing Sybilla’ (Victoria; fiction).
- Karen Han Throssell, ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’ (Victoria; narrative non-fiction).
- Carolyn Abbs, ‘The Tiny Museums’ (Western Australia; poetry).
- Rachael Mead, ‘The Flaw in the Pattern’ (South Australia; poetry).
- Christopher Hill, ‘The Savage Club’ (Western Australia; fiction).
Congratulations to all on the shortlist! We’ll be looking forward to the big announcement.
