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from the editor's desk

Westerly 65.1

Westerly 65.1 Launch

Westerly is proud to announce the launch of our latest issue, Westerly 65.1, a general issue featuring the work of writers from across Australia and overseas.

On this occasion, we’re celebrating the release as an online event, with live readings from some of the superlative writers featured in the issue, some giveaways and a discount for orders placed during the event!


Contributors to Westerly 65.1 include Felicity Plunkett, Nardi Simpson, Nicholas Jose, Tracy Ryan, Kevin Brophy, Brenda Saunders, Megan Kaminski, Bryn Dodson, Jen Webb, Carly Stone, Paul Hetherington, Laurie Steed, Adele Aria, Chris Fleming, Donna Mazza, Jonathan Dunk, Brigid Lowry, Julieanne Lamond, Jazz Money, Andrew Lansdown, Anne Elvey, Linda Martin, Matt Hall and Sophie Finlay, Jackson, Alan Fyfe, Virginia Boudreau and Chloe Hosking, amongst many others.

Taking the form of a letter, the editorial in the issue from Catherine Noske reaches out to connect with readers of Westerly in a time of great uncertainty and rapid transition:

“Underestimating the arts comes with a risk to the richness of the cultural life of any society. Art offers clarity, sincerity, emotion. It calls out facetiousness and turns us towards empathy […] Much of the writing submitted to this issue circled around the nature of the crisis we are facing, calling for feeling in response, or opening up new worlds for contemplation. We met with trauma and, in some works, the reclamation of self. In other moments, we read warmth, curiosity and joy.” (Editorial, Catherine Noske)

In Westerly 65.1, we share material from participants in our Writers’ Development Program, the culmination of working one-on-one with esteemed mentors in their genre. We know readers will be delighted with the contributions from these emerging writers.

Issue 65.1 also includes the second part of an essay from Kevin Brophy, in which he gives a personal account of his interactions with artist Lorri Whiting, and considers her legacy; a further selection of images featuring her artworks is reproduced in splendid colour, including on the cover of the issue.

We are also proud to feature in the issue an extract from Nardi Simpson’s debut novel, Song of the Crocodile, the 2018 winner of Queensland’s Black&Write! Indigenous Writer’s Fellowship. Nardi’s novel will be published soon with Hachette – it’s one to look out for!

Westerly 65.1 will be launched at 6pm Perth time (GMT+8) on Thursday 30 July, via Zoom. Admission is free but tickets are limited, so RSVP is essential! RSVP for the launch over at Eventbrite—you’ll have the chance to buy Westerly 65.1 at our special launch price, wherever you are!

Cover image: © Lorri Whiting, reproduced with the permission of her estate. Photograph © Kevin Brophy, 2019.

Westerly 65.1 has been produced with the support of the Australia Council, Culture and the Arts WA (Department of LGSC), the University of Western Australia, and the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. We are, as always, extremely grateful for this support.

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