Writers Centres welcome $19.3 million for Writers Australia in new National Cultural Policy
The National Writers Centre Network (NWCN) has welcomed the Albanese Government’s National Cultural Policy, Revive, launched in Melbourne on Monday 30 January by Arts Minister Tony Burke.
The Policy includes the creation of a new body called Writers Australia located within the re-fashioned Australia Council for the Arts, which will now be known as “Creative Australia”.
Writers Australia will receive $19.3 million in funding to better support writers to create new works, invest in key literary organisations, develop publishing market opportunities, establish a National Poet Laureate program, and deliver the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
The Public Lending Right and Educational Lending Right schemes will also be expanded to include digital works.
Jessica Alice, CEO of Writers SA and spokesperson for the NWCN, a coalition of state literary organisations, said the new Revive policy “is genuinely exciting” and will provide greatly needed support to rebuild a long neglected literary sector.
“This is a turning point for literary policy and represents a new level of commitment by a federal government to improve the working conditions and wages of writers,” Alice said.
“We look forward to working with the Government to ensure Writers Australia is able to realise its ambitions and fully support the entire literary ecosystem, from writer to literary journal to writers centre.”
The National Writers Centre Network is a coalition of state literary organisations made up of Writers SA, NT Writers Centre, Writing WA, Writers Victoria, Writing NSW, and Queensland Writers Centre.
This statement originally appeared on the Writers SA website.