Australian Writers’ Guild supports campaign by writingWA to push for greater funding for the literary arts

9 February, 2017

The peak body for writers in Western Australia, writingWA, has launched a campaign to urge the State Government to increase funding and recognition of the literary arts and literary organisations in Western Australia.

The campaign, #writingmatters, calls on the Government to recognise the value Western Australian writers, publishers and other sector practitioners make to the state and national culture, economy and society. It follows the Government’s decision to review the sector after defunding many key WA literary organisations, including the Australian Writers’ Guild’s WA branch, The Literature Centre and writingWA.

In response to the review, writingWA launched an online campaign and petition in late 2016, urging the Government to invest in WA writing and publishing, in particular small-to-medium sector organisations who specialise in the development of emerging writers, and to reinstate funding to writingWA.

‘The Australian Writers’ Guild supports writingWA’s campaign, with a shared commitment to seeing Australian writers and stories nurtured and developed,’ said Barbara Connell, AWG Board and WA Committee Member.

‘Literary organsations such as the Guild and writingWA are vital to developing, celebrating and promoting the contribution Australian storytelling makes to our cultural and economic landscape, and this should be recognised and supported by the Government,’ she said.

To find out more about writingWA’s campaign and to sign the petition calling on the Government to increase recognition and funding of the literary arts, go here.