Project Archive
Apropos Poetry 2009
Presented by writingWA in association with the Perth Writers' Festival and sponsored by the W.A. Department of Culture and the Arts, Apropos Poetry was a literary event without precedent in Western Australia. Over four days, 25-28 February - Apropos Poetry brought together twenty six leading practitioners of the national poetry sector - including representatives of poetry presses and journals, industry bodies such as the Australian Society of Authors and the Literature Board of the Australia Council, and numerous highly acclaimed and award winning poets – to deliver a programme of masterclasses, workshops, panel events and manuscript appraisals.
Visiting interstate practitioners contributing to the programme include Judith Beveridge, poetry editor for leading Australian journal Meanjin and an acclaimed poet in her own right; Ivor Indyk, publisher of Giramondo Press; and Jeremy Fisher, Executive Officer of the Australian Society of Authors.
Broometime Writers In Residence 2008
Over a number of years, writingWA has been enabling professional writers to visit Broome to conduct activities such as readings, author talks, school workshops, and adult writing group workshops. These initiatives have been consistently well received and are contributing to a growing interest in reading and writing activities within the community.
Building on these foundations, BroomeTime centred on two established West Australian writers (Rebecca Giggs and Andrew Burke) being supported to work as writers-in-residence in the Broome community throughout October and November 2008 respectively. During the residency, each writer was supported to develop his/her own writing practice, while also being required to facilitate a series of community writing workshops (a total of 6 workshops per 4/week residency) and further providing individual consultations with each writing group participant (min 1 hour consultation each).
BroomeTime was presented in a partnership between writingWA, Broome Regional Library, Country Arts WA through the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, and the Community Arts Network, with additional support from Notre Dame University (Broome Campus). The project was sponsored by Skywest, Western Australia's premier regional airline.
Australian Poetry Slam 2007 and 2008
In 2008, writingWA built on the huge public success of the 2007 Australian Poetry Slam, and proved that Perth poets and audiences love to Slam. In 2008 we partnered with the Artrage Bakery Complex to deliver three Perth metropolitan heats and the WA State final. All heats achieved the maximum participation of 20 competing poets, and once again all heats were presented to enthusiastic capacity audiences.
WA’s regional talent was also recognised in the ABC online component of the Slam, with a competitor from Geraldton being chosen as the national wild card entry in the final at the Sydney Opera House. ABC 720’s sponsorship of the Slam delivered further outcomes in audience and market development, as each of the live events was recorded and broadcast during 720 drive.
Western Australia fared well in the 2008 national final with our two state representatives, Mark Lloyd and Nicole Hobby, both performing strongly. Mark Lloyd achieved second place.
Indigenous Illustration Workshops 2007
Award winning children's illustrator and author Ann James conducted two 4-day workshops, designed to enable Indigenous visual artists to develop skills and knowledge in the area of children's picture book illustration. The workshops were held in Broome 24-27 Sept, and Perth 2-5 Oct and were presented by writingWA, Magabala Books and Artsource, with support from Perth Central TAFE and the Australia Council for the Arts.
Publisher Training Programme 2006-9
The Publisher Training Programme was established in 2006 with funding provided by the Copyright Agency Ltd. The objective of the fund was to support the West Australian publishing sector by enabling increased access to professional development and training programmes. Over a three year period the fund supported 27 individuals to participate in a variety of PD programmes and opportunities.
Mentoring Programme 2002-6
Across the 5 year period that writingWA was able to offer this programme, we provided mentoring opportunities for 13 emerging authors - including Craig Silvey and Alice Nelson. 8 of the young writers who received mentoring went on to achieve publication - an overall success rate of 62%. The programme was discontinued in 2006 due to changes in Literature Board funding policies.