Writing Australia announces new funding programs, partnerships
Writing Australia has announced 3 new investment programs, 4 new partnerships and 2 new publishing industry strategic grants.
Opening soon, the new investment opportunities fall into 3 categories:
- The Australian Publishing and Promotion Fund, which “aims to support a viable publishing ecosystem that contributes quality literature to the richness and diversity of Australian culture”, offering grants of between $50,000 and $200,000
- The Literary Journals Capacity Building Fund, which “aims to strengthen the sustainability of Australian literary journals by improving digital infrastructure and supporting editorial capacity”, offering grants of between $15,000 and $50,000
- The Writers’ Festival Author Travel Fund, which aims to “support Australian authors to connect with readers and peers through writers’ festivals around the country”, offering grants of between $5,000 and $30,000.
Two new industry strategic grants were also announced, to be administered by the Australian Publishers Association:
- International Market Initiatives, which aims to “expand global opportunities for Australian authors and the book industry” through $420,000 in funding towards a redesigned book fair stand, subsidies for agents and publishers to attend major book fairs, and a new digital platform to showcase Australian books internationally
- Three data and analytics project, which together are set to receive $400,000 towards a curated discoverability platform for Australian books, enhancements to TitlePage, and a BookFinder pilot project “to help readers locate local stockists”.
Existing Australian Government funding for literature projects – including Arts Projects, the International Travel Fund, the International Engagement Fund and the Translation Fund for Literature – will also continue, with increased investment from Writing Australia. The next closing date for Arts Projects is 3 March.
The Writing Australia Council has also endorsed 4 new delivery partnerships to support writers, readers, and children’s literature:
- Varuna, the National Writers’ House: $175,000 per year for 3 years to provide residencies for writers at all career stages
- Australia Reads: $300,000 per year for 3 years “to promote the benefits of reading and take a united industry approach to boosting Australia’s reading rates”
- Children’s Book Council of Australia: $100,000 per year for 2 years to support the delivery of Children’s Book Council Awards
- Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation: $150,000 per year for 2 years for the organisation’s core operations, programming, communications and future development planning.
Writing Australia was established on 1 July 2025 as part of Revive, the Australian Government’s national cultural policy. Its purpose is to strengthen the Australian literature sector and further develop local and international markets and audiences.
Also mentioned in the current announcement was the National Poet Laureate scheme, which was first announced prior to the launch of Writing Australia itself, and which will soon open for nominations.
Further details about Writing Australia and its investments are available on the organisation’s website.
