QUT becomes Australian partner of The Writing Platform
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has invested in UK-based The Writing Platform, becoming the Australian partner of the platform.
The Writing Platform was established in 2012 by The Literary Platform, with support from the UK National Lottery, the Arts Council England and Bath Spa University. The platform publishes articles and resources about ‘writing in the digital age’, as well as holding events and running a bursary scheme for writers in the UK.
The new partnership with QUT means that Donna Hancox, senior lecturer in creative writing and literary studies at QUT, will take on the new role of Australian project editor and will be responsible for commissioning content from Australian writers and ‘thought leaders in digital writing and publishing’.
The Writing Platform co-founder Joanna Ellis told Books+Publishing that the platform will not be launching a dedicated Australian site and that the content commissioned by Hancox will be published alongside content from the UK at www.thewritingplatform.com. ‘We’ve already built up an audience for the site and by publishing articles from both the UK and Australia in one place, we’re hoping to provide all our readers with insight into a wide range of international voices and projects,’ said Ellis.
Ellis said that the partnership with QUT ‘will focus on editorial in the first instance’, but that once the partnership is more established, the team ‘will be looking at what other Writing Platform activity might work well in Australia, including our annual fair’. She said The Writing Platform also hopes to make its Bursary Scheme available to Australians and is ‘in the process of working out how best to run the scheme in 2013, including whether that’s as one global scheme or separate, local schemes’. In 2013, The Writing Platform Bursary Scheme allowed two writers and two ‘creative technologists’ in the UK to collaborate on a project of their choice.
Helen Klaebe, assistant dean of research and business development at QUT’s creative industries faculty, said in a statement that the university’s partnership with The Writing Platform will allow it to ‘explore digital futures for writers and equip them with the tools they may need for a diverse writing future’. ‘We are looking forward to combining our research skills and creative networks with the expertise of The Writing Platform to deliver innovative content and spark discussion from the Asia Pacific region,’ said Klaebe.
For more information about The Writing Platform, visit the website here.
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Category: Local news
