1. Can you describe the mission and goals of the QLD Writing Centre, and how these align with the broader goals of the state’s cultural or education initiatives?
Queensland Writers Centre was founded in 1990 and enjoys some of Australia’s most revered writers as founding patrons – Thea Astley, Bruce Dawe, Geoffrey Dutton, David Malouf, Michael Noonan, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Jill Shearer. We’re currently the largest and liveliest writing organisation in Australia.
We have four main goals. To nurture the potential of writers at all levels of experience, ensuring First Nations are represented, and create opportunities for writers, arts workers and the writing community. We also celebrate and showcase Queensland stories, storytellers and writing to strengthen Queensland communities through writing. We engage with industry to promote writers, create new and innovative pathways to success and broaden access to writing as an inclusive and diverse activity. Finally, we’re about building organisational resilience, through improved governance, diversified funding streams and broadening of our base.
In our very first newsletter, Craig Munro wrote about the importance of the Queensland Writers Centre’s widespread base. He believed that no writing form should be excluded, and none given favoured status. I think Craig’s words still summarise our values and continue to be at the core of our mission.
It’s interesting that you ask about our alignment with the goals of the state’s cultural initiatives because we’ve just been working on our Strategic Plan through to 2029 and our application for Arts Queensland organisational funding. So, we’ve been thinking about this a lot. Arts Queensland’s Creative Together takes us through to 2030 and we strongly align with its goals of elevating First Nations, activating local places and digital spaces, strengthening communities, sharing stories and celebrating storytellers, and driving social change.
QWC has grown a lot over the past seven years. We still support writers, but we’ve found new and innovative ways to do that. Ways that often give back to the community. For example, our biggest community initiative, Telling Our Stories To The World, employs writers to go into the regions and deliver workshops that help regional communities tell their own stories. The stories regional and remote communities tell about themselves are often very different to how others think of them. Our writers help them celebrate the places they live in and the lives they lead.
2. What types of services does the QWC offer to writers and aspiring writers, and how do you ensure these services meet the diverse needs of your clientele?
The great thing about the breadth of experience and the diversity of writing styles of our writers is that we can cater to almost anything a writer needs. From a quick writer’s consult with a staff member to a full manuscript assessment, we can support writers at any level as they work to elevate their writing.
Importantly though, many of our programs offer entrants unique services that give back the value of their entry fees. Our Ables suite of programs always offer a workshop that is based on that year’s pool of entries. Usually, a common problem seems to become obvious with each
year’s cohort. It might be that a lot of people have had trouble writing their synopsis or getting their dialogue working. So, we’ll engage a writer to deliver a workshop everyone can access.
We also employ editors, sensitivity readers and more specialised writers for our Accessible Writing program that services NDIS participants.
Writing is such as an easily accessible artform and our services are designed to help anyone who wants to write, whether the aim is to traditionally publish, self-publish or their writing is purely for personal satisfaction.
3. How do you assess the effectiveness of your programs and services? Are there specific feedback mechanisms in place?
A strong indicator of program effectiveness is repeat participation and growth in membership. If individuals find value in our offerings, they are more likely to return for future programs and encourage others to join. Tracking these metrics helps us gauge the overall appeal and impact of our services.
We implement a feedback loop at the conclusion of each workshop. This allows participants to provide immediate feedback on their experience, covering aspects like content, delivery, and overall satisfaction. This direct feedback is invaluable for making real-time adjustments and improvements to our workshops. For our services, we maintain a direct line of communication with a dedicated service officer. This provides our members with a channel to offer critiques and comments on the writers they worked with.
This direct feedback mechanism allows us to monitor the quality of our services and promptly address any concerns, ensuring member satisfaction and continuous improvement. This also offers a more personalised approach to feedback than general surveys, which aren’t as effective in getting detailed insight.
4. In your experience, what are the most common challenges faced by writers who come to the Centre, and how do you help them overcome these obstacles?
Because we support such a diverse range, the challenges faced can be equally diverse. But one thing we see a lot is writers thinking that they’ve written a story and now they’re done. Or that writing a book is a superannuation fund. That’s when the hard work begins, and the work required can be a lot.
There are the usual suspects of the synopsis and the difficulty so many writers have with this particular form. Nobody wants to give away the ending, but getting a publisher or agent interested requires the big reveal. Established writers might have challenges related more to the business of writing, and the fact that business is not the reason they became a writer. It can become a deterrent to their writing.
We really do see everything from technological challenges, to burn out, to sensitivity issues and more. Many writers feel isolated, so our Writing Friday program gives them a place to write with others and a system to get their writing done. Established writers are always searching for time to write, so we set funds aside for the Varuna Fellowships to assist a couple of writers each year and run many more residencies in the Centre itself.
When we’re looking at the themes behind the many projects we run we always take these things into consideration. That’s why we’ll have an event like GenreCon that’s dedicated to the business of writing. Writers want to know the numbers, how to market themselves, how to run their business. Because traditional publishing has changed and there are very few writers who get the privilege of having it all done for them.
On a day-to-day level, we have a range of services that offer different levels of assistance to writers. These are paid services, because the writers and arts workers delivering these services also need to be paid.
Our challenge in delivering these services is that there is a misconception that the Centre is fully funded and should deliver these for free. In reality, we receive limited funding that pays a small proportion of our operational costs. As a not-for-profit we put everything back into the membership we serve. An example of this would be the recent Poetry Awards where we provided feedback sessions with Professor Stephen Torre for Val Vallis entrants, and one-on- one sessions with spoken word poet Huda the Goddess for XYZ shortlisters. That’s where the money goes.
So, it’s a full circle of paying for established writers’ expertise as you improve your own expertise and make your way to possible publication, workshop delivery or more.
5. Do you have any collaborations or partnerships with other educational institutions, community organisations, or literary groups? How do these collaborations benefit your writers?
Collaborations and partnerships are essential to our business and allow us to achieve amazing things that not only benefit writers, but the wider literary community. We partner with universities to provide internships that provide real experiences for students. We’re proud of the work we do in this space, and it shows in things like QUT’s nomination of us in the ACEN Collaboration Award and the number of interns who continue to volunteer, work with us and go on to great careers.
Our …Able Development Program is built on collaborations with people like Screen Queensland, publishers and authors to deliver opportunities to writers. The …Ables are so successful that we have a huge number of entries from around Australia. And many of those authors are members. I love it when I hear authors from Tasmania, NSW, WA and overseas telling people that Queensland Writers Centre is their writers’ centre. It really demonstrates the value of the organisation and the programs we run.
We’re part of the National Writers Centre Network, representing writers across Australia and that allows for cross-promotion and discounts for our members. We also partner with various government departments, LGAs and regional partners to deliver successful community projects like Telling Our Stories To The World and Stay Connected.
We have a long-standing partnership with UQP, working to discover and support authors in the State. UQP is also a delivery partner for the Arts Queensland Thomas Shapcott Prize, and the Able… Development Program. Some of the greatest value comes from partnerships like this, as they represent a critical friend we can reach out to for specialised advice.
Just this week we’ve seen the benefits to writers as we hosted the Queensland launch of Nadia Mahjouri’s debut novel, Half Truth. Nadia first entered Publishable in 2021, taking the opportunity for paid feedback. She went on to shortlist in 2022, when we matched her with mentor Michael Mohammed Ahmed and Penguin publishers, who she is now published by. She also won a Varuna Fellowship where she was able to do further work on her manuscript and now she returns to us in 2025 for her debut. It’s a long path and we’re there to support all the way.
And because we’re a community we also had Queensland author Steve MinOn in the audience at that launch. Steve also came through Publishable, was paired with UQP and went on to win the Qld Literary Awards Glendower prize in 2023 and publish First Name Second Name with UQP.
That’s the benefit for writers.
6. How do you stay current with emerging trends in writing and education, and how do
you integrate these developments into the Centre’s offerings?
We stay current with emerging trends in writing and education through a multi-faceted approach, driven by a creative mindset that seeks innovative solutions. Our recent growth and success, including innovations like Writing Friday, the Ables, Residency Program, QPoetry! and Brisbane Children’s Writers Festival as well as hybrid online workshops, mentorship programs, and genre-specific initiatives like GenreCon are a testament to the effectiveness of this approach.
We’re a creative organisation, thriving on finding new solutions to challenges by being proactive and adaptable. We’re constantly exploring emerging trends and technologies, asking how we can use this to better serve our members, the writing community and the broader populace who can benefit from writing in so many ways. The innovations QWC has undertaken in recent years demonstrate this commitment and have been instrumental to our growth and success. We’re not afraid to experiment and push boundaries.
We prioritise listening to our community. We constantly engage with our members to understand their evolving needs. This includes considering questions like: What do writers need now? What were their needs during the challenges of Covid? What are the specific needs of poets compared to playwrights or novelists? This constant dialogue informs our decision- making and ensures our offerings remain relevant and impactful.
We embrace a culture of experimentation. We test new ideas, gather feedback, and iterate based on what we learn. We’re not afraid to “pivot” when necessary, adapting our strategies to meet the changing landscape. This agile approach allows us to stay ahead of the curve and provide cutting-edge programs and services. It’s why a place-based community project like Telling Our Stories To The World, providing a social prescription through writing to regional towns, can sit alongside a Fellowship program that provides some of our best writers with a 2- week residency at Varuna. It’s how we run our popular programs, like Year of the Novel, alongside small but important workshops, on diverse or underrepresented aspects of writing, that need support for people to attend.
QWC has a proven track record of taking fledgling ideas and turning them into flagship programs within the sector. This ability to identify promising trends and develop them into high-quality offerings is a key strength and allows us to lead the way in supporting writers and educators.
7. What strategies do you use to support writers at different stages of their careers—from beginners to more experienced professionals?
We support writers at all stages of their careers through a variety of targeted strategies. For emerging and new writers, we offer a carefully curated workshop program designed to build foundational skills, alongside opportunities to connect with established authors for manuscript assessments and mentoring sessions. We also actively commission mid-level and established writers. We support the development of new works, workshops, and provide opportunities for established authors with book launches and leveraging our extensive networks to maximize their reach.
We recognize that the mid-career stage, particularly the often challenging ‘third book’, presents unique hurdles. Therefore, we empower writers to take control of their author brand, audience engagement, and other essential elements of their career, regardless of their publishing route.
Programs like Printable and our mentorships with more experienced authors specifically address these needs. Finally, for established writers, our highly sought-after Varuna residencies, and for any writer, dedicated workspaces to provide the time and space needed for focused creative work. We call it permission to write.
8. How does the QWC foster a sense of community among writers, and how important is that sense of community in the services you provide?
At the Queensland Writers Centre, fostering a strong sense of community is absolutely central to everything we do.
We believe in walking alongside writers at every stage of their journey, from our GenreConjurers and poets to our young writers and published authors. Everyone at the Centre, staff and members alike, shares a passion for writing.
I often say our arms are wide open, and that’s not just a metaphor. We’re the only writers’ centre in Australia where you can literally walk in, sit down, and talk to someone. Our doors are wide open, and so are our minds. Whether you’re journaling for mental health, exploring self- publishing, working on literary fiction, or crafting a spooky kooky romance, we embrace it all.
This open-door, open-minded philosophy is how we build genuine connections and create a supportive environment where writers feel welcome, understood, and empowered. It’s an essential ingredient in all the services we provide, enriching the experience for every member of our writing community. Because we are writers at heart.
9. Looking ahead, what are your main goals for the future of QWC, and how do you plan to expand or evolve its offerings to better serve the writing community in QLD?
Looking ahead, our main goal for the Queensland Writers Centre, in a cheeky way, is to ‘keep on keeping on’.
We believe we play a vital, necessary role in the Queensland and broader writing community, and our current trajectory is to effectively serve our 2200+ members. While there are always
pressures from funding bodies to expand and do more, we believe there’s immense value in recognizing and supporting what’s already working.
We’re proud of the impact we have and the services we provide, and a key goal is to secure continued funding to maintain and strengthen these core offerings. Rather than necessarily expanding in all directions, we want to deepen our impact where it matters most and ensure we continue to meet the evolving needs of our member writers who come from all over Australia.
This might involve refining existing programs, exploring strategic partnerships, or focusing on specific areas of need within the writing community. Ultimately, we will be guided by our community.
You can contact QWC at https://queenslandwriters.org.au/