The First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN) is the peak advocacy body for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers, storytellers and poets in Australia.

History

The seeds for the organisation were sown at the Guwanyi Indigenous Writers Festival in March 2011, although the idea had been discussed much earlier, at a 1993 writers' workshop in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Anita Heiss Anita Marianne Heiss (born 1968) is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her me ...

Jared Thomas Jared Thomas (born 1976) is an Australian author of children's fiction, playwright and museum curator. Several of his books have been shortlisted for awards, and he has been awarded three writing fellowships. In May 2018 he began a 12-month sec ...

, and

Kerry Reed-Gilbert Kerry Reed-Gilbert (24 October 1956 – 13 July 2019) was an Australian poet, author, collector, editor, educator, a champion of Indigenous writers and an Aboriginal rights activist. She was a Wiradjuri woman. Early life Born on 24 October 1956 ...

. In 2012, a working party established to work towards the goal, comprising Thomas, Reed-Gilbert,

Philip McLaren Philip McLaren (born 1943) is an Aboriginal Australian author and academic known for literary fiction, detective stories and thrillers. Biography McLaren is an Aboriginal Australian of the Kamilaroi people. Both of his parents, who have some S ...

Jackie Huggins Jacqueline Gail "Jackie" Huggins (born 19 August 1956) is an Aboriginal Australian author, historian, academic and advocate for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She is a Bidjara/Pitjara, Birri Gubba and Juru woman from Queensland. she ...

, Sam Watson Snr,

Jim Everett James Samuel Everett III (born January 3, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Purdue Boilerma ...

(aka puralia meenamatta, Tasmanian writer, playwright, and poet), Alexis West (dancer, choreographer, performer, writer, filmmaker), John Harding (playwright), Peter Minter (poet and editor),

Marcus Waters Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

(Kamilaroi screenwriter and academic, and Marie Munkara (Darwin-based writer of

Rembarrnga The Rembarrnga people, also spelt Rembarunga and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Language The Rembarrnga language is a non-Pama-Nyungan language belonging to the Gunwinyguan language family. Coun ...

and Tiwi descent). First Nations Australia Writers Network was established in 2013, with Reed-Gilbert as the first chair. Cathy Craigie was a co-founder and became executive director of the organisation.

Description

FNAWN serves as an advocacy body and resources service for emerging and established Indigenous Australian writers, poets and storytellers, helping to develop skills and provide development opportunities, "to sustain and enhance First Nations Australians writing and storytelling". It is registered as a charitable organisation based in Canberra, with all of its funding coming from government grants. , Jackie Huggins is patron and poet Yvette Holt is chair. Board members are

Jeanine Leane Jeanine is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jeanine Áñez (born 1967), Bolivian politician and lawyer who served as Interim President of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020 *Jeanine Bapst (born 1968), Swiss ski mountaineer *Jeanine Basin ...

, Samantha Faulkner, John Harding,

Ali Cobby Eckermann Ali Cobby Eckermann (born 1963) is an Australian poet of Aboriginal Australian ancestry. She is a Yankunytjatjara woman born on Kaurna land in South Australia. Eckermann has written poetry collections, verse novels and a memoir, and has been sh ...

and Rachel Bin Salleh.

Activities and events

In May 2013, FNAWN organised its first national workshop, a three-day-event in

attended by 120 Indigenous writers, poets and storytellers, as well as non-Indigenous literary, agents, publishers and individuals. The second workshop, held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

in 2015, was an opportunity to demonstrate the work of its members and the success of the organisation, both within Australia and internationally. A third workshop was held in Canberra in August 2018. FNAWN was one of the main organisers of the first trip by Aboriginal writers to the US, to attend a

book fair A book is a medium for recording information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed ...

to showcase their work. It has hosted guests from Canada, New Zealand and the US at various events. In 2014, the FNAWN worked with

Australian Poetry Australian literature is the literature, written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Australia, Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western civilisation, Western history, Australia was ...

on the management of the

Scanlon Prize for Indigenous Poetry Australian literature is the written or literary work produced in the area or by the people of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding colonies. During its early Western history, Australia was a collection of British colonies; as such ...

. In September 2015, in a collaboration with Poets House in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, a recording of six FNAWN members reading their work was presented at a special event, and recorded for posterity. Introduced by Craigie, the six readers were: Jeanine Leane, Dub Leffler,

Melissa Lucashenko Melissa Lucashenko is an Indigenous Australian writer of adult literary fiction and literary non-fiction, who has also written novels for teenagers. In 2013 at The Walkley Awards, she won the "Feature Writing Long (over 4000 words) Award" for ...

Bruce Pascoe Bruce Pascoe (born 1947) is an Aboriginal Australian writer of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and children's literature. As well as his own name, Pascoe has written under the pen names Murray Gray and Leopold Glass. Since August 2 ...

and

Ellen van Neerven Ellen van Neerven (born 1990) is an Aboriginal Australian author, educator and editor. They are queer and non-binary. Their first work of fiction, ''Heat and Light'' (2013), won several awards, and in 2019 Van Neerven won the Queensland Premie ...

. Submissions consisting of poems of up to 40 lines for a volume entitled ''FN COVID-19 Anthology 2021'' closed in December 2020. The project is overseen by FNAWN publisher, Yvette Holt, in association with

, and funded by the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.fnawn.com.au/ 2013 establishments in Australia Indigenous Australian literature Organisations based in Australia