Hobart’s emergence as a literary hotspot has long been sustained by the talents of students, staff and alumni from the University.
Now it is set to benefit more, with the newly named UNESCO City of Literature to be supported by the College of Arts, Law and Education’s Creative Writing program.
A $127,000 City of Literature PhD scholarship will be added to a host of activities already supporting our Tasmanian writers.
The bespoke scholarship will be offered to a student exploring literary culture or Tasmanian writing.
It comes on top of a range of programs already offered in the College. The Hedberg Writer-in-Residence program, funded by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, provides a three-month writing opportunity each year, while the James McAuley Creative Fellowship supports writers and other creatives. The University of Tasmania Prize is awarded for best unpublished work at the biennial Tasmanian Literary Awards. The Green Family Award for Tasmanian History, offered through the College, offers $25,000 for historical fiction and history writing. The College has also forged important partnerships with Tasmania Reads and Island magazine.
The Creative Writing program boasts award-winning alumni such as Robbie Arnott, Erin Hortle, Adam Ousten, Katherine Johnson and Adam Thomson, while research projects like Creative Antarctica are exploring the literary legacy of our broader region.
Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing Dr Lucy Christopher, herself an award-winning writer for young people, said the University would continue to be central to Hobart’s rich literary culture.
“The University already provides experienced and inspiring teaching of Creative Writing, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels,” Dr Christopher said.
“It will play a key role in inspiring, teaching, supervising and encouraging our future writers of Tasmania, as well as continuing to reach out to the literary community of Hobart with events and opportunities.”
The University also has a strong association with local writers including Danielle Wood, Robyn Mundy, Heather Rose, Ruairi Murphy, Alan Carter and Ben Walter, many of whom have also taught in the Creative Writing program.
“Hobart and all of Tasmania have become home to a thriving writing and reading culture,” Executive Dean of the College of Arts, Law and Education Professor Kate Darian-Smith said.
“This is in no small part due to our Creative Writing program, and we look forward to inspiring writers from the island and elsewhere to create our future literary works.”
Hobart/nipaluna’s original stories were revived by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community with palawa kani, a hybrid of lutruwita’s indigenous languages.
The city was the birthplace of the first Australian novel, published in 1818, is home to the winners of prizes around the world including the Vogel Award, Stella Prize, Commonwealth Writers Prize, Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and the Booker Prize.
Hobart joins the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Creative Cities Network of 350 cities in more than 100 countries.
“The cities in our Creative Cities Network are leading the way when it comes to enhancing access to culture and galvanising the power of creativity for urban resilience and development,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said.
If you are passionate about writing, find out more about our courses here.