Stories Matter: A Writing and Literature Strategy for NSW

Embed literary expertise in Create NSW; work with Writing Australia; increase investment in literary infrastructure; strengthen global engagement.

Launch major writing fellowships; expand First Nations writing and publishing; ensure fair pay for creators; strengthen Western Sydney literary organisations and emerging writer’s academy; activate residencies for writers.

Establish NSW Literary Hub and invest in live literature events; collaborate with Writing Australia, Australia Reads and the Copyright Agency on LitUp pilot; increase library membership; extend the Sydney Writers Walk.

Embed writers in universities; partner with libraries, cultural institutions and councils to elevate the value of writing and writers; upskill arts journalists; create a book-to-stage and screen pipeline.

Advocate for the rights of creators and ensure their fair compensation in AI development and use; pursue tax reform to support long-term sustainability; reinforce freedom of expression by introducing freedom to collect legislation for libraries.

Dr Sarah Ayoub is a freelance journalist, bestselling author and academic based in Sydney, Australia. She is the author of 3 teen novels, including the Inky Award-longlisted The Yearbook Committee, and 4 children’s picture books. She holds a PhD in ethnic teen literature, is a sessional academic at the University of Sydney and sits on the board of the Australian Society of Authors.

James Bradley is a writer and critic. His books include the novels Wrack, The Deep Field, The Resurrectionist, Clade, Ghost Species and Landfall, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus, and a work of non-fiction, Deep Water: The World in the Ocean, which won the 2025 NSW Literary Award for Non-Fiction, a Gold Medal in the 2025 Nautilus Awards and was shortlisted for the 2025 Prime Minister’s Award for Non-Fiction.

Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon is the NSW State Librarian. She is an author of books on architecture and cities and has 25 years of executive leadership experience in public institutions. Previously, she was Deputy Secretary for Cities and Active Transport for NSW Government. She serves on many boards, including NSW Creative Communities Council and National and State Libraries Australasia.

Winnie Dunn is a Tongan-Australian writer from Mount Druitt. Winnie’s debut work of fiction, Dirt Poor Islanders, Australia’s first mainstream novel by a Pasifika author, won the 2025 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelists Award, and was shortlisted for two NSW Literary Awards and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. She is the General Manager of Sweatshop Literacy Movement and the editor of several acclaimed anthologies.

Sophie Gee is inaugural Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Sydney, co-leading the Campus Collaboration initiative to amplify public trust in university communities and knowledge. She is also Professor of English at Princeton University and has held fellowships at Yale and UCLA. She’s the author of scholarly monographs as well as a historical novel, The Scandal of the Season.

Dr Stuart Glover is the Head of Policy at the Australian Publishers Association. He has a background as an arts administrator, cultural industries consultant, and academic specialising in literary policy.

Lucy Hayward is the CEO of the Australian Society of Authors. Prior to the ASA, Lucy was marketing manager for Better Read Pty Ltd, which includes Sydney’s Better Read Than Dead bookshop. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Technology Sydney and has been a volunteer reader for Overland Literary Journal. Lucy currently sits on the board of Authors Legal, Australian Copyright Council, and the International Authors Forum.

Dr James Jiang edits the Sydney Review of Books, based in the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University. He has previously worked as an editor at Griffith Review and Australian Book Review. Before becoming an editor, he was an academic in literary studies, teaching at the University of Melbourne. He received his BA from Yale and his PhD from Cambridge.

Olivia Lanchester is a cultural policy consultant and intellectual property lawyer. Olivia was the CEO of the Australian Society of Authors from 2019 to 2024 and established Authors Legal, a national non-profit legal service for authors during that time. She is a Director of Authors Legal and Chair of the government’s Public Lending Right Committee.

Jay Lansdown is the owner of Constant Reader Bookshop and Constant Reader Kids in Crows Nest. Constant Reader continues to run a broad author event program including ‘Writers at Stanton’. Jay sat on the board of the Australian Booksellers Association from 2014 to 2023 and was President from 2019 to 2021.

Brooke is the Chief Executive Officer of the Sydney Writers’ Festival and brings over 30 years of experience in delivering large-scale live productions including theatre, concerts and festivals. Brooke’s career has spanned contemporary music, dance, visual arts, physical theatre, circus, food and wine, and literature. Notable roles include Artistic Director at Cirque du Soleil and Executive Director – Concerts and Touring at Universal Music in New York, Festival Director of The Taste of Tasmania, Executive Producer of Woolworths Carols in the Domain, and Festival Producer and Major Events Project Manager at the Sydney Opera House.