Commonwealth Now is a collection of essays, reportage, memoir, fiction and poetry. Co-edited by Julianne Schultz and Jane Camens, it features writers from around the world, who explore the contemporary experience of Commonwealth citizens. It covers confronting new challenges, reconciling the past, creating a sustainable and equitable future, settling scores and opening new exchanges.
Supported by the Queensland Government through Embracing 2018, Commonwealth Now urges a renewed examination of our common histories.
It provides an important cultural contribution to discussions leading up to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
At the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April, athletes from countries that were once a part of the British Empire will battle for gold. This edition of Commonwealth Now examines whether the Commonwealth of Nations is more than a legacy of another age. The edition will also explore the role the Commonwealth is poised to play as a values-based network that represents a third of the world’s population.
Though it is clear that the old empires are long gone, these questions will play out in global forums.
This is influenced by the changes triggered by Brexit, the election of US President Donald Trump, and the rise of China and India.
Panels featuring Commonwealth Now authors have been programmed with Griffith Review’s event and festival partners. These will take place in Adelaide, Wellington, Canberra, Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and London.
Commonwealth Now is published with the support of the Department of Innovation, Tourism Industry Development and the Commonwealth Games and Australia Council for the Arts.
Readers may also be interested in this story about the WOW Festival.
