Half of the writers shortlisted for the national Stella Prize have won fellowships through State Library of Queensland’s (SLQ) writing programs. Claire G. Coleman, black&write! Fellowship winner, Mirandi Riwoe, current Queensland Writers Fellowship winner and Krissy Kneen, past Queensland Writers Fellowship winner, have all been shortlisted for the Australian women’s literary award, which will be announced next month.
State Librarian and CEO Vicki McDonald said that this year’s Stella Prize shortlist is illustrative of the quality of State Library fellows. “This shortlisting demonstrates the value and importance of our fellowship programs and the calibre of the writers who apply for them,” Vicki said. The black&write! and Queensland Writers Fellowships support home grown writers and help share their work with an Australian and global readership. The three annual Queensland Writers Fellowships, worth $15,000 each, provide support for leading Queensland writers to develop a writing project towards publication over a 12 month period.
The Queensland Writers Fellowships are funded by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and State Library of Queensland, and supported by the Queensland Writers Centre. The black&write! Fellowships are part of a national program to foster a significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing community.
The State Library project is designed to recruit, train, and mentor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander editors to develop Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authored manuscripts. Queensland Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch says she is “delighted” to see three State Library fellowship winners on the Stella shortlist. “The Queensland Government is a proud supporter of the state’s literary community, and continues to provide aspiring writers with opportunities to develop their manuscripts and writing projects.” black&write! is supported by the Australian Government, through the Australia Council for the Arts, and Hachette Australia.
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