The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) was established in Sydney in 1928, with the aim of bringing writers together and promoting their interests. The organisation played a key role in the establishment of the

Australian Society of Authors The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was formed in 1963 as the organisation to promote and protect the rights of Australia's authors and illustrators. The Fellowship of Australian Writers played a key role it its establishment. The organisat ...

in 1963, a national body and now the main professional organisation in Australia for writers of literary works. As of 2018, the following state-based independent organisations carried the name: Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW Inc. (a continuation of the original), Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland, Fellowship of Australian Writers Tasmania, Fellowship of Australian Writers (VIC) Inc., and the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) Inc., most of which were founded in the 1930s.

History

Various claims have been made about its origin, but it seems that poet,

Mary Gilmore Dame Mary Jean Gilmore (née Cameron; 16 August 18653 December 1962) was an Australian writer and journalist known for her prolific contributions to Australian literature and the broader national discourse. She wrote both prose and poetry. Gi ...

, was encouraged by

Roderic Quinn Roderic Joseph Quinn (26 November 1867 – 15 August 1949) was an Australian poet. Early life Quinn was born in Sydney the seventh child of Irish parents: Edward Quinn, letter-carrier, and his wife Catherine. He was educated at Catholic school ...

, and helped by Lucy Cassidy (wife of poet R.J. Cassidy), to hold a meeting of writers, at which a president,

John Le Gay Brereton John Le Gay Brereton (2 September 1871 – 2 February 1933) was an Australian poet, critic and professor of English at the University of Sydney. He was the first president of the Fellowship of Australian Writers when it was formed in Sydney in ...

was elected.Wilde et al. (1994) It was initially a Sydney-based organisation, but gradually spread to other states, with Victoria and Western Australia being the first. In 1955 a federal council was created, with the national president rotating between the state presidents. Early prominent members include: in New South Wales,

Flora Eldershaw Flora Sydney Patricia Eldershaw (16 March 1897 – 20 September 1956) was an Australian novelist, critic and historian. With Marjorie Barnard she formed the writing collaboration known as M. Barnard Eldershaw. She was also a teacher and later a ...

Marjorie Barnard Marjorie Faith Barnard (16 August 18978 May 1987) was an Australian novelist and short story writer, critic, historian—and librarian. She went to school and university in Sydney, and then trained as a librarian. She was employed as a librari ...

Frank Dalby Davison Frank Dalby Davison (23 June 1893 – 24 May 1970), also known as F. D. Davison and Freddie Davison, was an Australian novelist and short story writer. Whilst several of his works demonstrated his progressive political philosophy, he is be ...

Dymphna Cusack Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (21 September 1902 – 19 October 1981) was an Australian writer and playwright. Personal life Born in Wyalong, New South Wales, Cusack was educated at Saint Ursula's College, Armidale, New South Wales and graduated f ...

Miles Franklin Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (14 October 187919 September 1954), known as Miles Franklin, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel ''My Brilliant Career'', published by Blackwoods of Edinburgh in 1901. While ...

and T. Inglis Moore; in Victoria,

Nettie Palmer Janet Gertrude "Nettie" Palmer (née Higgins) (18 August 1885 – 19 October 1964) was an Australian poet, essayist and Australia's leading literary critic of her day. She corresponded with women writers and collated the Centenary Gift Book which ...

; and in Western Australia,

Henrietta Drake-Brockman Henrietta Drake-Brockman (27 July 1901 – 8 March 1968) was an Australian journalist and novelist. Early life Henrietta Frances York Jull was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1901 to public service commissioner Martin Edward Jull (1862–19 ...

and

Katharine Susannah Prichard Katharine Susannah Prichard (4 December 18832 October 1969) was an Australian author and co-founding member of the Communist Party of Australia. Early life Prichard was born in Levuka, Fiji in 1883 to Australian parents. She spent her childhoo ...

. The FAW was, with ex-Prime Minister

Jim Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 Australian federal election. He was the first Cathol ...

, largely responsible for a trebling of the

Commonwealth Literary Fund The Commonwealth Literary Fund (CLF) was an Australian Government initiative founded in 1908 to assist needy Australian writers and their families. It was Federal Australia's first systematic support for the arts. Its scope was later broadened to e ...

's budget in 1939.

Australian Authors' Week

In 1935 the Fellowship organised an Authors' Week to, in the words of their press release, "encourage the development of our national literature, especially by bringing the work of our authors before the general public and schools". The week took place from 8 to 13 April and was held at Farmers' Blaxland Galleries. Events included personal appearances by authors, display of Australian books, dramatisations from Australian works, lectures by writers, radio broadcasts and an authors' ball.Dever (1992) p.101 The Week was prompted by a longstanding desire of the Fellowship to strengthen the place of Australian literature in Australian society, and it was believed that a way to do this was to encourage a closer dialogue between authors and their audience. The week was preceded by significant promotion and communication to the community primarily through newspapers and magazines. An editorial written in ''The Telegraph'' during the week commented on the popularity of

Ion Idriess Ion Llewellyn Idriess (20 September 18896 June 1979) was a prolific and influential Australian author. He wrote more than 50 books over 43 years between 1927 and 1969 – an average of one book every 10 months, and twice published three books i ...

and suggested that:

Therein is cause to hope that ere long the appreciation for Australian writings will grow and widen to embrace the works of many others who, with a growing confidence in ultimate success, are continually and obscurely working to give Australians a literature which they may call their own.

The events of the week were mostly held during the day and hence primarily reached, or in some cases specifically targeted at, women, children and teachers. Indeed, it was generally accepted that women formed the bulk of the readership.

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his genera ...

, for example, wrote that "My personal opinion is that the average woman reads much better stuff than the average man".Dever (1992) p. 107 In his Authors' Week talk, Frank Dalby Davison said that "many people preferred yelling themselves hoarse at a test match or racecourse to reading a book by a cultured author". Overall, the Week was deemed a success, with Marjorie Barnard writing that they'd received "a good deal of publicity" and were "pretty satisfied with the effort".

Awards

Historical

The

FAW Patricia Weickhardt Award to an Aboriginal Writer The Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW) was established in Sydney in 1928, with the aim of bringing writers together and promoting their interests. The organisation played a key role in the establishment of the Australian Society of Authors in ...

was awarded from 1976 to 1991. Winners included

David Unaipon David Ngunaitponi (28 September 1872 – 7 February 1967), known as David Unaipon, was an Aboriginal Australian man of the Ngarrindjeri people. He was a preacher, inventor and author. Unaipon's contribution to Australian society helped to bre ...

(posthumously), Sally Morgan,

Oodgeroo Noonuccal Oodgeroo Noonuccal ( ; born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, later Kath Walker (3 November 192016 September 1993) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, artist and educator, who campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Noonuccal was best known for ...

and

Dick Roughsey Dick Roughsey (ca. 1920 – 1985) was an Indigenous Australians, Australian Aboriginal artist from the Lardil language group on Mornington Island in the south-eastern Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland. His tribal name was Goobalathaldin, meaning � ...

. In 1999,

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

and

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 ...

jointly won the FAW Australian Literature Award.

Current

The national, state and regional offices of the FAW offer a large number of literary competitions and awards. The Victorian chapter offers national awards known as the Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria Inc. National Literary Awards, including: *

Christopher Brennan Award The Christopher Brennan Award (formerly known as the Robert Frost Prize) is an Australian award given for lifetime achievement in poetry. The award, established in 1973, takes the form of a bronze plaque which is presented to a poet who produces w ...

(formerly the Robert Frost Prize) for lifetime achievement in poetry * Christina Stead Award *

Melbourne University Publishing Award 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 metropoli ...

"an award for a non-fiction book first published in Australia, of sustained quality and distinction with an Australian theme", annual for over 30 years, sponsored by

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Press. *

Anne Elder Award The Anne Elder Trust Fund Award for poetry was administered by the Victorian branch of the Fellowship of Australian Writers from its establishment in 1976 until 2017. From 2018 the award has been administered by Australian Poetry. It is awarded ann ...

for poetry *

Barbara Ramsden Award The Barbara Ramsden Award was administered by Fellowship of Australian Writers and awarded annually to an author and editor in recognition of the efforts of both parties to produce a quality fiction or non-fiction book. The winners receive a memo ...

for the editor as well as the author of "a book of quality writing in any field of literature"Bangsund (2004) The FAW Marjorie Barnard Short Story Award is a New South Wales award.

Presidents

Presidents of the Fellowship of Australian Writers include: *

Patsy Adam-Smith Patricia Jean Adam-Smith, (31 May 1924 – 20 September 2001) was an Australian author, historian and servicewoman. She was a prolific writer on a range of subjects covering history, folklore and the preservation of national traditions,Adelaide ...

Bartlett Adamson George Ernest “Bartlett” Adamson (22 December 1884 – 4 November 1951) was an Australian journalist, poet, author and political activist. Life and work Adamson was born at Cascade, Ringarooma, Tasmania, Australia, on 22 December 1884 to a ...

(1928) inaugural *

Walter Francis John Jago Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

(1931) *

* Donald Stuart (1974-1975) *

Hilarie Lindsay Hilarie Lindsay (18 April 1922 – 5 May 2021) was an Australian toy manufacturer and writer of short stories, poetry, instructional texts, biography and other genres.Lofthouse, Andrea (Comp.). ''Who's Who of Australian Women.'' Methuen Austra ...

(1982–1984, 1992–1994)

Notes

References

Bangsund, John (1984) "Scenes of editorial life: The awards dinner" originally published in ''The Society of Editors Newsletter'', April 1984
Retrieved 2007-07-24 *Dever, Maryanne (1992) "Courting the reader: Australian Authors' Week 1935" in ''Australian Cultural History'', no. 11, pp. 100–110
Fellowship of Australian Writers (Vic) – About the Fellowship
Retrieved 2007-07-24 * Fox, Len (editor) (1988). Dream at a Graveside: The History of the Fellowship of Australian Writers 1928 - 1988. Sydney: Fellowship of Australian Writers. . * Wilde, W., Hooton, J. & Andrews, B (1994) ''The Oxford Companion of Australian Literature'' 2nd ed. South Melbourne, Oxford University Press