SRB, WSU, City of Parramatta to award Laureateship in Literature

The Sydney Review of Books (SRB) has announced a call for applications for the inaugural $50,000 Parramatta Laureateship in Literature, in partnership with the City of Parramatta and the Western Sydney University (WSU) Writing and Society Research Centre.

The laureateship will be awarded to ‘a highly regarded writer who has made an outstanding contribution to literature, is actively making new work, and ideally has connections to the Parramatta region’. The laureate will ‘produce a literary work of significance’ that relates to the City of Parramatta’s strategies, and will work as an advocate for literature, ‘inspiring current and future readers and writers’.

In the announcement, the SRB said: ‘Parramatta is the home of the Dharug Peoples who have continuously cared for culture and Country for more than 60,000 years through song, dance, knowledge sharing and storytelling. The City of Parramatta continues to innovate and thrive from this foundation of culture, welcoming people to our city from across the nation and the globe … The City of Parramatta is a growing and dynamic region that is developing rapidly as one of Australia’s major economic, cultural and educational centres.’ The SRB added that the laureate will be engaged to ‘tell a story of this transformation’, recognising ‘the unique and vital work of writers as contributors to narratives of place’.

More information is available on the SRB website. Applications are open until 20 October.

Category: Awards Local news