Griffith REVIEW has recently received two grants from the Australia Council to produce and promote Griffith REVIEW 49: New Asia(August 2015).
The ‘Creative Partnerships with Asia’ ($40,000) grant will be used to produce the edition, and a further grant ‘Asia in Australia’ ($50,000) will be used to tour authors throughout Australia after publication. Published in association with Asia Literary Review, the book will be co-edited by Griffith REVIEW’s Founding Editor, Professor Julianne Schultz AM FAHA and Jane Camens, Founder and Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Writers & Translators Association (AP Writers).
The edition will showcase new writing from twenty established and emerging writers from the Asian region, and hopes to capture perspectives from India to the far Pacific Islands. The authors will be citizens of one of these countries, but do not necessarily need to be residents.
“Our ambition with New Asiais to claim the cultural high ground by identifying the new generation of writers from the region who will be the agenda setters and style leaders of the future, introducing them to readers beyond their national borders, and placing them on the international agenda.” said Susan Hornbeck, Associate Publisher for the Griffith REVIEW.
“We aim to take the leading role internationally by doing so — in the way, for instance, Granta has done with its collection of the best new American and Brazilian writers. This is a great opportunity for Australia to take a leading cultural role in this region.”
Writing can be sometimes forgotten in cultural outreach, but it is one of the most important and enduring art forms. It is envisioned thatNew Asia will paint a picture of a region set to dominate the world in the twenty-first century, offering fresh insights into important geopolitical and cultural issues.
After publication, Griffith REVIEW will tour 6 Asian authors from the edition to events at Melbourne Writers Festival, Brisbane Writers Festival, Byron Bay Writers Festival, the National Library of Australia, and events in partnership with Sydney Writers Festival and Adelaide Writers Week.
Call for submissions is open. See the Griffith REVIEW website for more information.