Category Archives: Conference

Registrations Open for 31st AAWP Conference

Registrations are now open for the 31st Annual Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) Conference 2026, “Voicing Our Worlds”, UNSW Sydney, 2–4 December 2026, supported by the School of the Arts & Media, and the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, UNSW Sydney.

Hosted by the Literary Provocations Hub at UNSW, AAWP2026 will be held in-person at the UNSW Kensington campus, situated on unceded Bidjigal lands. The conference is a cross-institutional collaboration between UNSW, Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University, University of Wollongong, and University of Sydney.

Registration to the conference is free for all First Nations delegates. We request that you register via the button below for catering and logistics purposes:

Conference registrations

Workshops

Sign up for our exciting suite of pre-conference (Tuesday 1 December) professional development workshops with leading Sydney-based writers and artists including Felicity Plunkett, Julie Koh, Subhash Jaireth, Lizzie Levot, Troy Reid and Clare Britton.

Register via the button below for the conference and workshops. Early Bird closes September 30:

Workshop registrations

Postgraduate Day

Build your research skills and connect with our Creative Writing community at our free and hybrid Postgraduate Day program (Tuesday 1 December), open to all Creative Writing HDRs and ECRs, and featuring sessions with Jen Webb, Melody Ellis, Lee McGowan, Carolyn Beasley and Ariella Van Luyn. Register via the button below:

Postgraduate Day registrations

StorySALOON / AAWP Collaboration

Win exciting prizes by supporting local writers, performers, and colleagues through our StorySALOON-AAWP 2026 collab. Buy a ticket for someone else and spread the love with our Pay It Forward option. For more information, click here and scroll down to Schedule > Day 2.

Please note: All presenters need to register for the conference and must be current AAWP members. If you are unsure if your membership is current please email the AAWP Memberships Officer: Jessica Seymour jessieseymour.info@gmail.com.

For more information about Access & Equity arrangements please see the Accessibility FAQs on our website, or email the AAWP Access & Equity Officer Axel at a.rose@unsw.edu.au.

For more information about other conference-related details please check the conference website, or email aawp2026@unsw.edu.au

We are looking forward to welcoming you to AAWP2026 at UNSW Sydney!

Deadline for abstracts extended: AAWP Conference

The 31st Annual Australasian Association of Writing Programs Conference: “Voicing Our Worlds”, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2–4 December 2026.

Deadline extended: Abstracts/proposals due 30th June 2026

The theme of this year’s conference is Voicing Our Worlds

In our contemporary world, the multifaceted terms, “voices”, “voicing” and their many conjugations and articulations are intertwined with key considerations in our discipline of Creative Writing. First Nations writers have been leading discussions about the real-life consequences of the amplification of some writerly voices and the silencing of others. We hear writers say that they are “giving voice to the voiceless” in their work, a formulation famously critiqued by the writer Arundhati Roy who said “There’s really no such thing as the “voiceless”. There are only the deliberately silenced or the preferably unheard.”^[1]

Such provocations about voicing, silencing, hearing and their links to power are in productive tension with our discipline of Creative Writing in so many ways. In the process of composition, writers expend labour searching for the right voice through craft-based choices including considerations of form, style, lyricism, prosody, metaphor, symbolism, imagery, character design, narrative design etc while agents, mentors, publishers, scholars, critics and judges of literary awards often frame discussions and make decisions around the uniqueness of the writer’s voice in literary texts. In a narratological sense, questions about the voice of the narrator or character, and the differences from and connections to questions of perspective have helped extend the boundaries of our discipline.

In the entanglements between Creative Writing and feminist, queer, postcolonial and disability studies, and ecocriticism, the interrogation of voice is often central to creative and scholarly knowledge-creation, from the advocacy for stronger literary representation of minoritised voices to our ongoing conversations related to the more-than-human. The challenges and possibilities offered by AI have complicated our understanding of voice, demanding new ways to address the key questions of our time as they relate to the work we do as writers and scholars.

We invite scholarly and creative contributions that address these ideas directly or in tangential yet fresh ways. Abstracts/Proposals may address, but need not be limited to, the following themes:

First Nations voices in our world
The voice of the writer in the public sphere
Voice, power, representation
Voice, disability and neurodivergence
Diverse voices in the writing workshop
Voices in translation
Voicing the past, the present, and the future
Voicing the popular
Intertextuality and the voices of others in literary work
Mentoring relationships and voice
Prize culture and voice
Creative Writing pedagogy and voice
Our disciplinary voice in the higher education sector
Formalist or craft-based conceptions of voice, tone, and/or perspective
Vocalising the relationship between the human and the more-than-human
Vocal Aesthetics in literary texts
Algorithmic composition, SLMs, LLMs, machine automatism and the human voice
Voice as reflected in form and style (including hybrid forms that disrupt literary conventions and challenge genre classifications)
Voice as it can emerge in various modes of poetry, and in lyric prose

We welcome abstracts/proposals for individual papers or panels of three to four speakers that speak to our theme as it relates to the discipline of Creative Writing, on creative and professional writing practices and processes, research in creative writing, the teaching of writing and related issues.

For individual papers: a 350-word abstract + a 100-word bio note
For panels: a 700-word abstract for the panel, including a brief description of the panel and a 100-word abstract of each paper + a 100-word bio note for each speaker.

^[1] Roy, Arundhati, ‘Roy’s full speech’, Sydney Morning Herald, November 4, 2004, https://www.smh.com.au/national/roys-full-speech-20041104-gdk1qn.html

For more details regarding submission guidelines, visit the conference website hosted by UNSW.

Closing soon: AAWP Annual Conference Call for Abstracts/Proposals

The 31st Annual Australasian Association of Writing Programs Conference: “Voicing Our Worlds”, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2–4 December 2026.

Abstracts/proposals for individual papers or panels close 31 May 2026.

We invite scholarly and creative contributions that address these ideas directly or in tangential yet fresh ways. Abstracts/Proposals may address, but need not be limited to, the following themes:

First Nations voices in our world
The voice of the writer in the public sphere
Voice, power, representation
Voice, disability and neurodivergence
Diverse voices in the writing workshop
Voices in translation
Voicing the past, the present, and the future
Voicing the popular
Intertextuality and the voices of others in literary work
Mentoring relationships and voice
Prize culture and voice
Creative Writing pedagogy and voice
Our disciplinary voice in the higher education sector
Formalist or craft-based conceptions of voice, tone, and/or perspective
Vocalising the relationship between the human and the more-than-human
Vocal Aesthetics in literary texts
Algorithmic composition, SLMs, LLMs, machine automatism and the human voice
Voice as reflected in form and style (including hybrid forms that disrupt literary conventions and challenge genre classifications)
Voice as it can emerge in various modes of poetry, and in lyric prose

For more details regarding submission guidelines, visit the conference website hosted by UNSW.

International Australian Studies Association (InASA)2025 Biennial Conference

Australian Studies in the 21st Century: Human and More-Than-Human Worlds
Interactions, Perspectives, Futures

Macquarie University
Wallumattagal Campus Sydney, Australia
5-7 February 2025

Australian Studies has long been concerned with histories and stories about human experiences focusing on issues of settler colonisation, conflict, violence, resistance, resilience, agency, and justice. The 2025 InASA conference continues to focus on these vital issues but turns also to consider Australians’ formation by, and engagement with, the more-than-human world. Australian Studies is experiencing rapid transformation in the 21st century as new biopolitical challenges emerge with climate change and concomitant environmental and ecological concerns, and as artificial intelligence impacts and transforms social, cultural, economic, and political life. New understandings, inspirations, and challenges emerge not only about the peoples across Australia, but also the continent’s more-than-human entities, including animals, plants, landscapes, ecologies, and technologies, among others.

Register now

We welcome proposals for individual papers, 3 member panels, or 4-5 member roundtables for plenary sessions, that engage with the conference theme from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and methodologies. For more information visit the Call for Paper’s page.

The conference program will be available in the coming months. Stay tuned!

DEADLINE EXTENDED – CALL FOR PAPERS: 29TH CONFERENCE OF THE AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION OF WRITING PROGRAMS

The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended until 30 June.

Conference Theme: Intersections
Conference Host: The University of New England (Armidale, New South Wales)
Conference Dates: 27– 29 November 2024
Conference workshops: 26 November 2024 (focusing on creative, critical and professional practice), details TBA.

The 2024 AAWP conference will be held at the Armidale campus of the University of New England, located on Anaiwan Country. Armidale is surrounded by national parks, gorges, and waterfalls. Its natural beauty has historically inspired writers, artists, and storytellers, including Judith Wright.

Intersections offer the possibility of the unexpected, as a meeting point or a place of divergence. We invite proposals for conference papers, panels, or performances that contemplate literal and figurative intersections involving writing (creative/professional/academic). Some starter points to consider include:

•   Interdisciplinarity
•   Intersectionality
•   Identities and cultures
•   Hybrid genres
•   Co-authorship and collaborations
•   History and fiction
•   Writing and place
•   Poetic forms
•   Pedagogy
•   Performance and writing
•   Technologies and writing
•   Writing and artificial intelligence
•   Curriculum design/delivery
•   Borders and boundaries
•   The publishing industry
•   Creative nonfiction and life writing
•   Writing for different audiences.

We also welcome other approaches to the theme.

While the conference can be attended by anyone, presenters must be current AAWP members. More information about becoming a member is available here. The conference will primarily take place in Armidale, with options to participate in some parts of the program online.

Submissions are due by 30 June.

Please include the following in your proposal: Your name, institutional affiliation, email address, what you are proposing (paper, panel, or performance), title, an abstract (250 words max), and a short bio (100 words max).

Please email submissions or any questions to aawp@une.edu.au

Call for Papers: International Australian Studies Association (InASA) 2025 Biennial Conference

Australian Studies in the 21st Century: Human and More-Than-Human Worlds Interactions, Perspectives, Futures

Where: Macquarie University Wallumattagal Campus, Sydney, Australia

When: 5–7 February 2025

The 2025 InASA conference aims to foster interdisciplinary and cross-cultural dialogues on Critical Indigenous Studies, history, literature, culture, creative arts, politics, media, sociology, anthropology, geography, ecology, and other disciplines that engage with human experiences and/or more-than-human worlds. We welcome proposals for individual papers, 3 member panels, or 4-5 member roundtables for plenary sessions, that engage with the conference theme from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and methodologies. We particularly encourage submissions that prioritise Indigenous voices. We invite contributions from established and emerging scholars that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

Indigenous knowledges and perspectives
Indigenous histories and geographies
Indigenous relationalities
Australian histories, biographies, and fiction
Australian cultures
Geographies of Australia
Settler colonialism
Colonial commemorations
Justice, agency, and resistance
Gender and sexuality
Cross-cultural encounters
Migration, refugees, and diaspora
Class, poverty, inequality, and the asset economy
Screen and media production and representation
Social and digital media
Creative writing and multimodal creative research
Ecocriticism and environmental humanities
Technology and future studies
Changing meanings of more-than-human
Politics of the more-than-human

Please submit an abstract (approx. 250 words) and a bio note (no more than 100 words) to the 2025 InASA Conference. For panels or roundtable proposals, please include a brief description of the proposed session (approx. 200 words), along with abstracts for each individual paper and bio notes. The conference is primarily face-to-face but online access may be possible.

The submission deadline is Monday, 30 September 2024. Please send your submissions or general inquiries sent to Dr Daozhi Xu (daozhi.xu@mq.edu.au).

A conference website with further details will open soon.

Call for Papers: 29th Conference of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs

The 2024 AAWP conference will be held at the Armidale campus of the University of New England, located on Anaiwan Country. Armidale is surrounded by national parks, gorges, and waterfalls. Its natural beauty has historically inspired writers, artists, and storytellers, including Judith Wright.

Intersections offer the possibility of the unexpected, as a meeting point or a place of divergence. We invite proposals for conference papers, panels, or performances that contemplate literal and figurative intersections involving writing (creative/professional/academic). Some starter points to consider include:

•   Interdisciplinarity
•   Intersectionality
•   Identities and cultures
•   Hybrid genres
•   Co-authorship and collaborations
•   History and fiction
•   Writing and place
•   Poetic forms
•   Pedagogy
•   Performance and writing
•   Technologies and writing
•   Writing and artificial intelligence
•   Curriculum design/delivery
•   Borders and boundaries
•   The publishing industry
•   Creative nonfiction and life writing
•   Writing for different audiences.

We also welcome other approaches to the theme.

While the conference can be attended by anyone, presenters must be current AAWP members. More information about becoming a member is available here. The conference will primarily take place in Armidale, with options to participate in some parts of the program online.

Submissions are due by 31 May.

Please include the following in your proposal: Your name, institutional affiliation, email address, what you are proposing (paper, panel, or performance), title, an abstract (250 words max), and a short bio (100 words max).

Please email submissions or any questions to aawp@une.edu.au

Save the date: 2024 AAWP Conference

In exciting news, we have finalised the details of the 2024 AAWP Conference:

Main program: Wednesday 27 – Friday 29 November 2024
Venue: University of New England, Armidale (NSW)
Workshops (focusing creative, critical and professional practice): Tuesday 26 November
Conference theme: Intersections.

A call for abstracts and link to the conference website will follow, soon.

Call for Abstracts | We Need to Talk: The 28th Annual Conference of the AAWP

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 28 July 2023, 11:59PM (AEST).

Submit your abstract

The 28th annual conference of the Australasian Association of Writing Programs is hosted by the University of Canberra’s Centre for Creative and Cultural Research.

The event will be held on Ngunnawal Country; we acknowledge with gratitude that we have been welcomed to walk on this unceded land, and pay our respects to their elders, past and present, and emerging.

We invite proposals for conference papers, panels, or performances that focus on issues that demand personal, social and institutional attention; and we are very interested in proposals that are collaborative, dialogic, improvisational, and/or performative.

Please consider the following list of starter-topic areas as you construct your abstract/proposal:

Orality – e.g.

Spoken word forms
Writing/improvising for performance
Song / chant
Script/screenplay
Audio and transdisciplinary storytelling modes
Yarning Circles
Podcasts

Poetry – e.g.

Performance poetry
Transformative practice
Collaborative work
Ecopoetry
Poetry of resistance

Essay – e.g.

Intimacy
Lyrical or dialogic essay
Writing as conversatio, or collaboration
Reading as intimacy
Manifesto / diatribe / rant

Sustainability – e.g.

The environment and living in the more-than-human world
Traditional ways of knowing, being and storying
Economic and political engagement in writing/by writers
Object writing
Alternate knowledge systems
Umwelt

Queering Writing – e.g.

Decentred and diverse voices
Indigenous stories
Neglected art forms
Queering forms
AI / Chat GPT – implications, limitations, possibilities
Gatekeeping

Arts/Health – e.g.

Writing, reading, and wellbeing
Transdisciplinary practice for health
Creative interventions and trauma
Working beyond the academy (outreach, communicating research)
Silences in academia
Care for the author

(or other topics, though we do ask that you aim to accommodate the theme of the conference in your work)

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 28 July 2023, 11:59PM (AEST).
Proposals should include:

your name
your university or other institutional affiliation
your e-mail address
the title of your proposed paper
your abstract (250 words max)
identify whether it is for a paper, a panel, or a performance
a short bio (100 words max).

Submit your abstract

Please submit your queries to jen.webb@canberra.edu.au.

NB: while everyone is welcome to attend the conference, only current AAWP members are eligible to present. You can find membership details, prices, and online sign-up options here.

Call for papers: EACWP VI Pedagogical Conference 2023

The deadline for submissions has been extended to March, 24 (2023).

The EACWP Conference is a biannual event devoted to foster a European and Worldwide dialogue on the different approaches to creative writing education. The VI EACWP conference will take place in Madrid, in the locations of Casa Árabe (The Arabic House) and in the context of Escuela de Escritores 20^th anniversary, from Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 May 2023. The on-line format for proposals will only be accepted for the Multilingual Workshops.

Central to the conference will be an acknowledgement of the importance of creativity and how enhance it through the practice of writing. In times of crisis – probably, the only possible times – writers can make creativity a permanent way of living as artists, continuously questioning, developing and reformulating our craft.

Visit the EACWP Conference website for further details.

Learn more