I’m very pleased to be able to share some good news today: I have been awarded a Creative Australia Fellowship for Literature.

Like most writers and artists, I spend most of my time working to buy time to do my actual work. This fellowship represents a significant gift of time to work on a new book over the next two years. It feels like a lot of money to me – 7 Gina minutes a year!

It also feels like a responsibility. It comes at a fraught time for literature with Meanjin being unceremoniously shut down, multiplying attacks on freedom of expression, the wholesale theft of our work committed by big tech, and the threat of fascism lifting its ugly, racist, book-hating head. Despite some recent improvements to funding, the infrastructure and support for literature feels ever more precarious. The establishment of Writing Australia should go some way to repairing this, and not a moment too soon.

This is a significant career milestone for me. It’s an incredible opportunity to focus on the new novel, and I’m already making the most of it. Importantly, it is also a form of moral support. I will continue to fight for better, fairer working conditions for artists and writers, more fellowships and waged opportunities for authors, infrastructure that actually sustains us, and a more just world in all the ways I can.

As a past peer assessor, I know how difficult these decisions can be; there are always worthy applicants who miss out by a whisker and must re-apply. I am very grateful for the peer assessment process, to everyone who participates in/defends it, to the hardworking staff who manage it all, and to the taxpayers of this country for (sometimes? mostly?) recognising that arts and culture are an essential public good.