TEXT is published by the Australasian Association of Writing Programs

Full information about AAWP can be found at AAWP’s website http://www.aawp.org.au/
See also The AAWP Guide to Australian and New Zealand university writing programs available online at the AAWP website.

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The Next Conference

The 23rd Annual AAWP Conference
Peripheral Visions
28-30 November 2018
Perth, Western Australia

 

History of AAWP
The Australian Association of Writing Programs was established in 1996 with its first conference, a gathering of teachers and students of creative and professional writing at the University of Technology, Sydney and organised by Graham Williams and Dr Jan Hutchinson. Since then it has grown, holding annual conferences at campuses around Australia. The annual AAWP Conference is now the most important forum in Australia for the discussion of all aspects of teaching creative and professional writing and for debating current theories on creativity and writing.

In 1996 members of AAWP (Tess Brady and Nigel Krauth) established the online journal TEXT, an independent refereed journal which publishes a wide range of research, reviews and debates on creative and professional writing and the teaching of writing in academic and industry contexts. Later editors included Jen Webb, Donna Lee Brien, Kevin Brophy, Enza Gandolfo and Linda Weste. The first 21 issues of TEXT were hosted on the Griffith University website; thereafter the independent TEXT website was established, but always with the AAWP as publisher. In 2018 there are more than 1700 subscribers, with around 10,000 unique visitors to the site per month (see http://www.textjournal.com.au/oct18/editorial.htm).

In 1999-2002 the editors of TEXT compiled the first database of its kind on tertiary institutions and courses offered Australia-wide and in New Zealand. (The Guide is now available online at the AAWP website.) This was the beginning of a compilation of basic statistics on writing teaching in Australasia, an area which has grown rapidly. This growth might be gauged by the fact that in 1999 there were 8 PhD courses in creative writing offered around Australia; in 2009 researcher Nicola Boyd in her TEXT article in the April issue identified 31 doctorates on offer.

In 2000 AAWP initiated a program of State-based Seminars, the first of which were held in Adelaide and Melbourne. These seminars involved many of the teachers of writing in a given state, from both the TAFE and University sectors. Topics under discussion included publishability and publishable standard; exegesis; and examination procedures and practices.

In 2010 the association voted to change its name to The Australasian Association of Writing Programs, to reflect its representation of writing programs across a broader region, including New Zealand and Asia.

National conferences of AAWP have been held at:

1996 University of Technology, Sydney
1997 Deakin University and RMIT University, Melbourne
1998 University of Adelaide
1999 Edith Cowan University, Perth
2000 Griffith University, Gold Coast
2001 University of Canberra
2002 University of Melbourne
2003 University of New South Wales
2004 Flinders University, Adelaide
2005 Curtin University of Technology, Perth
2006 Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
2007 University of Canberra
2008 University of Technology, Sydney
2009 Waikato Institute of Technology, Hamilton, NZ
2010 RMIT University, Melbourne
2011 Southern Cross University, Byron Bay, NSW
2012 Deakin University, Waterfront Campus, Geelong, Victoria
2013 University of Canberra
2014 Massey University, Wellington, NZ
2015 Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne
2016 University of Canberra
2017 Flinders University, Adelaide

The association held its 23rd conference in Perth, Western Australia, from 28 to 30 November 2018 as a joint initiative of Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia.

An electronic quarterly newsletter of general news for AAWP members was published first in 2003. The newsletter is available at http://www.aawp.org.au/aawp-newsletters

Past Presidents of AAWP include Judith Rodriguez, Professor Tom Shapcott, Dr Eva Sallis, Professor Jeri Kroll, Professor Donna Lee Brien, Dr Marcelle Freiman, Professor Jen Webb, Associate Professor Paul Hetherington and Dr Lynda Hawryluk. The current President is Dr Antonia Pont of Deakin University. She can be contacted at a.pont@deakin.edu.au

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