Brisbane named home to Australia’s first Digital Literature Centre
24 August 2009
Media Release
Embargoed until Thursday 27 August 2009
Brisbane has been named Australian host city for a new national centre of excellence for digital
literature to be established next year.
Queensland Writers Centre CEO Kate Eltham said the Institute of the Future of the Book or
“if:book Australia” was only the third centre of excellence of its kind for digital literature
established in the world, after New York and London.
Announced today at the Melbourne Writers Festival, the Institute will act as a think-tank to
promote new forms of digital publishing and explore ways to boost connections between writers
and audiences.
“Reports of the book’s demise have been greatly exaggerated,” Ms Eltham said.
“People are reading more now, in many different ways, then they ever have before.
“And we want to take advantage of that.
“if: book Australia is about supporting our authors and publishers to access the new ways of
reading that are growing by the day.”
One popular reader – Stanza – that works on smart-phones like Apple’s iPhone, e-book readers
and laptops is being downloaded and installed 5000 times a day.
"But e-books are just the beginning. There are dozens of new ways for readers, publishers and
authors to share content that simply didn't exist 10 years ago.
"We want to make sure Australians can take advantage of all of them."
Ms Eltham said the initiative was born after Queensland Writers Centre identified a need for
more support and research for Australian writers and publishers navigating read:write cultures,
new markets and business models in the digital age.
“We know from the work of the New York and London institutes that if:book Australia can foster
a diverse, cross-disciplinary community of thinkers and experimenters and connect their ideas
with readers, writers and publishers,” said Ms Eltham.
Ms Eltham said if:book Australia is keen to establish connections to industry partners,
particularly publishers.
"Publishers provide a vital service for writers and readers and we want to help them take some
of the guess-work and risk out of digital publishing."
The first project for if:book Australia will be a national seminar series delivered next year called
Writers and Digital Markets. Supported and funded by the Literature Board of the Australia
Council, the program will inform Australian writers about new opportunities to create and publish
digital content.
“The benefit of digital media is that an author in rural Western Australia or a small press in
Adelaide can pursue many of the same digital strategies as authors and publishers based in
Sydney and Melbourne.”
if:book Australia will function as a ‘think-and-do tank’ and Queensland Writers Centre is seeking
partners from across the publishing, education and media sectors who are interested in
collaborative programs and research.
Queensland Writers Centre works to advance the recognition and enjoyment of Queensland
and Australian writers throughout Australia and the world.
The Queensland Writers Centre receives funding assistance from Arts Queensland and the
Australia Council for the Arts.
Bob Stein and Kate Eltham are available to interview.
Bob Stein (New York-London) is Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for the Future of the Book, and Founder of
The Voyager Company for a lively discussion on the impacts of the digital revolution. His work directly investigates
the evolution of intellectual discourse as it shifts from printed pages to networked screens. For 13 years he led the
development of over 300 film titles to videodisc and CD ROM. He's also worked at Atari on various electronic
publishing projects and has been at the forefront of the development of authoring tools for the next generation of
electronic publishing.
Kate Eltham (Brisbane) has a background in business and creative industries, and has been widely published in
Australian anthologies and newspapers. She is the Director of the acclaimed Clarion South Writers Workshop, a
professional development program for Australian authors. She also works as a founding member of Fantastic
Queensland, an organisation promoting and supporting speculative fiction writers.
Media Contact: Lisette Ogg on 07 3839 1243 or logg@qwc.asn.au
The Queensland Writers Centre receives funding assistance from Arts Queensland and the Australia Council for the
Arts.
Communications & Publicity
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