Dr Lisa Murray
Chair, Professional Historians Association (NSW & ACT)
The PHA (NSW & ACT) welcomes the state government’s nation-leading Writing and Literature Strategy. The Minister for Arts, John Graham launched the three-year strategy ‘Stories Matter’ at the State Library of NSW on 17 October 2025. The strategy aims to provide policy frameworks and funding to support writers, publishers, booksellers, libraries, festivals and reading audiences.
New South Wales is the first state to specifically develop a strategy to support writers, recognising them as ‘the engine’ of the literary sector. Pleasingly, history is included within the broad church of literature, although no historians or history-oriented organisations were specifically consulted in the preparation of this strategy.
The need for this strategy is clear. ‘NSW has the second-lowest per capita investment in literature of any state’, according to the strategy’s analysis (p.10). Economic pressures and technological disruption have also challenged the sector. Yet we know that reading, critical thinking, and writing all support life-long learning and foster engaged, connected communities within our democratic society.
The recent Radio National Top 100 Books poll demonstrates that when the public think of literature, they tend to favour fiction over non-fiction. Given this, and the new Writing and Literature Strategy’s emphasis on supporting authors as individual creatives and developing audiences (readers), it will be important that historians continue to claim our place within the creative and literary ecosystem.
The NSW History & Literary Awards remain a key strategy for investing in authors and celebrating literary achievement (Strategic Pillar 2). This is excellent news. Our favourite haunt for research and scholarship, the State Library of NSW, is confirmed as the NSW Literature Hub, reflecting the government’s announcement earlier this year of the partnership between the Sydney Writers’ Festival and the Library.
The government has also committed to increasing investment in writers and illustrators by establishing a NSW Literary Fund of $500,000. Ten annual writing fellowships will be provided to support mid-career and emerging authors, playwrights and illustrators, allowing them ‘time to craft their next major work’. Presumably these replace the old writers’ fellowships that were jettisoned by Arts NSW some years ago. So keep a keen eye out for the NSW Literary Fund Fellowships, which are flagged to be established in 2026.
Other relevant actions for our sector include:
- ensure fair pay for writers and illustrators (Strategic Pillar 2)
- expand First Nations writing and publishing (Strategic Pillar 2)
- advocate for reform of the Job-Ready Graduates scheme for humanities degrees (Pillar 5)
- set standards on AI (Pillar 5)
- extend the Sydney Writers Walk (celebrate NSW literary history) (Strategic Pillar 3)
There is a strong emphasis on promoting reading (Strategic Pillar 3), residency programs (Strategic Pillar 2, 3 & 4), literary festivals (Strategic Pillar 1) and promoting authors (Strategic Pillar 1, 3 & 4). Non-fiction is a small strand within literary festivals, with biographies and memoirs featuring more often than history. Again, this reflects an inherent bias in the creative sector. It will be important for the history sector to promote historians for inclusion in literary festivals, author talk programs and residency programs.
Resources
Stories Matter. A Writing and Literature Strategy for NSW 2025-2028 [pdf] https://www.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/noindex/2025-10/stories-matter-a-writing-and-literature-strategy-for-nsw.pdf
Create NSW, strategy executive summary, website (accessed 30 October 2025) https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/create-nsw/stories-matter-a-writing-and-literature-strategy-for-nsw
Minister for the Arts, Media release, 17 October 2025 (accessed 30 October 2025) https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/dciths/ministerial-media-releases/stories-matter-nsw-leads-country-writing-and-literature-strategy
Published online: 30 October 2025