Jon Page joined First Friday to speak about his background working in the book industry, what goes in to managing one of Australia’s longest-running bookstores, current trends in the publishing and bookselling, and what customers today actually seem to want.

John Morrissey joined First Friday to discuss the upcoming 2024 Boundless Mentorship, his writing career since winning the 2020 Boundless Mentorship, and his new collection of stories, Firelight.

‘I don’t want to read a romantic comedy where the romance looks like red roses and diamond rings and sounds like an Ed Sheeran ballad … The most romantic moment in Five Bush Weddings centres around a meat pie being dropped on the ground.’

Wenona Byrne joined us for First Friday to share insider tips on applying for Australia Council grants, and what we might expect from Creative Australia.

Benjamin Stevenson joined us for First Friday to share his experiences as a literary agent and writer working across a broad range of genres and mediums.

Fiona Hazard joined us for First Friday to share her knowledge and experience garnered from over 25 years in publishing.

‘Process, for me, is a compound and an evolution of the known and unknown. Eventually I wound up here as a poet obsessed with this ineffable substance I hear in the storytelling of my Elders. I don’t know if should call it poetics or spirit but it exists in just about everything …’

The Annual General Meeting of the NSW Writers’ Centre Inc. (trading as Writing NSW) will be held online, via Zoom conference, on Monday 19 June 2023.

Alan Baxter joined us for First Friday to discuss his writing career, his writing practice, and what we can expect at this year’s Speculative Fiction Festival.