On Thursday 22 October, the Writing NSW community gathered for a sold-out Night of Letters, a joyful evening celebrating Australian storytelling and helping us continue our work supporting writers and writing in NSW. The night was an ode to the people and stories that inspired some of Australia’s most talented writers to write.
The rain did nothing to dampen spirits. Over canapés and drinks, guests filled Garry Owen House in Callan Park with warm, enthusiastic conversation before moving inside for a memorable evening of letters and stories.
The evening opened with a Welcome to Country from Uncle Michael West. Hosted by Michaela Kalowski, the night began with an address from the Chair of the Writing NSW board, Adam van Rooijen. Sophie Groom, CEO of Writing NSW, spoke about how hard writing can be and how Writing NSW supports writers at every stage, and shared that we’ve reached 2,000 members and are on track to pay more than $800,000 directly to writers this year.
Night of Letters also fell on AusArt Day, a national day of giving to the arts, and our Stories Begin Here campaign. We filmed nine writers who’ve come through Writing NSW programs telling us what the organisation means to them. You can watch the videos on our website and social channels.
We heard letters dedicated to mothers, grandmothers, teachers, Holden Caulfield, and to the other writers in the room. By the end there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, with moving family missives from Natasha Rai, Eleanor Limprecht, Nikki Gemmell and Will Kostakis, while Jennifer Wong had the room roaring with laughter, and Markus Zusak, Christine Shamista and Sophie Stern reminded us how very significant storytelling can be in one’s life.
Writing NSW is grateful for the generous support of patrons including Hachette Australia, Next Chapter Retirement Solutions, Allen & Unwin, HarperCollins Australia, Penguin Random House Australia and Michelle Laforest of The Leadership Co, along with the generous wine donations from Thea Wines.
We are thankful to everyone who attended and donated to Writing NSW. Your support helps us invest in the next generation of writers and continue offering free and low-cost programs that help writers at every stage of their careers.
If you would like to support our work, we would be so grateful. You can donate here.
Watch some footage from an unforgettable evening.
