Festival secures NSW Government multi-year funding

Newcastle Writers Festival is among 32 regional arts organisations and 82 across the state to secure NSW Government multi-year funding. The government’s arts body Create NSW announced the recipients this week.

The festival has been awarded $245,000 annually from 2026 to 2028, which will provide much-needed security after the uncertainty of Covid prevented an in-person program for three years.

The funding will also help support Story Hunter, the festival’s unique creative writing program in Hunter primary schools, accessibility and diversity, as well as career pathways for emerging writers and curators.

Founding director Rosemarie Milsom said that the announcement brought her to tears. “I’ve completed more than a decade of annual applications, and this removes the anxiety of not knowing if we’d be able to go ahead at the conclusion of each festival. We wouldn’t be where we are without Create NSW support, and I am excited about where we’re headed. The festival has a solid strategic plan and at its core is a commitment to creating opportunities for reading and writing to flourish, and for the community to come together to discuss ideas that matter.

Thank you to everyone who has played a role in this milestone achievement – sponsors, volunteers, the festival Board, staff and contractors, publishers, Newcastle media, and most importantly, our wonderful writers and audiences.”

The festival has steadily been rebuilding its audience after the challenges of Covid and this year’s event in April attracted 9000 people. A comprehensive evaluation undertaken by the University of Newcastle’s Dr Lizette Olivier showed that 97% of attendees considered the festival as important to regional cultural life and 86% visited the CBD to attend the festival, which demonstrated how much of a drawcard the event had become.

Create NSW said in its media release that there had been a “dramatic increase (in funding) for arts and cultural festivals with more than $1.9 million committed”. Newcastle Writers Festival was idenitifed as a “flagship festival”.

Director Arts, Create NSW, Karen Rodgers, said “this multi-year investment provides much-needed stability to organisations that underpin the state’s creative sector”.