Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Support the new Queensland Literary Awards



My home state of Queensland is currently in a world of shit. Turns out we aren't great with money, we're so bad actually, that the Government is looking at something around $100 Billion of debt by 2015. Needless to say, cuts have been made. Unfortunately, the Government decided the area that least needed support was the creative industries and library systems. First to get the slash was the Queensland Premier's Prize, which was an award to help new and upcoming authors establish themselves. It's been a wonderful help to some of the best writers this state has ever seen, and I was horrified to see it cut only days after the new Government was formed.

Luckily, the real people behind the award weren't so willing to let it go. They're currently crowd-sourcing the $20 000 prize which will now be called the Queensland Literary Award. They're raised just over a quarter of the desired amount, and have a little over a month still to raise the funds.I've just pledged $30, and my fingers are crossed that they make the full amount so that they can keep this award going. Whether you decide to donate yourself, or simply rage about it on Twitter, be sure to do something! This is about more than awarding a single author to continue in their chosen profession, it's to show the Government that we're not OK with them cutting funding from the arts!

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