2-4 December 2026 | UNSW Kensington

AAWP 2026

 
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Overview

The 31st Annual Australasian Association of Writing Programs Conference: “Voicing Our Worlds”, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2–4 December 2026.

Hosted by the Literary Provocations Hub at the University of New South Wales Sydney, the 31st Australasian Association of Writing Programs (AAWP) conference will be held in-person at the UNSW Kensington campus, situated on unceded Bidjigal lands. The conference is a cross-institutional collaboration between UNSW Sydney, Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University, and University of Wollongong. The theme of this year’s conference is “Voicing Our Worlds”.

Photo credit: Sardaka, on Wikimedia

Call for Abstracts
SUBMIT ABSTRACT
Deadline extended: Abstracts due 30th June 2026

In our contemporary world, the multifaceted terms, “voices”, “voicing” and their many conjugations and articulations are intertwined with key considerations in our discipline of Creative Writing. First Nations writers have been leading discussions about the real-life consequences of the amplification of some writerly voices and the silencing of others. We hear writers say that they are “giving voice to the voiceless” in their work, a formulation famously critiqued by the writer Arundhati Roy who said “There’s really no such thing as the “voiceless”. There are only the deliberately silenced or the preferably unheard.”[1]

Such provocations about voicing, silencing, hearing and their links to power are in productive tension with our discipline of Creative Writing in so many ways. In the process of composition, writers expend labour searching for the right voice through craft-based choices including considerations of form, style, lyricism, prosody, metaphor, symbolism, imagery, character design, narrative design etc while agents, mentors, publishers, scholars, critics and judges of literary awards often frame discussions and make decisions around the uniqueness of the writer’s voice in literary texts. In a narratological sense, questions about the voice of the narrator or character, and the differences from and connections to questions of perspective have helped extend the boundaries of our discipline.

In the entanglements between Creative Writing and feminist, queer, postcolonial and disability studies, and ecocriticism, the interrogation of voice is often central to creative and scholarly knowledge-creation, from the advocacy for stronger literary representation of minoritised voices to our ongoing conversations related to the more-than-human. The challenges and possibilities offered by AI have complicated our understanding of voice, demanding new ways to address the key questions of our time as they relate to the work we do as writers and scholars. 

We invite scholarly and creative contributions that address these ideas directly or in tangential yet fresh ways. Abstracts/Proposals may address, but need not be limited to, the following themes:
  • First Nations voices in our world
  • The voice of the writer in the public sphere
  • Voice, power, representation
  • Voice, disability and neurodivergence
  • Diverse voices in the writing workshop
  • Voices in translation
  • Voicing the past, the present, and the future
  • Voicing the popular
  • Intertextuality and the voices of others in literary work
  • Mentoring relationships and voice
  • Prize culture and voice
  • Creative Writing pedagogy and voice
  • Our disciplinary voice in the higher education sector
  • Formalist or craft-based conceptions of voice, tone, and/or perspective
  • Vocalising the relationship between the human and the more-than-human
  • Vocal Aesthetics in literary texts
  • Algorithmic composition, SLMs, LLMs, machine automatism and the human voice
  • Voice as reflected in form and style (including hybrid forms that disrupt literary conventions and challenge genre classifications)
  • Voice as it can emerge in various modes of poetry, and in lyric prose

We welcome abstracts/proposals for individual papers or panels of three to four speakers that speak to our theme as it relates to the discipline of Creative Writing, on creative and professional writing practices and processes, research in creative writing, the teaching of writing and related issues. 

  • For individual papers: a 350-word abstract + a 100-word bio note 
  • For panels: a 700-word abstract for the panel, including a brief description of the panel and a 100-word abstract of each paper + a 100-word bio note for each speaker. 

Please submit abstracts to aawp2026@unsw.edu.au by 11:59PM 30th June 2026.

Please note: All presenters need to be current AAWP members. If you are unsure if your membership is current please email the AAWP Memberships Officer: Jessica Seymour jessieseymour.info@gmail.com. All presenters also need to register for the conference. Registration details coming soon.

[1] Roy, Arundhati, ‘Roy’s full speech’, Sydney Morning Herald, November 4, 2004

Schedule

Postgraduate and Workshops Day

Tuesday December 1, 2026

The conference will include a Postgraduate Day on Tuesday Dec 1 for Creative Writing Honours Students, Postgraduate Students, Higher Degree Research Candidates, and Early Career Researchers from across Australasia and around the world. The Postgraduate Day offerings will be available in-person and online.

We will also offer a suite of in-person and online workshops for all AAWP 2026 delegates.

More details coming soon.

Evening event: Welcome drinks, The Clock Hotel, Surry Hills, from 7:00PM. Attendees pay for their drinks.

Conference: Day 1

Wednesday December 2, 2026

Plenary 1: 'First Nations Standpoints and Creative Writing'

Speakers: Tess Scholfield-Peters (moderator), Eugenia Flynn, and Graham Akhurst

A conversation between Eugenia Flynn (Monash University) and Graham Akhurst (University of Technology Sydney), moderated by Tess Scholfield-Peters (UTS), supported by the Writing & Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University. More details coming soon.

Evening event: Readings & launches at the UNSW Bookshop, from 6:00PM

Conference: Day 2

Thursday December 3, 2026

Plenary 2: 'Creative Writing Research in the post-ERA era'

More details coming soon.

Evening event: StorySALOON: Short Stories, Centre Stage, at The Vanguard, Newtown, 7:00-8:30PM. $50 + bf. Tickets via StorySALOON/Moshtix.
Story Saloon AAWP 2026

Conference: Day 3

Friday December 4, 2026

Plenary 3: 'Creative Writing and Voice in the Asia Pacific' (Hybrid mode)

Confirmed speakers (online): Arpita Das Founder-Publisher of the independent Indian publishing house Yoda Press, and Associate Professor of Writing at Ashoka University. More details coming soon.

Lunchtime panel: Creative Writing and Publishing in the Age of AI

Speakers: Luke Johnson (Chair), Nathan Hollier, Jennifer Mills, and Chris Conti.

Neither publishing nor creative writing are immune from the effects of artificial intelligence. This panel draws together industry and academic experts to examine the impacts AI has had on the creation and dissemination of literary texts thus far, and to discuss likely future developments in this space.

Evening event: Conference Dinner, from 7:00PM (registration details forthcoming)

Please note: These details are tentative and subject to change. 

Speakers
Graham Akhurst
Graham Akhurst
Senior Lecturer
UTS
Dialog
Graham Akhurst
Graham Akhurst

Graham Akhurst

Senior Lecturer
UTS

Graham Akhurst is an Aboriginal writer and academic from the Kokomini of Northern Queensland. He is a Senior Lecturer of Australian Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing and the Director of Indigenous Studies at UTS. He is the author of Borderland published by UWAP (2023).

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Eugenia Flynn
Eugenia Flynn
Senior Lecturer
Monash University
Dialog
Eugenia Flynn
Eugenia Flynn

Eugenia Flynn

Senior Lecturer
Monash University

Eugenia Flynn is Senior Lecturer (Creative Writing and Indigenous Literatures) at Monash University. A writer, academic and creative, Eugenia’s work has been published and exhibited widely; in publications such as IndigenousX and Peril magazine, and in exhibitions such as SOULfury (2021) and Five Acts of Love (2025).

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Arpita Das
Arpita Das
Founder-Publisher | Associate Professor
Yoda Press | Ashoka University
Dialog
Arpita Das
Arpita Das

Arpita Das

Founder-Publisher | Associate Professor
Yoda Press | Ashoka University

Arpita Das is the Founder-Publisher of the independent Indian publishing house, Yoda Press and Associate Professor of Writing at Ashoka University. In the past, she has set up and led the Word Lab at IIHS University in Bangalore and the Word to Screen Market at the Mumbai Film Festival. She writes a regular column for the NY-based trade journal Publishing Perspectives.

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A photograph of academic Nathan Hollier. He is a middle-aged white man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a suit and smiling gently.
Nathan Hollier
Manager | Chair
Australian National University Press | Independent Publishers Network Australia
Dialog
A photograph of academic Nathan Hollier. He is a middle-aged white man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a suit and smiling gently.
A photograph of academic Nathan Hollier. He is a middle-aged white man with short, dark hair. He is wearing a suit and smiling gently.

Nathan Hollier

Manager | Chair
Australian National University Press | Independent Publishers Network Australia

Nathan Hollier is Manager of ANU Press, Chair of the Independent Publishers Network Australia (formerly Small Press Network), member of the Scholarly and Journals Committee of the Australian Publishers Association and board member of Learned Publishing (UK).  He is a former CEO and Publisher of Melbourne University Publishing, Director of Monash University Publishing, and Editor of Overland. He has a PhD in Australian cultural history and has published widely on culture, politics and economics.

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A photograph of author Jennifer Mills. She is a middle-aged white woman with short grey and black hair. She has a nose piercing and ear piercings.
Jennifer Mills
Chair
Australian Society of Authors
Dialog
A photograph of author Jennifer Mills. She is a middle-aged white woman with short grey and black hair. She has a nose piercing and ear piercings.
A photograph of author Jennifer Mills. She is a middle-aged white woman with short grey and black hair. She has a nose piercing and ear piercings.

Jennifer Mills

Chair
Australian Society of Authors

Jennifer Mills is an author, editor and critic based on Kaurna Yarta (Adelaide). An advocate for the rights of writers and artists, Mills is currently Chair of the Australian Society of Authors. Her latest novel, Salvage, is published by Picador and was shortlisted for The Age book of the year; previous books include The Airways and Dyschronia, which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. In 2025 Mills was awarded the Creative Australia Fellowship for Literature. 

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A photograph of academic Chris Conti. He is a middle-aged white man with short grey hair and glasses. He is smiling brightly, on a background of greenery.
Chris Conti
Senior Lecturer
Western Sydney University
Dialog
A photograph of academic Chris Conti. He is a middle-aged white man with short grey hair and glasses. He is smiling brightly, on a background of greenery.
A photograph of academic Chris Conti. He is a middle-aged white man with short grey hair and glasses. He is smiling brightly, on a background of greenery.

Chris Conti

Senior Lecturer
Western Sydney University

Christopher Conti is Senior Lecturer of Literary Studies at Western Sydney University. He recently edited the special journal issues ‘AI and the Future of Literary Studies’ for Australian Literary Studies and ‘The Transdisciplinary Imperative’ for the Journal of Language, Literature and Culture. His essay ‘Keeping up with the machines in the postliterary age’ will appear in the forthcoming title The Artist and the Algorithm (OBP, 2026). 

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A photograph of Luke Johnson. He is a middle-aged white man with short, dark hair, and a short beard. He wears glasses. He is looking contemplatively to the side.
Luke Johnson
Senior Lecturer
University of Wollongong
Dialog
A photograph of Luke Johnson. He is a middle-aged white man with short, dark hair, and a short beard. He wears glasses. He is looking contemplatively to the side.
A photograph of Luke Johnson. He is a middle-aged white man with short, dark hair, and a short beard. He wears glasses. He is looking contemplatively to the side.

Luke Johnson

Senior Lecturer
University of Wollongong

Luke Johnson is a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Wollongong. He is the author of two books, Ferocious Animals (2021) and Kangaroo Unbound (2025), and fiction editor for Southerly – Australia’s oldest literary journal.

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Accessibility FAQs

We are dedicated to making this conference accessible for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and neurodivergent people. If you have an accessibility requirement not addressed below, please email aawp2026@unsw.edu.au and AAWP Access and Equity Portfolio lead Axel-Nathaniel Rose at a.rose@unsw.edu.au. We will answer any questions and work with you to find a pathway forward.

If you are presenting at the conference, please include any accessibility requirements in your conference registration.

Q: Can I attend online?
A: Some streams of the conference will be delivered both online and in person mode to facilitate the participation of those who cannot attend in person for reasons of access and equity. If you are presenting at this conference and are unable to attend in person, please let us know when you register so that we can ensure you are scheduled in a hybrid stream.

Q: Are there hearing loops in the conference venues?
A: Most rooms include hearing loops. We have confirmed the availability of hearing loops in:

·         Webster 310

·         Webster 327

·         Webster A

·         Webster B

We will update this list as we receive confirmation about other venues.

Q: Are the conference spaces wheelchair accessible?
A: Yes, all rooms are wheelchair accessible. There are three levels to the Webster Building, and there is an accessible bathroom and elevator access on each.

UNSW’s accessible spaces are documented on this page and accessible pathways are noted in this document (link triggers download of PDF).

Q: Will there be someone who can help me with accessibility issues during the conference?
A: Yes, you can contact any of the volunteers (marker of volunteers TBC), and they will put you in touch with one of the accessibility-focused volunteers. If you would like to speak to the accessibility lead, Axel-Nathaniel Rose, ahead of the conference and stay in touch throughout, please email him at a.rose@unsw.edu.au.

There will also be volunteers providing tech support in each room.

Q: Is my carer welcome at the conference?
A: Yes, they are welcome. Please let us know if your carer will be attending, and we may be able to arrange discounted attendance.  Please email us at aawp2026@unsw.edu.au

Q: Is my assistance animal welcome at the conference?
A: Yes, they are welcome.

Q: Is there accessible parking available?
A: Yes, and we can help arrange it. Please email us at aawp2026@unsw.edu.au

Q: What dietary requirements are being catered for?
A: Vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and nut free. If you have an additional requirement, please let us know when you register and we will do our best to accommodate you.

At this conference, we are offering morning and afternoon tea, but not lunch.

Q: Are there other places to get food nearby?
A: Yes. On one side of the Webster Building is Plume Café and the Quad Food Court. On the other is Coffee on Campus.

A brief (approx. 5 minute) downhill walk from Webster is the UNSW Village. In the Village Shops, there is an IGA and several restaurants and cafes.

On UNSW’s upper campus (approx. 10-15 minute uphill walk), there are two food courts – one at the top of the Basser Steps, and one in the Matthews Building. To get to the Basser Steps shops via an accessible route, one must go up the elevators from the Quad and up the ramp which parallels the Basser Steps. To get to the Matthews Food Court, one must go up the elevators from the Quad, up the ramp which parallels the Basser Steps, and then the elevator from the Basser Steps to the Library Walkway.

Please note that most/all on-campus food services will be open during the conference, as the conference week is UNSW’s exam week. The UNSW Village shops will be open throughout, in line with their opening hours.

Q: Is there a quiet room or sensory room?
A: Yes, there will be a dedicated quiet sensory room. We will update this page, and the conference website, when a room has been chosen.

Q: Is there a pharmacy or medical centre nearby?
A: The UNSW Pharmacy is next door to the Webster Building. The UNSW Health Service is adjacent to the Webster Building in the Quad building, next to the Basser steps and is open to visitors. The Prince of Wales Hospital is a 15-minute uphill walk or a five-minute drive from the conference venue on campus.

Location

UNSW Kensington, Robert Webster Building

Contact the AAWP 2026 team for all conference enquiries

EMAIL TEAM

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Bidjigal as the Traditional Custodians of these lands and pay our respects to Elders past and present. This Country has always been a place of teaching, learning and knowledge sharing, and that continues today. We honour the enduring connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to this land, culture and community. We recognise the ongoing presence and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and commit to listening, learning and walking together.