Island Online
Australian Nature Writing Project

Through a series of webinars, mentorships and publishing opportunities, Island’s aim was to encourage new creative literary responses to bolster the underrepresented genre of Australian nature writing.

A short introduction from Ben Walter, who initiated the project:

A couple of years ago, I published an essay in the print edition of Island noting that Australian nature writing exists, but seems to be constantly forgotten. I’d found several essays going through the same trajectory – the author assumes that Australian nature writing barely warrants a mention. But when they look closer, they find a huge range of literature that fits the bill.

But still: we don’t think of nature writing like they do in North America or the UK. One editor I spoke to observed: ‘Let’s say H is for Hawk was written here, by an Australian. I think it would be published, but I don’t think it would have been published in the way that it was published in the UK … that book wouldn’t look the same in Australia.’

At a time when environmental issues are so pressing and significant, we want to give proper recognition to this form – a suite of unforgettable pieces that are unmistakably Australian nature writing.

The project ran in three cycles over 18 months, from mid-2021 to the end of 2022.

Webinars

On 12 August 2021 Ben presented an online webinar introducing the series and reflecting on our approach. To view click here.

Each cycle includes a webinar with a guest speaker, hosted by Ben.

On 24 August 2021 Harry Saddler was our guest speaker from cycle one. To view click here.

On 9 March 2022 Ellen van Neerven was our guest speaker from cycle two. To view click here.

On 17 August 2022 Jane Rawson was our guest speaker for cycle three. To view click here.

Publishing outcomes

We published three cycles of work, featuring six pieces each. Read all works.

Mentorships

The project also provided a short mentorship with Ben Walter to one writer during each cycle.

If you have any further questions please email naturewriting@islandmag.com.