The Copyright Agency’s philanthropic arm, the Cultural Fund, has announced it will increase the value of its annual fellowships, from $120,000 to $285,000 this year.

Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling was thrilled to announce the new suite of fellowships, which will see substantial grants to authors, publishers, a visual artist and a teacher.

Mr Suckling says, “The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund commits some $2m annually from copyright licensing revenue to ensuring that creative Australians keep contributing positively to the cultural life of the nation. These new fellowships provide life-changing opportunities for authors, publishers, an artist and a teacher of English to develop new work or enhance their careers.

“We already support an established author with one of Australia’s richest Fellowships, valued at $80,000 (recently awarded to Kathryn Heyman) – and this year we will provide a further $80,000 for a specific work of non-fiction writing.

“We will also offer a new Fellowship for a Visual Artist valued at $80,000.

“Our Publisher Fellowships will increase in value from $10,000 to $15,000 and we are introducing a new National Fellowship for Teachers of English, with $15,000 – through our Reading Australia literary resources hub for schools.”

Applications for the two Publisher Fellowships are being accepted between now and 12 March 2018. They are intended to assist publishers by supporting attendance at an international leadership program or conference, research into issues such as leadership in publishing, diversity, developing editorial/sales/marketing skills, copyright or other important issues for the publishing industry.

For more information, see: https://www.copyright.com.au/culturalfund/fellowship/

About the Copyright Agency

The not-for-profit Copyright Agency connects users and creators of content, providing licences for the use of copyright material such as text, images, art and survey plans. We manage the educational and government licences for the use of text and images, as well as the resale royalty scheme for artists (by Government appointment). Our members include writers, artists, surveyors and publishers. Membership is free. www.copyright.com.au.

Image credit: Caitlin Hicks