Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange Program
WrICE brings together Australian and Asia-Pacific writers for face-to-face collaborative residencies in Asia followed by reciprocal events in Australia. Founded in 2013, WrICE contributes to an Asia-Pacific community of writers, sparking networks and connections and raising the professional profile of writers across the region. It provides a solid framework for intercultural and intergenerational dialogue—the exchange and furthering of knowledge, creativity, skills and cultural perspectives—that is underpinned by principles of mutual respect and a desire for genuine reciprocity. WrICE has presented collaborative residencies and public events in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Presenting partners have included the Ayala Museum in Manila, The National Library of Vietnam and The Jakarta Post Writing Center, as well as Melbourne Writers Festival and Footscray Community Arts Centre.
Melbourne Seoul
The Melbourne-Seoul Intercultural exchange forges deep relationships between Korean and Australian universities as well as nurturing significant cross-cultural understanding within and across diverse writing communities. Past participants have included Korean poets So Yeon Kim, Hyangra Kim, Bo Seon Shim, translator Ben Jackson and Australian poets Jessica Wilkinson, Cassandra Atherton, Bonny Cassidy, Kent MacCarter and Lisa Gorton.
NonfictioNOW
Co-presented bi-annually by RMIT, NonfictioNOW is a regular international gathering of over 400 nonfiction writers, teachers, readers and students from around the world in an effort to explore the past, present, and future of nonfiction. The next NonfictioNOW will take place in Wellington in 2020, informed by the many and diverse cultures of the Asia Pacific, with pop-up events also taking place in Melbourne. Panels and readings highlight the myriad forms of nonfiction, from the video essay and graphic essays, to the memoir, lyric essay, and literary journalism. Past keynote speakers have included Karl Ove Knausgård, Maggie Nelson, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, Alison Bechdel, Rebecca Solnit, Wayne Koestenbaum, Pico Iyer, Margo Jefferson, Richard Rodriguez, and Tim Flannery, among others.
