The HNSA committee programs our conferences using the
principles of diversity and inclusion as a priority. We will not tolerate
expressions of any kind of hatred or discrimination at our events.
Our community of writers and readers is welcoming and
diverse, and we try to create events in spaces that reflect and enable this.
Our current strategies to support this include:
- Ensuring venue sites are accessible
- Acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which
we meet, and inviting them to formally open the conference with a Welcome to Country - Inviting writers from a range of cultural backgrounds, life
experiences and viewpoints, particularly writers from marginalised communities - Acknowledging the complex ways in which Indigenous and Pacifika
experiences are represented in fiction and in history writing in our countries, and highlighting these issues in panels, speeches and interviews - Ensuring that at least one of our most prestigious guest
roles showcases the work of a First Nations writer - Establishment of a First Nations Participation Fund in 2019
to support the participation of guests from New Zealand or Australia who might not otherwise be able to appear - Keeping prices as low as possible, including discounts for
students and concession holder - Positive engagement with ideas and issues around the need
for diversity in the publishing industry and writing communities - Providing opportunities for aspiring and emerging writers to
have their work considered in pitch and short story contests – anonymously and without prejudice - Running online workshop programs and conference sessions to encourage participation from regional, interstate and international speakers and registrants
If you have ideas for improvements or changes, we’d love to
hear from you.
HNSA Committee
