Named in honour of poet and writer Neilma Sidney (1922-2015), the inaugural Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund will provide inspiration and practical support to emerging, mid-career and established writers, editors, and other literary professionals.
Sidney was a constant traveller, with many of her eight books written while on the road (or upon the sea – her preferred mode of transport). Travelling by sea gave Sidney the time to write and space to travel with a typewriter and a trunk full of books.
The travel fund that bears her name will provide small grants of between $2,000-$10,000 to Australian writers and other literary sector workers to undertake strategic travel opportunities for the benefit of their own writing practice or career development, or for the benefit of the broader Australian literary sector.
‘Finding the time and space to write is one of the biggest issues facing writers,’ said Writers Victoria Director Kate Larsen.