The State Library of Queensland has come under fire after abruptly cancelling a $15,000 Indigenous Writing Fellowship, just hours before it was due to be awarded to writer Karen Wyld on Tuesday 20 May. The decision, prompted by a tweet Wyld (whose pronouns are they/their/she) made in October 2023 regarding the conflict in Gaza, has sparked widespread criticism and raised questions about the limits of artistic expression and the role of governments in arts funding.
The award, part of the black&write! program funded by Creative Australia, was intended to support Wyld’s manuscript exploring seven generations of stolen Indigenous children. The tweet in question, which referred to the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a ‘martyr’, was deleted soon after being posted. Wyld told Guardian Australia the post was an emotional reaction to Australia’s foreign policy response, not a political statement connected to her manuscript.
Speaking to Guardian Australia, Wyld, whose significant body of work includes novels, non-fiction, poetry and reviews, said: “I probably could have worded it less emotional… It has nothing to do with anything else.”
They added that their work aims to raise awareness about the 28-year-old Bringing Them Home report into the Stolen Generations (formally known as the 1997 Australian Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families) and the slow implementation of its recommendations.
The report into the Stolen Generations led to then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s long-awaited Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples on 13 February 2008, in which Rudd famously said: “For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.”
Wyld was informed of the cancellation of their Fellowship in a private meeting with the State Library’s Chief Executive, Vicki McDonald, on the same day they arrived in Brisbane to accept the Fellowship.
“She wouldn’t tell me why or who was doing it… she just said it didn’t come from her,” Wyld told Guardian Australia.
Later that day, Queensland Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek told the State Parliament he had “taken the decision that this award should not be presented”, citing a need for the State Library to “uphold the integrity of the institution” and avoid “any perception that taxpayer-funded awards [are] being granted to individuals who justify terrorism”.
A State Library spokesperson confirmed to Guardian Australia that the decision had been communicated to Wyld respectfully, and that the black&write! ceremony had been postponed. The spokesperson also announced an “independent review of the suite of awards and fellowships we administer”, including the Queensland Literary Awards and the Queensland Memory Awards.
While the Queensland Government has denied that the David Unaipon Award – one of Queensland’s most prestigious literary awards for emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers – has been paused, the review has cast uncertainty over future programs.
Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke distanced himself from the decision, stating, “On support for artists, I never interfere with the decisions of Creative Australia”. However, Creative Australia clarified that while it funds the black&write! program, it does not select or rescind individual fellowships.
The incident has reignited concerns over political interference in arts funding and the tension between public accountability and freedom of expression.
“This has significantly impacted the individual artists and people involved,” Wyld said.
The decision comes as the industry battles with an increase in government interference. Brisbane City Council withdrew funding for QMusic after an awarded jazz artist paid homage to the Palestinian people. Creative Australia withdrew support for its nominations for the Venice Biennale over concerns of the artists’ personal political views.
Read: Stop censoring artists: perceptions and strategies
Since its inception in 2014, the black&write! Fellowships have supported more than a dozen First Nations writers and provided publishing pathways through partnerships with University of Queensland Press (UQP).
UQP has yet to comment on the future of Wyld’s publishing contract. ArtsHub has contacted the Jewish Council of Australia for comment on this issue. This article will be updated as soon as a response is received.
