01/06/2023
The inaugural event for the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Children's Storytelling saw the book industry champion children’s books and authors, amidst competition from the Wiggles.
Children’s writers and books were placed centre stage at the launch of the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Children's Storytelling, as the Australian Publishers Association (APA), Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and the Copyright Agency, attended Parliament House on the eve of the Australian Book Industry Awards.
The event, established by co-chairs Luke Gosling OAM MP and Warren Entsch MP, served as a platform for parliamentarians to engage with creative industries covering books, theatre, screen, and music, focusing on Australian children's storytelling.
A sizable Australia Reads stand drew crowds throughout the event, featuring hundreds of contemporary Australian children's and young adult titles gifted by APA members. This meant the 300-plus crowd of MPs, senators, staffers, and special guests, each had the opportunity to take home a book along with a message from Australia Reads.
The book-laden Australian Reads stand, photo courtesy the ASA
In addition to the books gifted by our members, the ASA funded twelve authors to be present to engage in discussions with parliamentarians and their staff.
Author Nat Amoore, who served as the evening's MC, emphasised the importance of supporting local literature and storytelling. She highlighted the significance of legislation that ensures children see themselves reflected in Australian books, songs, screen content, and stories, nurturing a sense of pride in Australia's unique culture.
Throughout the event, many parliamentarians and staffers visited the Australia Reads table to explore the beautiful array of books and discuss reading. This included the APA's Anna Burkey providing expert advice to many parliamentarians on titles for their children.
Later, Australian musician Dan Sultan and The Wiggles took the stage, performing with the parliamentary band Left Right Out. While more caucus than raucous, the band did cover AC/DC, with Arts Minister Tony Burke described Left RIght Out as ‘the greatest pub rock band in the entire Federal Parliament’.
Beyond our collaboration with the ASA, the APA is grateful to screen producer Monica O'Brien for her management of the event, to the Copyright Agency for their financial support, and to Nicholas Pickard from APRA AMCOS for his always-effective advocacy.
Most of all, thanks to the members who provided stock for a spectacular display of contemporary Australian children’s and YA books: Affirm, Allen & Unwin, Berbay Books, CSIRO, Hachette, Hardie Grant, HarperCollins, Magabala, NewSouth, and Penguin Random House.
Canberra advocacy continues
The event at Parliament House was part of two days for APA staff in Canberra talking to parliamentarians about reading in Australia. These conversations built on meetings in March, around the launch of Australian Reading Hour with the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Books and Writers.
They carried the message that reading for pleasure underpins the nation’s social and economic capacity, and that more support is needed to encourage Australians to read. A few key stats captured attention:
- The number of young people reading for pleasure has dropped since 2017
- Fewer Australian adults report reading at least one book in a year
- 44% of Australians have low or very low literacy levels
- Declining literacy raises the risk of social isolation and welfare dependency
Arguing for a national strategy to build a reading nation, the team left with the following impressions:
- Our parliamentarians and their staff are readers, and new messages about curiosity-based reading are overdue and welcome in Canberra.
- Reading intersects with a number of other government concerns: mental health; literacy and educational outcomes; ageing and social isolation, and the links between these areas and reading would be of interest.
To build on these ideas and encourage a national conversation about reading, Australia Reads will be running an online Reading Symposium – VOLUME – on 21 September 2023, so mark your diary to join us.