"Our Festival aims to support grassroots writing by providing a place to showcase the amazing diversity of work that new Australian writers are creating. At the Emerging Writers' Festival, authors outside the mainstream can present their writing without the normal boundaries of literary fashion or favour. It's a great opportunity for readers too, to hear fresh work from the best writers they haven't heard of – yet."

Richard Watts
Inaugural festival director, Emerging Writers Festival 2004

The Emerging Writers' Festival developed out of Express Media's "Make It Up" zine fair. This day of workshops and presentations also included the independent press and zine fair, elements which are still key highlights of the festival five years on.

By 2003, the event's success had outgrown its limited format and size, and Express Media worked in partnership with the Victorian Writers' Centre to develop a program of events that catered specifically to emerging writers. Express Media's then Artistic Director Richard Watts recognised that writing was changing – but so were writers. Because emerging writers are not merely to be found among young writers, the Express Media-VWC partnership was crucial in defining and welcoming a diverse audience of writers at early career stages.

The 2004 Festival presented 68 writers from six states for a weekend at the Victoria Hotel's conference centre, as well as “Make It Up IV” at the MELBOURNE TOWN HALL. Terry Jaensch, Festival Director in 2005, drew 56 artists together from all over Australia for a very full weekend.

It was in 2006 that the Emerging Writers' Festival took on a life of its own, now fully independent of its parent organisations, Express Media and the VWC.  Director Steve Grimwade expanded the scope of the Festival to include additional special events, such as the Scrabble Saturday night performance event and literary speed dating, where young writers had a chance to pitch their projects to publishers in a fast and frenetic event.

In 2007, the EWF presented a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) writers' focus as well as holding small publishers conference. A new partnership with Federation Square meant that the Festival was presented both at the MELBOURNE TOWN HALL and Federation Square in 2007, with a visual arts event at the RMIT Gallery, a launch at Trades Hall, an exhibition at the State Library and a 48 hour play generator with a record attendance and a record number of Emerging Writers from across Australia being involved.

In 2008 the EWF had its first sell out festival with over 350 people enjoying the MELBOURNE TOWN HALL program and another 1000 people across the festivals events. 2008 also saw the introduction of the Ambassadors program, the EWF’s unique artists in residence program, as well as the introduction of the from here to there panel sessions, Two sides of the coin mini debates and the Pitch publishing forum.