The Emerging Writers’ Festival work, learn and play largely on the land of the Kulin nation, and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

EWF celebrates the history and creativity of the world’s oldest living culture.

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‘If you’re an up-and-coming writer, this is the place to get your foot in the door… as you’ll make invaluable connections within Melbourne’s thriving emerging literary scene.’

-ArtsHub on Emerging Writers’ Festival

We not are currently hiring at this time. Stay up to date on all EWF hiring updates via our newsletter.

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Other Opportunities

2025 Guest Curator

  • •EOIs open: 10 Feb 2025
  • •EOIs close: 10 March 2025, 5PM AEDT
  • •Full details: Position Description (PDF/Docx)

This is a curation opportunity with a provided stipend for an Emerging First Nations Producer, who is interested in getting hands-on experience in literary and festival programming with the EWF Team, based out of The Wheeler Centre in Naarm. 

Since 2018, EWF has been committed to programming First Nations Artists and Writers for the opening event of the Emerging Writers’ Festival – an important cornerstone of our organisation’s programming and ethos. Previous EWF Guest Curators include Maya Hodge, proud Lardil and Yangkaal woman whose practice is dedicated to disrupting colonial narratives and centering First Nations storytelling and autonomy, and Mackenzie Lee, queer First Nations poet with Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman, and Karajarri ancestry, mixed with Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Anglo-Australian heritage. In 2024, Guest Curator Mackenzie Lee curated the Opening Night event ‘LIB[ERA]TION’. 

EWF is excited to open Expressions of Interest for the next Guest Curator to envision our 2025 opening event, and to appear in our 2025 festival.

For full details, check out the position description linked below.

Position Description (PDF) Position Description (Docx)

Submit your Expression of Interest for the 2025 Guest Curator role on the EWF25 team via the form linked below. We can’t wait to read your application.

Submit your application

Volunteering & EWF

Since our 2022 festival, EWF’s (unpaid) Volunteer Program has been re-developed into an ongoing partnership with RMIT University’s schools of Media and Communication: Creative Writing, Masters of Writing and Publishing, and Professional Writing and Editing in order to provide development within the literary sector to festival volunteers that is more structured and equitable.

You can learn more about the Volunteer program here.

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