This week, Martu writer Karen Wyld had her A$15,000 black&write fellowship withdrawn – just hours before the (cancelled) ceremony at State Library of Queensland, where she was to receive it for a fiction manuscript on the Stolen Generations. The Queensland arts minister, John-Paul Langbroek, and premier David Crisafulli had directly intervened. They wrote to the library’s chairwoman and its and CEO “voicing their concerns”, according to the Australian.
A reporter from the paper knew before Wyld did about the withdrawal of her fellowship, which annually grants two First Nations writers $15,000 and a publishing opportunity with University of Queensland Press. Wyld (who now publishes under K. A. Ren Wyld), received an email asking for a reaction before she was informed of the withdrawal – in a “very brief, polite conversation” with Library CEO Vicki McDonald, who “mentioned” a tweet Wyld had posted, then deleted, in October 2024.
