afshan been selected to take part in the Melbourne City of Literature Virtual Writer Residency Programme in 2021.

afshan will be a resident at the Stella Prize
Established in 2013, the Stella Prize is an annual literary award celebrating Australian women’s writing in all genres. It’s also an organisation pushing for cultural change, delivering initiatives to raise the profile of Australian women writers. These include events and panel discussions focused on gender equity and literature, a Girls WriteUp event, the Stella Schools program and continued its partnership with the University of Melbourne supporting teachers-researchers. It’s also responsible for the 2018 Stella Count, which is a study about the extent of gender inequality and unconscious bias in Australian book reviewing.

From poets to playwrights, this program will introduce Melbourne’s vibrant and varied literary community uniting writers across the world in this innovative pilot program.

In close partnership with ten of Melbourne’s literature centered organisations including libraries, book sellers, local publishers and regional writing collectives, this virtual residency offers writers from Creative Cities of literature from around the world the opportunity to forge professional development pathways, share experiences and practices, develop intercity collaborative initiatives and showcase their world at an international level.

As part of the wider initiative, organisations and participating writers will collaborate to host a series of public events for Melbourne’s residents, such as interactive creative works, workshops, literary discussions and panels. These events are hoping to attract an audience of at least 10,000, and inspire generations of literature aficionados to take up the pen and get involved.