Fremantle Press Chair Clair Medhurst speaks of the importance of providing practical support to emerging writing careers

As one of a handful of independent publishing houses in Australia, it has never been more important for us to safeguard the stories of Western Australia by supporting the publishing industry.

Fremantle Press is a critical part of Western Australia’s cultural and economic life.

As an independent, local publishing house, we provide a hub around which the reading and writing community congregates. 

We support writing groups, we collaborate with local micro publishers and other arts organisations, we work with countless community groups to help them raise money for literacy projects, we help activate libraries and schools, we sponsor and even run festivals and we donate thousands of books across the state each year to kindergarten aged children through our Books for Little Bookaburras program.

Our stories are the cornerstone of storytelling in the arts with our books featured in performances by Barking Gecko, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Theatre 180, the Perth Symphony Orchestra and, most recently, the Screenwest-funded Stan original series Invisible Boys which launched this February. Not only are we providing jobs and economic value through book sales, but when we nurture emerging writers, through awards like the Fogarty, when we foster creativity through the stories that we share, we plant the seeds that eventually grow into other industries: theatre, music, TV and film. 

And our mission as a not-for-profit publisher for nearly 50 years and into the future continues to be to discover and develop new WA talent and to work tirelessly to represent the diversity of Western Australian life through our stories and storytellers.

The support of our Champions of Literature has been key in developing new and emerging writers: last year our Champions book was Cutler by Dave Whish-Wilson. The 2025 Champions book and author will be revealed later this year.  The investment of generous donors supports more than just one book – it helps increase the impact of everything that we do.  Such support can help us train and grow jobs for other creatives, build our community of readers, our publishing expertise and national profile, and can amplify the voices of new and emerging writers and the stories of this place even further.

I am a Champion of Literature, as is my husband, Paul Jones. Since 2017 we have been committed to supporting Fremantle Press because we love reading and the pure invention of new stories, and because this publishing house is at the absolute core of cultural expression in WA.

I would like to acknowledge another Champion of Literature, Annie Fogarty who, with her Fogarty Foundation, has also invested so generously in young writers through the Fogarty Literary Award, inspiring the next generation. 

Supporting Fremantle Press by supporting its writers is a very practical way to give back to the people who play such a vital cultural role in telling the stories of this place.

We hope 2026 will be a year of celebration of our significant history and impact, and of renewal as we step into the next 50 years of supporting WA writing and storytelling.