Sweatshop Literacy Movement and NewSouth Publishing have launched Fresh Off The Books: The Pasifika Australian Literary Initiative, the first dedicated writing program for Pasifika-Australian authors.

The initiative will provide 12 successful applicants with a year-long scholarship to develop their creative and critical writing portfolios.

Participants will receive masterclasses, one-on-one consultations, expert editorial support, and a stipend of $1,000 each.

The program is led by writer, editor, and community arts worker Winnie Dunn, who in 2024 became the first Tongan-Australian author to release a mainstream novel about Pasifika communities in Australia.

Ms Dunn said she was proud to help foster the next generation of Pasifika storytellers.

"I'm thrilled to be leading Fresh Off The Books," she said.

"What a mana-filled opportunity to amplify the voices of emerging Pasifika writers across our nation so often overlooked and forgotten.

"Fresh Off The Books celebrates the richness of Pasifika-Australian stories, and I'm honoured to help bring it all to life with NewSouth and Sweatshop's commitment to authentic and diverse storytelling."

The program will culminate in an anthology of Pasifika writing, marking the first collection by Australian writers of Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Māori, Hawaiian, Torres Strait Islander, and other South Pacific backgrounds.

The initiative aims to showcase the diversity, realities, and cultural richness of contemporary Pasifika-Australian life.

The anthology will be published by NewSouth Publishing in the second half of 2026.

NewSouth editor Harriet McInerney, who has been involved since the project's inception, said the organisation was excited to collaborate with Ms Dunn.

"All of us at NewSouth are so thrilled to be working with Winnie Dunn on this ground-breaking anthology of Pasifika writing," Ms McInerney said.

Applications are open until 28 February 2025 for emerging writers from Pasifika backgrounds aged 18 and over.

More information is available via the Sweatshop website.

The initiative is supported by Diversity Arts Australia and funded by Creative Australia, the national arts funding and advisory body.