The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) is the professional organisation, community and voice of Australia’s writers and illustrators. Established in 1963 as the peak national association for Australian authors, our purpose is to support writers and illustrators to pursue sustainable creative careers through advocacy, support and advice.

The video below illustrates some of what we do:

Advocacy

• We campaign at industry and government levels for author and illustrator rights including, but not limited to, fair pay, fair contracts and robust copyright protections
• We set minimum recommended rates of pay for authors and illustrators
• We also represent our members' interests to relevant policy-making bodies, including representation on the boards of copyright collecting societies, lending rights agencies and other book industry bodies

Support

• We provide professional development training and events, as well as mentorships to support members' writing and illustrating practice & professional careers
• We run awards, residencies and other selective opportunities for authors and illustrators

Advice

• We provide individual advice for members across a wide range of book industry and publishing matters via our FREE Advice service and our Publishing Consultancy service.
• We offer legal advice through Authors Legal, providing members with a full commercial and legal assessment of their publishing contract, or other industry agreements
• We publish standard contract templates for writers and illustrators, FAQs and detailed resources for authors and illustrators on professional matters including publishing, copyright, First Nations intellectual and cultural property, marketing and more

Our members

The ASA exists thanks to the support of our members, over 3000 professional and aspiring authors and illustrators. We represent everyone who writes or illustrates for publication and our members include novelists, biographers, illustrators, academics, cartoonists, scientists, food and wine writers, historians, graphic novelists, children’s writers, ghostwriters, travel writers, romance writers, crime writers, science fiction writers, editors, bloggers, journalists, poets and more.

If you want to support our advocacy initiatives or need our support and advice, consider becoming a member:

Join today

Alternatively, if you're already a member or prefer to contribute without joining the ASA, you can donate to our Endowment Fund. Donations to the Endowment Fund go directly towards supporting the ASA to lobby and campaign for the rights and professional interests of authors and illustrators.

Donate now

Minutes of the First Inaugural Meeting of a proposed Society of Authors, 1962.