AustLit

‘The provision of services for writers is a relatively recent development. Although there has been an Australian Journalists Association (now part of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance) since 1923 and a Fellow-ship of Australian Writers (FAW) since 1928, the two main professional organisations for writers are more recent. The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was established in 1963 and has been responsible for such key initiatives as the Australian Copyright Council and the Copyright Agency Limited. The ASA has also lobbied tirelessly on issues such as rates of pay and recommended standard contracts. The Australian Writ-ers Guild (AWG), representing mainly film writers, was established in 1962 and has campaigned recently on digital rights protection and moral rights legislation.’ (Introduction 146)