"The person who changed things for me at a crucial time was Peter Bishop."
The Writer Conversation is a national powerhouse for writers. With its companion program The Reader Conversation it forms an irresistible ecosystem: a national community of writers and readers.
The Writer Conversation is a comprehensive, self-funding program supporting the long-term development of writers of all kinds and creating unprecedented opportunities for publication, presentation, marketing and yes, conversation - all at the very highest professional level.
All Writer Conversation programs come at no cost to the writer beyond the annual subscription fee.
We create ideal environments for writers of all kinds and at all levels of writing practice.
For new and emerging writers: Peter’s Place, led by Writer Conversation founder Peter Bishop, offers long-term support for writer development with a view to publication or significant presentation outcomes. Find out more.
For published writers: The Bookshop Project creates new readerships for those many excellent books that have lost or often never had the readership they deserve. Find out more.
For all writers: Over our foundation year we will be introducing a wide range of opportunities for writers through both Writer and Reader Conversations. Find out more.
We're building up a range of comments from writers and readers who are excited by what we are doing - pay us a visit here!
We’re starting The Writer Conversation at the heart –with the program of manuscript development we call Your Place. Writing a book can take years —and Writer Conversation founder Peter Bishop will stay with you all the way. Peter discovered a happy lifetime commitment to working with writers through his years as Creative Director of Varuna –The Writers’ House (1994-2010). For Peter, each manuscript is unique, and it is that fascinating uniqueness that he will recognize and nurture in Your Place and the forthcoming programs of Peter’s Place. Find out more. [Link to Peter’s Place].
Over our foundation year we’ll develop the community of The Writer Conversation with particular regard for those unique voices that have too often been hidden or neglected, for the voices of regional, rural and remote Australia, and for those many books that just don’t fit in with what publishers publish and booksellers sell.
From mid-2026, The Reader Conversation will create a marvelous meeting place for writers and readers. Peter thinks of it as a spacious café with the smell of grinding coffee and cinnamon rolls hot from the oven… Find out more. [Link to Reader Conversation]
We’re creating a national community of writers and readers. Low costs and accessibility are essential elements of a community, so all of our programs come at no cost beyond the annual fee.
For our foundation year that fee is $66. When it’s time to renew, the evolving landscape of Writer and Reader Conversations will enable us to offer many deeply rewarding ways for you to participate in and contribute to our ecosystem.
A personal invitation from Peter Bishop:
'I’ve been evolving The Writer Conversation for fifteen years. It’s hard to believe it’s actually here —and that it actually does embody all the possibilities of opportunity, generosity and community I’d dreamed of. We're at the start of a great adventure, and if you’d like to support us in a really useful way in our foundation year, I invite you to become a Foundation Subscriber. Foundation Subscribers pay a little extra –a godsend in a foundation year!– and most importantly each is encouraged to make a comment for our What You're Saying About Us page. I’d love to open that page and hear a hubbub of excited voices!
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands upon which we work and live. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and future, as well as all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – their Country, Culture, and Community.
