Having Louis Nowra and Mandy Sayer on site as non-fiction writers in residence at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) is more than just "two for the price of one", says Professor John Dale, Director of the UTS Centre for New Writing.
"A lot of students - undergrads particularly - don't know a lot about what has gone before them," Professor Dale says. "Between the two of them, Louis and Mandy cover every genre of writing you can think of, from playwriting and poetry to fiction, non-fiction and screenwriting - and they know just about everyone."
Nowra and Sayer will work mainly with students preparing for their Master of Arts in creative or non-fiction writing but will also be available to those in the new undergraduate Bachelor of Communication and Creative Writing program. "They'll find themselves quite busy," Professor Dale says.
Each will deliver a public lecture during the year.
The residency follows those of the inaugural appointee Peter Robb in 2012 and Leah Purcell last year. The program, funded by the Copyright Agency, has been an unqualified success.
"Last year's students absolutely loved Leah Purcell," Professor Dale says. "She's a performer as well as a writer and she has an energy that just knocked the students over."
The kind of mentoring Nowra and Sayer can offer is invaluable to any student hoping to find a career in writing, Professor Dale says. "Not only do you have their accumulated knowledge about the craft of writing but also about the career paths you can have in Australia. They're quite unique."