Words of Welcome.

It's time to get Close Reading.

Welcome to Close Reading, a fortnightly dispatch of literary obsessions.

Each chapter will feature a guest writer who shares one word, one quote, one poem (or lyric), one book, and one other thing.

I’m Heath Killen and I created this newsletter in response to the challenges being faced by Australian and New Zealand literary arts. Recent budget cuts, festival closures, government censorship, and the existential thread of AI have all had a profoundly negative effect on the industry. Close Reading is a small but direct response, a celebration of words, curation, and the connection between writer and reader.

For those who do not know me, I have worked for many years helping brands and organisations craft and tell their stories. I am the former managing editor of creative industries magazine Desktop, and was the founding editor of cult newsletter In Wild Air. Close Reading is the first project to be made under my new imprint Woolgather, a hybrid publisher and creative studio.

I’m happy you’re here and excited about where this can go.

Make sure you’re subscribed to get the very first edition next week, and help us spread the word however you can.