Australian Brews News is proud to announce an exciting opportunity for aspiring beer writers, the 2012 Hop Products Australia Beer Writing Bursary.

Under the program, being launched today, a successful applicant will receive a trip to Tasmania for the 2012 hop harvest at Hop Products Australia’s Bushy Park Estates, a regular column on Australian Brews News and $1500 cash.

Australian Brews News editor Matt Kirkegaard said the bursary follows on from the successful beer writing competition run by the 2011 Beer Lover’s Guide.

“We received so many excellent entries and, judging by the number of beer blogs cropping up, there is no shortage of beer lovers wanting to write about their passion,” he said.

“Unfortunately, apart from blogs there are very few avenues for writers to get their work published and too many good bloggers abandon their writing as the reality of self-publishing to a small audience with no return strikes.

“We hope that this program will give the successful writer a modest financial incentive to develop their writing skills, as well as insider access to the industry to give them the contacts and the content to help improve their beer knowledge and their writing.

“The trip to Hop Products Australia’s Tasmanian hop growing estate at harvest time is an especially valuable opportunity for any writer, and access to media releases and invitations to beer launches and events are just some of the other ways the bursary winner will get the opportunity to develop their knowledge about the beer and brewing industry, as well as valuable contacts to help them pursue their ambition.

“They will also be given access to a large and growing readership through a regular column on Australian Brews News, a platform which gives them access to a wider audience and exposure than many specialty print magazines.”

“We are very excited to be able to work with Hop Products Australia to offer this opportunity, and thank them for helping to make it a reality.”

Hop Products Managing Director, Tim Lord, agreed that it was an exciting opportunity for a writer.

“It is our plan to support the continued growth of the Australian beer industry and have always worked very closely with brewers in the evaluation of new hop varieties and to increase their knowledge about our hops,” Tim said.

“Matt made the point to us that the development of any industry, such as wine, is often driven by the writers who share their passion, educate the market, identify and interpret trends and generally fire the imagination of the public about the industry.

“We agree that the brewing industry needs not just more brewers and breweries but also more beer writers and are proud to support this program as an excellent way to help to develop the skills and knowledge of a writer with a special interest in beer.”

Matt said this is the first of what he hopes to be a regular program of bursaries.

“Our motto at Australian Brews News is that while wine is a lecture, beer is a conversation. We hope that by encouraging more writers to become involved in the beer industry, there will be more writers participating in that conversation and telling the engaging, colourful and flavoursome story of great beer.”

Applications are open now and the bursary is open to Australian residents of any age. The closing date for applications is 31 October, 2011 with the successful applicant to be announced no later than 28 November, 2011.

Full details can be found here.

For more information, contact editor, Matt Kirkegaard.

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