Cirrus@Austlit

The Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas received funding in the 2007 Victorian state budget and was opened on 13 February 2010 under the new name The Wheeler Centre. The name change honours Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler (qq.v.).

Located within a wing of the State Library of Victoria, the Centre has a performance space, shared meeting rooms and workshop spaces and flexible areas for the short term use of writers and organisations.

At its opening in 2010, the Centre housed Victorian literary orgaisations including Melbourne Writers' Festival, Victorian Writers' Centre, Express Media, Emerging Writers' Festival, Australian Poetry Centre, Small Press Underground Networking Community (SPUNC) and the Melbourne branch of PEN International. It was responsible for programming literary events including the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the Deakin Lectures.

Plans for the Centre were the cornerstone of Melbourne, Victoria's, bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature. The bid was successful in August 2008.

The inaugural Board for the Centre, Eric Beecher (Chair), Peter Biggs, Joanna Murray-Smith, Mark Rubbo, Gabrielle Coyne and Andrew Hagger was announced in October 2008. The Centre's first Director was Chrissy Sharp.

The Centre, which went under several working titles, was named The Wheeler Centre Books Writing Ideas on 26 November, 2009, after a substantial donation from the founders of the publisher, Lonely Planet.

Source: The Wheeler Centre Books Writing Ideas website, www.wheelercentre.com (sighted 01/12/2009)