The Westerly Centre is a research centre situated within the School of Social and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia. Its aim is to stimulate and coordinate research and publication in Australian and Asian writing: poetry, fiction (short stories and novels), drama, script writing, life writing (autobiography, biography and other forms, including ficto-criticism), and literary and cultural criticism. Apart from its general interest in Australian literature and culture, it is the leading research centre in the world on links between Australian and Asian literary cultures.

The Westerly Centre engages in a range of activities. As well as publishing the literary magazine Westerly, it produces up to two books of literature or literary scholarship annually, and has an impressive publications list.

The Westerly Centre also organises conferences and seminars in the field of Australian and Asian literature. These include the biannual Symposium on the Literature and Culture of the Asia-Pacific Region (hosted in turn by the Westerly Centre, the National University of Singapore and the University of the Philippines), other academic meetings, literary readings, book launches and occasional seminars for Western Australian high school teachers.

The Westerly Centre hosts visitors from Europe, the UK, the USA and Asia, and has close connections with other Australian Literature study centres in Australia and overseas.

Helping New Poets Into Print

Westerly has, in 2007, published the first of what it hopes may become a series of first poetry collection of poems by emerging Western Australian poets.

Fremantle writer Megan McKinlay's first collection of poems, Cleanskin, will go out to all Westerly subscribers with issue 52 of the journal. It is also available separately from the Westerly website.