Bri Hassett, a teacher at Gippsland Grammar in regional Victoria, has been awarded the 2026 Reading Australia Fellowship for her project Writerly Reading: Developing Authentic Australian Student Voices in the Age of AI.
The Reading Australia Fellowship provides $15,000 to a leading English and/or literacy teacher or teacher librarian to undertake a career-enhancing research project that benefits both the successful Fellow and the broader education sector.
Developed by Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund, Reading Australia provides more than 320 curriculum-mapped resources to help teachers bring Australian literature into classrooms across the country.
Bri’s project responds to one of the biggest challenges facing English classrooms today: helping students understand the value of writing in an age when AI can generate text in seconds.
Through classroom-based research with students in Years 7–10, Bri will develop and trial a unit of work that explores how Australian authors craft meaning, why they write, and how students can develop authentic voices of their own. The project will include interviews with authors and will result in a classroom-ready resource that teachers can use immediately.
Copyright Agency CEO Josephine Johnston said the Fellowship recognises projects that help teachers respond to contemporary challenges while strengthening students’ engagement with Australian literature.
“Artificial intelligence is changing the way students think about writing, making this an important moment to re-examine why writing matters. Bri’s project will help teachers show students that writing is much more than producing words on a page – it is a way of thinking, creating meaning and finding their own voice.
“Reading Australia connects teachers and students with outstanding Australian literature and practical classroom resources. Bri’s research will complement that work by giving teachers new approaches to exploring the writing process and helping students value the creativity that sits behind every Australian story.”
Bri said the Fellowship will help her create practical resources that benefit teachers and students across Australia.
“As a teacher in regional Victoria, I spend much of my time dreaming up ways to shorten the opportunity gap between my students and their city counterparts. With this fellowship, I hope to create an accessible and robust little unit of work that all teachers can take and adapt to their teaching contexts.
“I also couldn’t resist the opportunity to champion diverse, contemporary artistic voices and centre their experiences of the writer’s process.
“Creative practice, productive struggle, and expression are inherent to the human experience; together, let’s pass that joy on to our students.”
The completed unit of work will be shared with teachers through Reading Australia, supporting English and literacy educators to navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by AI in the classroom.
For more information about the Fellowship and other initiatives, visit the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.