The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) is pleased to announce that Josh Bornstein has been appointed to the ASA Board of Directors. Bornstein is both an author and award-winning lawyer who specialises in employment and labour-relations law. He is the author of Working for the Brand: how corporations are destroying free speech (Scribe 2024) and his writing has appeared in The Monthly, The Saturday Paper, the Australian Financial Review and The Guardian. Bornstein is the National Practice Leader of Maurice Blackburn’s Employment and Industrial Relations Group, a director of the Australia Institute, and an advisory board member of the Centre for Future Work.

‘I’m delighted that Josh Bornstein is bringing his exceptional — and particular — expertise to the ASA board table,’ ASA Chair Sophie Cunningham says. ‘His work as both an industrial and employment lawyer, and as an author, has been significant. His book Working for the Brand: how corporations are destroying free speech has made a crucial contribution to the debates regarding freedom of speech at a time when those debates are impacting on the lives of many authors on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Josh will be a great addition to what is a group of creative, passionate, and talented directors, and I look forward to working with him more closely.’ 

ASA CEO Lucy Hayward says, ‘I warmly welcome Josh to the ASA board. The landscape for creators at the moment is both challenging and full of opportunity, with the introduction of a new literature body, Writing Australia, next month. I know Josh will be instrumental in  helping us navigate the coming years and deliver on our purpose to promote and protect the rights of authors and illustrators.’