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Occupations / Authors, And Book And Script Editors

Authors, and Book and Script Editors

Authors, and Book and Script Editors write, edit and evaluate literary works for publication and scripts for film, television, radio and stage productions.

OtherANZSCO 2122
6,778People employed
+18% ▲Growth to 2035
62%Work full time
53Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 2122.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

creating and developing ideas and themes for written works, such as novels, plays, musicals, screen productions, educational texts, information texts and multimedia productsresearching subject matter through original and secondary materials, interviews and other mediaplanning, organising and writing materialreviewing and evaluating manuscripts of novels, biographies, short stories, poems, educational texts and other books, and ensuring coherence of style and development of theme, plot and characterisationadvising publishers about potential of works for publication and conditions of publication contractnegotiating publication details such as royalties, publication dates and numbers of copies to be printed
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 2122 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 1,100 more people in authors, and book and script editors by 2035 ▲

The field grew 4.1% in the year to February 2026, adding about 300 workers. Most of the jobs are in VIC and NSW, with WA third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 2122.More about our sources: How we check our facts
6k2025
6.6k2030 PROJ.
7.1k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

8 in ten people here have a degree. You can still get in without one.

11% came through a VET qualification. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 2122. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

CUA40125Certificate IV

Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing

Creative Arts and Culture Training Package.

See 2 providers
CUA50125Diploma

Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing

Creative Arts and Culture Training Package.

See 1 provider
11115NATAdvanced Diploma

Advanced Diploma of Professional Screenwriting

See 0 providers

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

6,778 Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 2122.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

VIC2.2k
NSW2k
WA0.7k
QLD0.5k
SA0.3k
ACT0.2k
TAS0.2k
NT0.1k