Can writing help to inform a collective national consciousness? Can words make Australia a better place? Over the past decade Australians have witnessed a significant shift in our society's economic, ethical and cultural norms. It would seem that the problems of justice are now more acute than ever, yet the solutions to those problems are not obvious to find or to persuade those in power to adopt. Significantly, as media ownership and control narrows, as legislation prohibiting outspoken dissent is put in place, as reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia seems to have stalled, our writers are becoming more outspoken than ever on issues of justice. In this powerful collection, Australian writers including Gail Jones, Eva Sallis and Kim Scott explore the complex relationship between writing and justice, a relationship that necessarily involves the ethics of reading. Their essays demonstrate how it is possible for writing to articulate concerns of justice, enlighten the broader community and move citizens to action.