FEB 14 - Queensland Writers Centre

Transcription

FEB 14
237
hit the ground running
GET OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
MANAGING YOUR TIME
SEX AND INTIMACY
Sally Browne gets creative in the USA
Rebecca Jessen on her QLA win
Kate Cantrell goes west for time out
Coasting with Louise Cusack
From the Chair
Kevin Gillespie
IT’S another year — it’s 2014. A year for new literary challenges
to be conquered — new literary pursuits to be envisioned.
What literary challenge or pursuit are you going to attempt to
track down until it yields to your requirements?
This year’s QWC calendar of events provides for workshops,
masterclasses and seminars that will cater well for writers at
all stages and levels of experience. Direction and knowledge
that can provide writers with the appropriate literary safari
experience to commence or continue to successfully hunt new
challengers and pursuits, and bring them to ground.
So, what are you going to do? Are you going to commit and go
on safari and try to capture the elusive literary beast of your
choosing? If so, you will need to hit the ground running, keep
running and don’t take your eyes off the prey. The majority of
the literary beasts many of us desire are stealthy and quick. They
are there one second and simply a blur on the horizon the next.
They do not loiter; they do not await our arrival with any sense
of expectation; they evade us at all times. If you want them, you
have to pursue them, mercilessly.
Is 2014 your year to ‘hit the ground running’? I hope and trust it
is for each and every one of you.
However, be mindful of the following. If you surrender and let
procrastination be your safari companion, it may be difficult
to hit the ground running. Procrastination has a way of getting
in your way and blurring your vision and direction. So, give no
quarter to procrastination.
If you do, you may trip, stagger or fall, and probably lose sight
of your prey altogether.
2
ISSN 1444-2922
WQ is the monthly publication
of the Queensland Writers Centre
(QWC). QWC is the leading
provider of specialised services
to the writing community of
Queensland. Through its annual
programs, it promotes skills
development and professional
practice and works to advance the
recognition of Queensland writers
and writing, locally, nationally
and internationally.
Queensland Writers Centre
State Library of Queensland
Cultural Centre Stanley Place
South Bank
Post: PO Box 3488
South Brisbane Qld 4101
T 07 3842 9922 | F 07 3842 9920
[email protected]
www.qwc.asn.au
Principal Sponsors
The Queensland Government
through Arts Queensland and
the Commonwealth Government
through the Australia Council.
Editor Jason Nahrung
Design Benjamin Portas
Proofreading Charlotte Nash
Printing Paradigm Print Media
Distribution Positive Production
Staff
Chief Executive Officer
Meg Vann
Program and Services Manager
Aimée Lindorff
Marketing Coordinator
Sophie Overett
Program Officer
Stacey Clair
Manager, if:book Australia
Simon Groth
Customer Service Officer
Lauren Sherritt
AWM Manager
Peter Ball
Digital Producer
Emily Craven
Finance Officer
Terry Sheather
Administration Officer
Sharon Phillips
Workshop Coordinators
Emma Chataway, Bridie McQueenie
and Elizabeth Georgiades
Management Committee
Chair Kevin Gillespie
Vice Chair Kim Wilkins
Treasurer Leanne Dodd
Secretary Chris Herden
Members Alex Adsett, Julie Barnett,
Franci Cantatore, Mark Fallu,
Kathleen Jennings, Jock McQueenie,
Ellen van Neerven
Deadline for Editorial
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Connect menu of www.qwc.asn.au.
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publication (i.e. the second Friday in
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two months prior to advertising.
Disclaimer
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Management Committee, and staff
present WQ magazine in good faith
and accept no responsibility for any
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expressed by contributors and
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Comment
Jason Nahrung, Editor
Issue
237
C ON T E N T S
[email protected]
FEBRUARY already. Shocking, isn’t it? So let’s knock out the
last of the festive cheer, any hint of summer torpor. Let’s get
started, if we haven’t already.
Got a deadline? Lucky you. Go for it. Don’t have one? Maybe
set one, then work out how much you want to reach it, and
what you have to do to achieve it. Then go for it.
I hope this year’s WQ will be a useful tool in achieving
your goals, whether through provision of competitions and
opportunities, valuable information on craft and business,
or simply through inspiration from the experiences and
achievements of other writers.
We’re starting with a bang, including, over the next three
months, articles from one of Australia’s most accomplished
romance writers, Valerie Parv, whose expertise extends beyond
genre boundaries. During the year, we will also be running an
occasional series from writer, mentor and MS assessor Louise
Cusack, who is introduced in this month’s profile section.
F E AT U R E S
A YEAR OF WRITING DANGEROUSLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
[Valerie Parv]
CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN, A WORD AT A TIME. . . . . . . . . . . . 8
[Anna Campbell]
SEX AND INTIMACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
[Narrelle Harris]
SP OT L I G H T
DOWN TO EARTH AT WORLD FANTASY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
[GOOD BLOG : Ellen Gregory]
Q&A: TIM HARRIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
[GOOD BLOG : Sally Browne]
And because it is February, there’s a nod to the god of Eros,
courtesy of Narrelle Harris.
V I E W P OI N T
Sorted? Off we go, then.
REBECCA JESSEN, BRIDGING THE GAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
[Kathy George]
FINDING SPACE AND TIME IN THE WEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
[Kate Cantrell]
R E G U L A R S
PROFILE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
[Louise Cusack]
WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
AUSTRALIAN WRITER’S MARKETPLACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
[Peter Ball]
IF:BOOK AUSTRALIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
[Simon Groth]
COMPETITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
OPPORTUNITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
MILESTONES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
DIARY DATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU3
PROFILE
Louise Cusack
WQ talks to Louise Cusack, whose CV includes mentoring,
manuscript assessment and computer game advice as well as
writing across multiple genres. Louise will be writing an occasional
column this year, Storytelling in Strange Lands.
Mentoring: what does it mean? How does it work? How much
does it cost?
When I engage in a mentoring agreement with a writer, it’s all
about what they need, so there’s no set program.
Some writers come to me wanting to write their first book.
They’ve heard about people wasting years writing the wrong
way for the market they want to sell into (or with craft
problems like viewpoint issues or ‘show, don’t tell’) and they
don’t want to waste time. They want to get their plot checked
before they begin, then have their writing monitored as they go
along to isolate and correct writing craft problems.
Other writers come to me having written their book in draft,
but with no idea how to accomplish a structural edit. So I help
them learn that, and they can take those skills forward into
future writing projects. Some writers are very self-motivated
and they continue along happily, only contacting me when
they get stuck. While other clients need monthly or fortnightly
contact to keep them on track and give them deadlines. So
it’s really about me working with the writer to formulate a
structure of mentoring that will support them and help them
maximise productivity.
I charge $440 for five hours of mentoring, and $770 for 10
hours. Those hours must be used up within 12 months of
purchase, and the price includes GST. Sometimes writers
will use part of their mentoring time to have me review and
comment on something they’ve written or rewritten. Otherwise
we just conduct regular or irregular mentoring session either
via phone or Skype.
You do manuscript assessment. What are the most common
problems you see?
I’ve assessed over 200 manuscripts (I’m taking a break from it
at the moment to concentrate on my own projects) and one of
the most common problems I see is a lack of understanding of
viewpoint, or point of view. Proper use of viewpoint is critical
for creating tension and deepening characterisation – both
critical elements in modern fiction.
On the other hand, when I’ve assessed a beautifully written
manuscript with no grammatical errors, but also no oomph, the
issue is often ‘show, don’t tell’. The writer is telling me the story,
instead of pulling me into the emotions and personality of the
character by showing me how the character is experiencing the
action of the plot – remember, readers want to connect with a
story emotionally, not just intellectually.
4
Another very common problem is plot structure. Either the
goal/motivation/conflict is weak or simply not there, or the
subplots are unfocused. To create a tight, cohesive plotline,
all subplots should either help or hinder the main character
achieve their goal. Structural elements are often very difficult
for beginner writers to see in their own work, and it requires
someone reading the whole manuscript to pick them out.
You live near Bundaberg. Do you feel ‘out of it’ or removed
from the publishing world?
Not at all. I do hear from regional writers that they feel isolated
from ‘the action’, but as a Brisbane girl who’s moved five hours
north, I’m not experiencing that myself. My agent is in Sydney,
as is my publisher, so I never got to see them regularly. We talk
over the phone, and the conferences/seminars/awards nights
I want to experience are rarely in Brisbane. So I’ve always
had to fly places to attend. That hasn’t changed. Of course,
now I can’t attend as many QWC events as I did, but that was
often dependent on me being in town or my writing schedule
anyway, so I really can’t see much disadvantage for a fiction
novelist in having a tree/sea change. If anything, isolating
myself from the busyness of Brisbane has given me more time
and focus for my writing, so my productivity has increased.
That’s fabulous!
Your writing has crossed a couple of genres ...
My stories, no matter the genre, always have at their core a
‘stranger in a strange land’ theme to them, whether that’s a
girl from our world going through a watery portal to a sepia
kingdom (Destiny of the Light – fantasy), a mermaid coming
dryside to experience the delight of genitals (Marriage & the
Mermaid – romantic comedy), or a sensitive male prostitute
who encounters a deeply disturbed client and is out of his depth
in her world of suicidal violence (Poe – literary fiction). I’m
fascinated by the idea of looking at the world through fresh
eyes, whether that’s our world, or a world of my creation, and
so far crossing genres hasn’t fazed my readers at all. I consider
myself very lucky to be able to do what I love every day.
What are you up to now?
I spent the first half of last year working with two international
computer game companies to help them develop fantasy
worlds, which was an exciting challenge. I’ve just done my first
stint as an enrichment speaker on a luxury cruise, which was all
sorts of interesting, and I’m about to start the final edit on my
first young adult novel, Silk.
So my life is very creative at the moment and I’m loving that!
FURTHER INFORMATION
Louise Cusack, www.ifyoumustwrite.com
VIEWPOINT
Rebecca Jessen, bridging the gap
Kathy George
‘ABSOLUTELY not!’ Rebecca Jessen says when I ask her if, at any
stage, she thought she could win the 2013 Queensland Literary
Awards’ emerging writer manuscript award. For someone who’s
quietly spoken it’s an emphatic statement, and an indication of her
humbleness.
These days she lives in Brisbane with another emerging writer
of note, Ellen van Neerven-Currie, who is her sounding board,
confidante and partner. I ask Bec if anything changed for her
when she won the emerging author award and she says, yes, they
went out and bought a vacuum cleaner.
I first met Bec, now 25, somewhere between 2009 and 2010 when
we were both studying creative writing at Queensland University
of Technology, and found ourselves completing the same units.
I quickly developed an admiration for her work. It was in a
tutorial that Gap – Bec’s winning verse novel – made its debut
in the form of a university assignment, and I was honoured to
be one of the critique group who first read it, most of the group
being left speechless by the experience.
Bec says she is desperately lacking in writing discipline. Most
days she’ll make a coffee, play a few rounds of Spider Solitaire,
create a moody playlist, then attempt to put pen to paper. If she
gets stuck, she’s often tempted back to the computer game.
Having contact with the outside
world is really important, in
terms of getting new ideas and
keeping my mind active
When I remind her of Gap’s beginnings, she says she didn’t
touch it again for almost a year, returning to continue the novel
in a QWC Rabbit Hole weekend, and then finally finishing it, by
which time percolation and planning had done its work and the
writing was ‘fast and very intuitive’.
Gap is about the ways people are bound to each other, she says,
and the lengths they go to to escape the paths they’ve been
set on. I ask her how much is autobiographical and she says
very little, which is unusual for her as much of her writing is
memoir. However, she did spend time in Woolloongabba, and
the setting is one she feels strongly connected to, particularly
the juxtaposition between suburban and industrial landscapes
behind Park Road Station. Bec also has a younger sister of whom
she’s protective, and she drew on that relationship to capture the
authenticity between the main character, Ana, and her younger
sister, Indie. Bec comes from a family of five siblings and halfsiblings and, apart from her younger sister who’s immensely
proud, they are largely uninterested in her work. She doesn’t
know what defines a happy childhood but hers certainly wasn’t
terrible, and it gave her a lot to write about so she’s grateful.
She’s by nature a quiet person, so what turns her on, inspires
her?
There’s a pause of a few seconds and a flash of that disarming
smile before she admits that beating herself at Spider Solitaire
fills her with glee. On the literary side, it’s discovering new
authors, reading incredible books with beautiful sentences, and
having fresh ideas. Her favourite authors – and she devours
books, five or six a month – are Dorothy Porter for courage and
fierceness, and Jeanette Winterson for playfulness and the ability
to write about loss. Then there’s Michelle Tea, David Sedaris,
Joan Didion and Nike Sulway. Hard-pressed to name only one
favourite book, she selects Written On The Body by Winterson.
‘It’s a book I can turn to over and over again, and still be
surprised and inspired.’
Bec thrives under pressure and admits that the less time she has
to write, the more she wants to write. She has a casual part-time
job and she is a volunteer at an RSPCA Op-Shop, a job she loves.
‘Having contact with the outside world is really important, in
terms of getting new ideas and keeping my mind active.’
I point out that Bec is young to be a published author and ask
whether this scares or inspires her. She admits it scares her
a little. For one thing, she was also the recipient of the State
Library of Queensland’s Young Writer Award in 2012, and she
feels some pressure to live up to whatever expectations people
have of her. But, mostly – happily – publication inspires her to
keep writing and improving her craft. In five years she hopes to
have a second book published, and to be working on her third.
Right now she’s working on a collection of short memoirs with a
family focus, and recollections of places where she grew up.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Rebecca Jessen, becjessen.wordpress.com
Queensland Literary Awards, www.queenslandliteraryawards.com
Kathy George is a QUT creative writing graduate, and winner of QUT’s
undergraduate writing prize 2011, and has been selected to participate in the
QWC/Hachette Developing Manuscript Program.
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU5
But just as one writer’s challenge is another writer’s
opportunity, all these problems have a major upside. For the
first time, I believe that we writers have as much power as the
publishers. Authors from John Grisham to Stephen King are
indie published and there’s no longer any stigma attached to
the process. Nothing is stopping you from producing your own
work your own way.
Not long ago, crossing genres was considered foolhardy.
Where in the bookstore would they be shelved? How would
readers find books unless they could go like homing pigeons
to the romance section, science fiction shelves or that strange
mélange, Australian Fiction. Now, thanks to Google, any
title can be found almost instantly. Who cares if they would
make strange bedfellows in the bricks-and-mortar world of
bookselling?
In the world of e-books, the genre distinctions beloved of
publishers have become so blurred as to barely exist any longer.
Romance novels routinely cross over into paranormal territory.
Spy stories into steampunk. Suspense into science fiction.
Erotica into almost everything.
VA LERIE
PA RV
BY now most New Year’s resolutions tend to be looking shaky.
But there’s one resolution I urge you to make and stick to.
During the coming year, join me in committing to writing more
dangerously.
This doesn’t mean dictating chapters as you bungee jump, or
writing on waterproof pages while scuba diving, but something
far more challenging: resolve to push yourself as far outside
your writing and publishing comfort zone as you can.
You may be writing dangerously already, without using the
term. There’s much commentary about the difficulties writers
are facing. It’s true that major print publishers are accepting
fewer books from emerging writers while reprinting the
backlists of their established authors. Most newly minted
e-book imprints don’t offer advances, forcing writers to share
the financial risk somewhat disproportionately, considering
you’ve already created the product. And the siren song of indie
publishing may have some writers tying themselves to chairs
and stopping up their ears a la Odysseus to avoid succumbing.
6
Whatever your opinion about Fifty Shades of Grey, I doubt
it would have stormed the publishing barricades so
comprehensively without first gaining a handcuff-hold as an
e-book. Segueing from fan fiction to word-of-mouse bestsellerdom cleared the way for established print publishers to
want a piece of the Fifty Shades action. Sequels, mega sales and
a movie (now in production) soon followed. The success of this
book demonstrates that anything is possible.
In the world of e-books,
the genre distinctions beloved of
publishers have become so blurred
as to barely exist any longer
My most recent foray into dangerous writing began with
a science fiction romance crossover, Birthright, digitally
published by Corvallis Press in Oregon. The sequel,
Earthbound, is forthcoming. In between I wrote a related
novella to offer for free online as a promotional tool.
Science fiction has been my guilty pleasure for a lifetime, but
my romances had a huge international readership, so there I
stayed, a Star Trek and anything-by-Joss-Whedon fan by night
and Australia’s ‘queen of romance’ by day.
I had experienced the buzz of writing dangerously back in 1987
with a book called The Leopard Tree. Initially accepted by my
Mills & Boon editor in London, the book foundered when Alan
Boon decreed that English romance readers weren’t ready for a
hero who might have arrived by UFO.
American editors were prepared to take the risk, and I made the
move to Mills & Boon sister company Silhouette Books New
York, where The Leopard Tree was published. Later, a London
editor told me this book became the poster child for cuttingedge romance for some years afterward.
If you have a day job, you can use
it to finance your dream, which no
longer has to break the bank
In November 2013, Chris Ware’s graphic novel Jimmy
Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth was featured on ABC’s The
Book Club television program chaired by Jennifer Byrne. When
Smartest Kid came out in 2000, it was dangerous writing for
US cartoonist Ware. Yet the book is still being discussed and
admired today, demonstrated by its appearance on Book Club.
As I found with The Leopard Tree, sometimes we writers have
to wait for the market to catch up.
Canadian writer and visual artist Ingrid Ruthig (www.
ingridruthig.com) produces what she calls textwork to describe
the weaving of printed language with a visual interpretation of
poetry she uses to explore new possibilities of meaning. Search
‘writing mixed media’ on sites such as Pinterest, and you’ll find
everything from love poems to photo journals, and dolls created
to explore critical thinking.
Even the rich and famous are getting in on the act and pushing
new boundaries. In October last year, Simon and Schuster
published The Octopus’s Garden by former Beatle Ringo Starr,
for two- to four-year-olds. Based on the lyrics of the Beatles
song, the book comes with a CD that includes a reading by Starr
and an exclusive version of the song.
Mixed media is not new, but what is remarkable is the control
writers now have over the dissemination of our work in
whatever form suits us. Once confined to a limited audience,
these works potentially tap into worldwide audiences and
sales. As well as being our own publishers, writers today are as
much the arbiters of readers’ tastes as the heads of established
publishing used to be.
If you have a day job, you can use it to finance your dream,
which no longer has to break the bank. Texas writer Tori
Scott had very little money when she got sick of moving
from one thankless day job to another, and taught herself to
indie publish using Smashwords. She documents some of her
journey at her blog (http://toriscott.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/
why-i-went-indie.html). Indie publishing is challenging, she
says, writing online about the technical challenges she’s had to
overcome. She persists because she’s acquired a taste for seeing
her e-books on Amazon best-seller lists, and living off her
writing.
I’ve felt the same throughout my career. I’ve always considered
writing as my day job. It’s not an unreachable dream. It is,
however, scary. But as writers such as Scott have found, the
benefits can outweigh the risks if you have great stories to tell
and are prepared to put in the time and effort required. I find
the alternatives far more scary.
Here are five ways NOT to write dangerously.
1. Do what you’ve always done
Keep promising yourself you’ll start your novel someday. Or
polish the book you began writing 10 years ago. Don’t finish
anything you write. Follow perceived trends.
2. Complain about the way things are
Keep on believing the myths that you have to know somebody
to get published, that all the good books have been written and,
anyway, books are history and nobody is reading now.
3. Refuse to read e-books
Print books are the only real books after all, and buying
yourself an e-reader would be selling out.
4. Look down your nose at indie publishers
It’s all vanity press under a new name. And besides, you went
to Smashwords and found out it’s a lot harder than it looks.
You’re not into that technical stuff.
5. Pine for the good old days
They were never that good. In the 17th century, French novelist
Gustave Flaubert said, ‘Writing is a dog’s life but the only one
worth living’. The author of Madame Bovary also urged writers
to be ‘violent and original in your work’.
If you’ve been guilty of any or all of this list, resolve to
approach your career differently. Make your writing life worth
living. Write dangerously, starting today.
Valerie Parv is one of Australia’s most successful writers with more than
29 million books sold in 26 languages. She is the only Australian author
honoured with a Pioneer of Romance award from RT Book Reviews, New
York. With a lifelong interest in space exploration, she counts meeting
Neil Armstrong as a personal high point. So it’s no wonder she’s taking
romance to the stars and beyond in her Beacons series – Birthright
(2012), Earthbound (2014) and Homeworld (Corvallis Press USA). She loves
connecting with readers via her website valerieparv.com, blog valerieparv.
wordpress.com, @ValerieParv on Twitter and on Facebook.
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU7
C L I M B I N G T H E M O U N TA I N , A W O R D AT A T I M E
ANNA
CAMPBELL
WRITING a novel can sometimes feel like climbing Everest
in only a T-shirt and tennis shoes. Mind you, not being a
mountain climber, I’m using that simile without any personal
experience whatsoever. But I well know the terror of an ocean
of blank pages waiting to be filled, and the even worse terror of
starting with high hopes and then hitting the 100-page mark and
thinking, ‘I just can’t do this’.
All you can do is plug on regardless. I’ve learnt that some
simple psychological games can make a difference. So, here in
no particular order are a dozen techniques for getting those
words down on the page:
1. Set realistic goals. Obviously there’s the big goal of finishing
the book, but that can be daunting when all you’ve got down
in black and white is ‘chapter one’. If you’re a list maniac, as
I seem to have become over recent years, you can write daily,
weekly or monthly goal lists. It’s encouraging to cross off every
step along the way. Even if you don’t have an outside deadline,
setting yourself a deadline can be a great motivator. There’s
something galvanising about committing to a task within a
timeframe.
2. Be kind to yourself. I’ve learnt from my own mistakes on
this one. On a truly fabulous day, maybe you can write 10, 20,
even 50 pages. But on your daily list, set a modest page total.
I tend to work on five pages a day. Even on a bad day, I can
usually manage that. On a reasonable day, I do more and then
I have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. If you don’t do
more, well, you’re still five pages closer to the end of your book,
which can’t be a bad thing. Back in the days when I set myself
a challenging target, I spent my time beating myself up for not
always reaching the impressive total. Much nicer to get to five,
cross it out on the list, and then toddle on to do more. You need
confidence to write a whole novel. Anything that helps build
your confidence is a good thing.
8
3. Every word counts! Give yourself permission to make baby
steps. It’s surprising how far small page counts every day can
take you. There’s a book called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
(Bantam Doubleday Dell, 2007) that has some wonderful advice
for people writing a novel. It boils down to the truism that every
story is written word by word.
It’s surprising how far small page
counts every day can take you
4. Avoid the terror of the great white. Try not to close the
day’s work at the end of a scene, a chapter, or a page. Even if
you only write a line of the next bit, you won’t be starting from
a blank page, which some days can be scary. By the end of the
day’s writing, you’re usually in the groove, so that next little bit
should come reasonably smoothly. I know some writers who
are so afraid of starting without knowing the next few words
that they finish halfway through a sentence every day!
5. The delight of the half. At the end of each day, however
you went with hitting your target, write another half page.
What’s half a page? A couple of paragraphs? And you’re already
into the world of your story then, so doing a few extra words
shouldn’t be a major imposition. You’ll be surprised how half a
page every day adds up – to be obvious, 365 half pages make up
182 new pages. Not to be sniffed at.
6. Dream on. Write for half an hour/an hour when you wake
up (before you turn the internet on!). I haven’t managed this
one yet because of the lure of email, but it makes sense. You’re
still close to your dream state and it focuses your mind on
writing before the outside world intrudes.
7. The early bird catches the word. If you’re having trouble
finding time to write, get up half an hour earlier. In half an
hour, you should be able to do at least a page, and a page a
day gives you 365 pages in a year. This is something I used
to do faithfully when I had a day job to support my writing
ambitions. It also has the psychological advantage of reminding
you that you’re pursuing your writing goals even when ‘real’ life
places its demands upon you.
The longer you spend in your chair
producing immortal prose, the worse
it is for your health. Make sure you
get up and shift around regularly
8. Short and sweet. Another time management technique is to
buy yourself a kitchen timer and set it for 20-minute writing
sprints. This is great for those days when you can’t settle down.
You’ll be surprised what you can achieve in that time, and often
you’ll find that you keep going after the 20 minutes. You’ve
broken the hoodoo and got back into your story by writing
solidly for even such a short period.
I find that if I’ve gone astray after the initial excitement has
waned, it’s because I’ve lost sight of the plot’s major conflict.
Ask yourself what is stopping your protagonist/s from getting
what they want. Ask yourself what you can put in at this stage
both to place that goal further out of reach and also to make it
more difficult for them to walk away. Keep raising the stakes
and that middle won’t have a chance to sag! Something else that
I do at this stage is read through what I’ve got so far and see if
anything sparks a turning point. For example, in my awardwinning manuscript, The Magnificent Marriage, the put-upon
hero makes an early, off-the-cuff remark about wishing he lived
during the Middle Ages, when stealing a bride was a popular
method of courtship. Guess what I had my hero do when things
started to get rather dull around the 200-page mark!
12. Sometimes it’s OK to read instead of write. I think most
of us became writers through being fanatical readers, and
occasionally the best thing I can do for my writing is to read
a book by someone else. My (completely unscientific) theory
is that while my conscious mind is focused on another story,
my subconscious mind can stew in peace over problems in my
work and hopefully come up with answers.
These techniques will help you gear up for climbing that
mountain – and the view from the summit is great!
FURTHER INFORMATION
Anna Campbell presents a workshop on writing practices for QWC
on 15 February. See page 18 or www.qwc.asn.au for details.
Anna Campbell lives on the Sunshine Coast where she writes full-time. Her
historical romances have garnered many awards, and the Australian Romance
Readers Association has voted Anna their favourite Australian author for the
past four years. Anna’s latest release is A Rake’s Midnight Kiss (HarperCollins
Australia). Her website is www.annacampbell.info.
9. Reward your success. Tell yourself that if you write a page,
you can watch half an hour of TV or go for a walk or spend 15
minutes on the internet. At one stage, I hated the book I was
writing so much, the promise that I could stop and clean the
toilet actually worked as a reward. Sad but true.
10. Physical activity = mental activity. Writing is awful for
your body. The longer you spend in your chair producing
immortal prose, the worse it is for your health. Make sure you
get up and shift around regularly. If you’re the sort of writer
who gets lost in a fictional world and only emerges hours later
(sadly, I’m not!), maybe use the trusty kitchen timer to remind
you to stand up, walk around, and get the blood flowing.
Physical movement helps my thoughts to flow, too. It definitely
freshens up a stale mind.
11. Prop up that sagging middle. No, I’m not talking about
middle-aged spread, I’m talking about those hundreds of pages
where you’re just waiting for the climax and the denouement to
come along. Of course, that’s the majority of the book and the
bit where you can really hook a reader on your writing. Often
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU9
SE X
&
I N T I M AC Y
NARRELLE HARRIS
SEXUAL encounters and emotional intimacy are part of life.
Ipso facto, they are part of fiction. Whether you’re writing
science fiction, thrillers, a zombie rom-com or a rural romance,
chances are that you have two or more characters either in or
developing a closer personal relationship.
The vocabulary of emotional intimacy revolves around the nontangible elements of a relationship or interaction: emotion and
psychology. Descriptions may include the five senses but deal
more with the emotional or psychological impact rather than a
physical response to those senses.
Chances are, too, that eventually you’ll need to write in more
depth about that relationship.
The language of the emotional or physical sensations, or how
to balance them in a scene which is both sexual and intimate,
isn’t the only consideration. A lot of candidates for the Bad Sex
Award gain their nomination through awkward, self-conscious
phrasing.
Scenes of sex and intimacy are important tools for writers, but
difficult to do well. There’s even an award for writers who get it
horribly wrong – Literary Review magazine’s Bad Sex Award.
Nominees include writers as diverse as Tom Wolfe, Lee Child,
Christos Tsiolkas and Jean M Auel.
Of course, context is everything, and sometimes even scenes
full of awful euphemisms and terrible analogies are there for
a legitimate reason: to be funny; to explore a state of mind; to
make you realise that at the very least the characters have never
had sex before.
Like anything else you write, you have to know what place these
scenes have in your story, and the kind of mood you want to
convey with them.
Although many sex scenes can also be intimate scenes, the
two don’t have to be combined. Sex can be rough, or nonconsensual; it can be about fun or relieving stress rather than
focusing on the building of a relationship. Perhaps the sex
happens first and a caring relationship comes later. Perhaps the
sex scene is a symbol of a relationship that’s breaking down.
Likewise, scenes of emotional intimacy don’t have to be
sexual at all, although they may be sensuous. Scenes of caring
for someone who is distressed or ill may have a physical
component but the emotional impact is what’s important here.
In terms of language to differentiate between ‘sex’ and
‘intimacy’, it’s a broad rule of thumb that the vocabulary of sex
is more centred on the physical world – particularly the five
senses of interaction: taste, touch, sound, smell and sight.
10
A lot of candidates for the
Bad Sex Award gain their
nomination through awkward,
self-conscious phrasing
Euphemisms can be the worst enemy. I avoid most
euphemisms, particularly flowery ones, unless it’s in dialogue –
you can use this to comedic effect sometimes. It can also convey
a lot about a character and their attitude to either their sexual
partner or sex in general.
On the whole, euphemisms can distance the reader from the
characters and their actions. Instead of drawing the reader
in, euphemisms hold them at arm’s length. If you’re too coy
to call a ‘proud manhood’ a cock, the reader may not become
immersed in the reality of the scene.
Going too far the other way can be a problem as well. Purely
anatomical terms can be cold when usually you want such a
scene to feel earthy and sexy. Use the everyday words you’d
use yourself to get that authentic feeling, unless the technical
language is meant to demonstrate something about the
character: for example, prissiness, shyness or inexperience.
Sticking to purely factual descriptions is a bit dull. As a friend
once said, some sex scenes are as erotic as a skiing manual
– insert Tab A into Slot B, repeat. To capture the mood,
include those emotive and psychological terms that come from
emotional intimacy.
If you were describing a dance, you wouldn’t describe each
individual step – that would fail to capture the mood, grace
and flow. Focusing on the mechanics takes away from the
poetry of the whole. Instead, highlight key moments and
describe more than the step-by-step action that might
otherwise be devoid of emotion.
To get the most out of a sex scene, you need to consider what
you are expressing about the characters. How do they talk to
each other and what does that convey about their relationship
or state of mind? Is the scene about pure raunch, emotional
connection or both? Remember: not all sex scenes are love
stories, and not all love stories require sex.
It’s important to decide whether you even
need a sex scene for your story, and if you
do, whether it needs to be explicit
Don’t forget those five senses either. Besides sight, taste,
scent and touch, sex has sounds – of sharp breaths, but also
of kissing, of skin on skin. You can have the wet sounds of
lubricant (both artificial and natural). Sometimes there are
moans instead of words, or incoherent babbling. Work out
what sounds best express the state of mind as well as the
pleasure of the people in the scene.
Another barrier to writing good sex scenes, especially explicit
ones, is self-consciousness about the process. Writers may fear
that friends and acquaintances will make assumptions about
their own sexual desires and techniques.
One way around that is to write under a pseudonym, as many
writers of erotica do. Some writers say they’ve found it freeing
to use a pen name for this reason.
Of course, like everything else in storytelling, you tap into
yourself and your knowledge of human nature for your
creations – but what you write isn’t necessarily you. You need
to step a little apart. You are not writing about your own
intimacy, though you may be drawing on your experiences to
paint word pictures of intimacy for your characters.
My approach? Well, I write fiction. I make stuff up. I haven’t
done even a fraction of the things I’ve written about. I haven’t
committed murder. I haven’t been a vampire. Or a man. Or a
witch. Or a mother. Or a spy. Or a rock star. I’ve never been
stabbed or shot, and I’ve never tried zombie magic.
What we write is not necessarily who we are, and I cheerfully
share that preceding series of examples if other people get the
line between the writer and the creation a bit blurred.
Finally, it’s important to decide whether you even need a sex
scene for your story, and if you do, whether it needs to be
explicit.
Explicit sex scenes can be fun to read, and sexy as hell. There’s
no reason not to use them. Of course, you don’t have to be very
explicit if you’d rather not. Fading out on the action as it heats
up serves its purpose too. But that’s the crux of the thing: what
serves the story that you’re telling?
In my novels, I like my sex scenes to demonstrate something
either about the plot, the individual characters or the
relationships between those characters. If your scene tells
you something about all three, so much the better. This goes
for everything from young adult fiction to erotica – what’s
the purpose of the scene? How does it add to the story you’re
telling?
I use the same basic criteria when writing a sex scene for my
erotica stories, even though obviously the central theme of the
latter is to explore the relationships and to include raunchy
written encounters.
Such scenes can be important to plot development. Are these
characters keeping secrets, or are secrets finally being revealed –
and what will be the consequences?
For character development purposes, I look for exploration
of the characters’ emotional states, their attachment to other
people, their humanity, and their capacity for empathy. I want
to see their flaws, and I want new or changed elements of the
relationship to be uncovered.
Whether you’re writing pure raunch or a moment of
connection (or both), paragraphs that explore physical and
emotional intimacy provide opportunities for plots to advance,
and for relationships to either grow or crumble. They introduce
openings to explore vulnerability, trust, betrayal or just plain
good fun.
As Narrelle M Harris, Narrelle is a writer of crime, fantasy, horror and nonfiction. In 2013, her vampire novel Walking Shadows (Clan Destine Press)
was nominated for a Chronos Award, and short-listed for the Davitt Awards
for crime writing. As NM Harris, she has two series underway with CDP’s
Encounters imprint: Secret Agents, Secret Lives and Talbott and Burns. A
short story, ‘Sky High, Bone Deep’, is to be published by Escape Publishing
this year. Find Narrelle’s romance blog, Adventurous Hearts, at harrisheart.
wordpress.com, and the latest on her multi-media project, Kitty and Cadaver,
at www.kittyandcadaver.com, or check out www.narrellemharris.com.
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU11
F I N D I N G S PA C E
TIME IN THE WEST
K AT E C A N T R E L L
WHENEVER I talk to my students about the requisites for
writing, I always tell them that they need at least two things:
space and time. Time, which we frequently describe through
verbs of motion such as ‘flow’ or ‘flux’, and space, which we
usually view as emptiness or the absence of matter. The two
dimensions, which are co-dependent, are not only features of
the physical world but mental constructs that are elementary to
the faculty of cognition.
As Einstein suggested, space and time are not just the
conditions in which we live but the modes by which we think.
Einstein believed that our universe is a space-time continuum
that is both finite and unbounded. This structural paradox,
which is similar to the phenomenon that Hamlet experiences
when he says that he could be stuck in a nutshell and count
himself a king of infinite space, is the same anomaly that
governs the writer’s working life. In fact, it was this desire to
work in a closed space that led me to accept a writer’s residency
at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre in
Greenmount, Western Australia.
The centre, which is located in the leafy Perth Hills, is the
oldest of its kind in Australia. The former home of Katharine
Susannah Prichard, the first Australian novelist to receive
international acclaim, the house was turned into a writer’s
centre after Katharine’s death and the building was heritagelisted. Katharine, who maintained that she was born with ink in
her veins, has a writing CV most of us would envy: 13 novels,
five collections of short stories, 10 plays, two volumes of poetry,
an autobiography, a work of non-fiction, and various pieces of
social reportage. A founding member of the Communist Party
of Australia, she was known as the Red Witch of Greenmount.
During World War II, when her home was raided, she hid her
propaganda in the bushes outside her house.
The residency program, which officially started in 1987, offers
four-week stays to both emerging and established writers. The
centre offers accommodation in the form of a self-contained
chalet. The chalets, which come with a work desk, wi-fi and
12
printing access, are cosy enough to feel at home in but spacious
enough to remain comfortable. Moreover, the cabins are close
enough to the main house to access the laundry and kitchen
but remote enough to work in isolation. A dream situation for
a writer.
Further, the centre offers residents the opportunity to attend
writing workshops hosted by various national and international
authors and editors. In turn, the resident agrees to attend
writing groups, mentor two local writers, conduct a three-hour
workshop of their own design, and read at a literary dinner.
Again, not a bad gig for a writer.
I felt conflicted between
staying in and working or
heading out and occasionally
talking to other people
When I arrived in early November, I was welcomed with a
hamper of various treats: chocolate peanuts, blueberry jam,
Bircher muesli, boiled lollies, cabernet merlot, and the little
blue book. The book, which is 100 pages long, is the diary of
writers in residence. The book includes everything from bus
timetables to maps for bush walks, to stellar bookstores and
recommendations on where to eat. The pizza at Little Caesar’s,
for example, will not disappoint. More usefully, perhaps, the
book offers meditations on the writing process, snippets of
works-in-progresses, and writing advice. Naturally, the diary
includes deliberations on the residency itself.
The good stuff
Most writers enjoyed the absence of a television, the friendship
and support of other writers, including the program’s
managers, and, of course, the increased productivity. On
average, most writers worked for 10 hours a day and wrote
around 15,000 words a week. Many completed manuscripts that
were past their deadlines; others revisited stories they never had
the chance to begin.
‘I have been writing this novel in my mind for years,’ writes
Deborah Pike. ‘Having run with it, ridden with it, caught the
bus with it, I have finally pinned it to page.’
The most rewarding part of the
residency was the absolution
of my responsibilities
As a full-time lecturer and doctoral student, I applied for the
residency because I needed the space and time to complete the
memoir I am working on: a story about a secret my father told
me that he asked me to keep from my mother. When I talk
about time, I do not mean that spare half an hour over lunch or
those couple of hours in between tutorials. When I talk about
time, I mean that sustained, uninterrupted time that only comes
with space. For the most part, I found the space and time. Not
only did I complete the manuscript, but I also finished my end-of-semester marking – no easy feat. I wrote the front matter of
my thesis and I presented a paper at Curtin University. I also
went to Fremantle for the day and had fish and chips with my
girlfriend.
The stuff they don’t tell you
For some writers, the social component of the residency,
including the expectation to attend workshops and even
the pressure to write in the little blue book, was unhelpful.
Admittedly, my own entry in the diary was quite short: ‘Do not
open the door at night or moths will come in.’
While I enjoyed the opportunity to meet local writers and
hear new work, I found it difficult to balance the workshops
with my own writing. I felt conflicted between staying in
and working or heading out and occasionally talking to
other people: a form of work as well. I wanted to write, but
I also understood the value of reading at public venues and
critiquing with discerning readers.
the residency reaffirmed how important it is to be surrounded
by other writers and how influential collaboration can be.
At the Past Tense group, Peter, an anaesthetist turned travel
writer, told me the premise of my novel was unclear. That night,
I rewrote the opening chapter, and the novel is better for it.
At Write Free, a writing group for women, Margo and Cheryl
outlined the difficulties of writing a novel using the Apple
personal assistant app Siri. Cheryl, who is blind, dictates her
novel to the app, so that Margo, her carer, may transcribe the
story to page. That night, I didn’t write anything, but I thought
more broadly about what we perceive as obstacles in the pursuit
of publication. Similarly, at my own workshop, Cutting to the
Chase, I realised how inflammatory popular fiction is. Two
women got into a fight about the value of Twilight. One man
walked out when I mentioned Jodi Picoult. (Didn’t everyone
cry in My Sister’s Keeper?) And everybody complained about
the lack of publishing opportunities out west.
Still, Katharine’s place was home for a month, even if the house
was haunted. (Katharine’s husband, Hugo Throssell, took his
life at the house while Katharine was overseas, promoting one
of her novels.) Every afternoon, I walked from the house to
the John Forrest national park: 650 hectares of bush between
Midland and Mundaring. I walked with the lines I was
struggling with and the transitions I couldn’t resolve. I ran
plot arcs by the kangaroos and metaphors by the short-nosed
bandicoots. I avoided the yellow-faced snakes. The line between
wandering and wondering blurred, and space and time merged.
The romance novelist, Valerie Parv, experienced something
similar. On page 61 of the little blue book, she writes, ‘The
absence of TV felt strange at first, until I noticed my days
taking on their own rhythm. Not broken up by this or that
program, news bulletin or whatever. I could have watched on
the computer, but after a while, I had no need to. The chance to
write was too valuable. It felt self-indulgent, almost selfish, but
rare and precious as well.’
Of course, space and time are relative phenomena, dependent
on the observer who apprehends them, and different for each
individual. Still, no one has written a novel, without space and
time.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Applications for the 2015 writer in residence program at Katharine
Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre are now open. kspf.iinet.net.au
Kate Cantrell is a Brisbane-based writer. Her creative writing has been
published by The Sunday Mail, Swamp, Stilts, The Lifted Brow, Bradt Travel
Guides, Wet Ink, Island and Voiceworks. Her doctorate, Thoughts While
Travelling, maps the intersection of wandering and wondering in women’s
travel stories. Kate is a lecturer in the school of Creative Writing and Literary
Studies at Queensland University of Technology. Some of Kate’s work can be
read at www.katecantrell.com.au.
For me, the most rewarding part of the residency was the
absolution of my responsibilities in Brisbane. At the same time,
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU13
GOOD BLOG
Down to earth at World Fantasy
Ellen Gregory
IT seemed like we had to wait forever, but finally 30 October
arrived and I fronted up with a bunch of friends and fellow writers
to register for the World Fantasy Convention (WFC) 2013, held
in Brighton, UK. As we grabbed our name badges and filled
our bags with a pile of complimentary books, other friends and
acquaintances hailed us from across the room. The scene was set
for five days of industry chat and creative refuelling.
This was my second World Fantasy Convention, following
the San Diego WFC in 2011. Once again, I enjoyed myself
immensely, with my activities largely divided between the
official program and socialising, er, networking, in the bar. New
friends were made and insights obtained ... All very worthwhile
and definitely inspirational.
Why WFC?
I’ve been asked more than once what’s so good about WFC to
warrant travelling halfway across the world to attend it. One
of the main reasons is undoubtedly the presence of global
publishing industry professionals.
It’s not all that common for agents, editors and the like to attend
Australian speculative fiction conventions — partly because the
events are often run by non-publishing ‘fans’, and partly because
the Australian market (and also the conventions themselves)
is small. The 2013 Conflux convention held in Canberra was
a notable exception to this, and one of the best Australian
conventions I’ve attended.
At a World Fantasy Convention, which prides itself on being
a convention for publishing industry professionals, it’s more
than likely that a random stranger in the con bar will turn out
to be an agent or an editor. Not that I’m advocating stalker-like
behaviour or forcing manuscripts onto unwilling recipients; but
in this industry the paths to publication can be unpredictable,
and it certainly can’t hurt to start building networks over a
casual drink.
All roads lead to the bar
Indeed, WFC is primarily a networking convention. There are
no formal pitch sessions, but there are many open parties and
opportunities to get to know people. And if I learnt anything at
Conflux, it’s that people actually want to hear about your work.
Having said that, it’s not always about talking ‘shop’; sometimes
it’s just about making friends.
And not just with those on the publishing side of the equation.
It’s also fantastic to meet and chat with other writers from all
over the world. The Australian speculative fiction community
is tight-knit and somewhat insular. WFC provides insights into
other writing communities — US, UK, Europe and even Africa.
The two WFCs I’ve attended have made me aware of how many
pre-published counterparts I have in all parts of the world. Not
14
to mention the vast numbers of published authors I’ve never
previously heard of. Unsurprisingly, most attendees in San
Diego were from the USA, while the Brighton event featured an
enormous number of British authors.
A bunch of Australians attended WFC Brighton too. Many more
than San Diego. And I also met European authors, some writing
in their first language, seeking representation and contracts with
English-language publishers. I talked to several authors and
agents taking the rare opportunity to meet each other in person
rather than communicate remotely.
Guests of Honour
When it comes to the official program, I generally like attending
Guest of Honour (GOH) conversations. I enjoy hearing personal
anecdotes and gaining insight into admired writers by listening
to their (often funny) stories.
Unluckily for the Brighton WFC, the convention lost three of its
GOH in the lead-up to the convention: Richard Matheson died,
toastmaster China Miéville had something unavoidable come
up, and Alan Lee couldn’t leave the set of The Hobbit in New
Zealand. But the incomparable Tanith Lee and Susan Cooper
were on hand to receive life achievement awards, and the
charismatic and entertaining Neil Gaiman effortlessly stepped
in for Miéville. Other GOH included Joanne Harris, Christian
Matheson and Joe Hill.
In all, I attended seven or eight panels across the Friday and
Saturday. In addition to some of the GOH conversations, it was
good to hear from other prominent fantasy authors on topics of
general interest — such as ‘the future of fantasy’, fairytales and
the controversially titled ‘broads with swords’.
On the whole, though, I didn’t attend WFC in Brighton for the
program. I flew halfway across the world to hang out with other
authors and publishing industry professionals who are ‘my
people’. On a personal level, it helps me maintain a professional
outlook, to take my endeavours seriously. This writing game is
hard, but invariably I come away from an event like WFC both
stimulated and reinvigorated.
FURTHER INFORMATION
This article first appeared in a slightly different form at Ellen’s blog,
www.ellenvgregory.com.
Ellen Gregory is a Melbourne-based science and engineering communicator
who writes fantasy fiction in her spare time – or maybe it’s the other way
around. She also enjoys travel, a cappella singing, blogging, the performing
arts and having adventures. Connect with her at www.ellenvgregory.com or
on Twitter @ellenvgreg.
GOOD BLOG
Q&A: Tim Harris of Tin House
Sally Browne
FOR one week each year, about 200 word lovers converge on
the Reed College campus in Portland, Oregon, for the Tin
House Summer Writers Workshop. Tin House is a literary
magazine that has been publishing the cream of established and
emerging talent since it first launched in its namesake building
in Portland around 15 years ago. It also has a books division,
which publishes novels, poetry and non-fiction. While attending
the workshop in June, Sally Browne took time out with editor,
and recent Brisbane Writers Festival guest, Rob Spillman, who is
based out of the magazine’s New York offices and has been with
Tin House since the start.
Please tell me the story about how Tin House began.
Tin House started in 1998, and has been based out of Portland,
Oregon, and Brooklyn, New York, from the start. Our publisher,
Win McCormack, approached myself and my wife, Elissa
Schappell, about the idea and we ran with it.
You receive up to 2,000 submissions a month. What grabs your
attention in a piece of writing?
One word: authority. Another way of putting it is that I’m
hoping to miss my subway stop because what I’m reading is
so engrossing that I look up and I’m in Harlem and I live in
Brooklyn. I’m looking to be taken into someone’s world, whether
past, present, future, whether experimental or straightforward,
with authority.
What makes you reject a piece? What are some common flaws
or ‘rooms for improvement’ that you often see?
Lack of confidence. Lack of faith in the reader. A tendency to
explain too much, to have everything be neat and tidy, or black
and white, which isn’t what life is. I want complication, not
simplification.
What authors are you excited about at the moment?
I like genre-defying artists. I’m very excited about anything
Maggie Nelson does, particularly loved her book Bluets. Also
Rachel Kushner and her novel Flamethrowers, which is the most
exciting novel I’ve read in a long time. Along with Dana Spiotta,
loved both Eat the Document and Stone Arabia.
What are some of your top tips for breaking into the literary
market?
Be a good literary citizen. Support your own – buy books
from new writers, go to readings, buy and subscribe to literary
magazines. Support the ecosystem you want to be a part of. And,
of course, do the work.
There’s a lot of talk about the death of literary fiction. Should
we be getting out our violins?
Hardly. I’m very excited about what I’m seeing. Particularly
with fiction coming from around the world. I was teaching
in Lagos, Nigeria, last summer, and I was seeing a lot of vital
work. The urge for storytelling is universal, and I’m excited
about its possibilities.
Where did you grow up, what writing did you fall in love with
and what were your first steps into the publishing world?
I grew up in Berlin, lived there until I was 10. My parents are
American classical musicians. I was always surrounded by
art, music, and books. I was a voracious reader from early on,
but I was also an avid runner. I went to grad school for sports
psychology, but dropped out and moved to New York with
$150 and no connections, but with the vague idea of working in
publishing and starting my own magazine.
What was it like to work for The New Yorker and Vanity Fair?
Exciting and intimidating. The best part was seeing the work
of great writers like Joan Didion from start to finish. This was a
great education.
Who are your all-time favourite authors or books?
The poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. Virginia Woolf’s The Waves. Ken
Kesey’s Sometimes a Great Notion. Greil Marcus’s Lipstick Traces:
A Secret History of the 20th Century (tracing the origins of punk
and situationism back through history).
Favourite cities to visit?
I was just in Cuzco, Peru, which I loved. Also just in Florence,
which, despite its touristy nature, is fabulous. Berlin, of course, as
it is my home town. Lisbon is where I would go to hide out.
I found Lagos amazing – incredibly dysfunctional, but
wonderfully optimistic and full of life. Lamu, off the coast of
Kenya and Somalia, an ancient Muslim trading port, is one of the
most magical places I’ve ever been. I fell in love with Melbourne
when I went to the festival there a few years ago.
I very much enjoyed my time at the Tin House Writers
Workshop. What do you love about it and what were some of
your highlights of the past workshop?
We try to surround ourselves with the best writers who also play
well with others. It only works because the faculty all support
each other, go to each other’s lectures, so there is a cumulative
effect. I leave very inspired. Some of the highlights include Denis
Johnson, Wally Lamp, and Deborah Eisenberg taking a Raymond
Carver story and turning it into a play. Any reading by Dorothy
Allison, Joy Williams, Jim Shepard, and Karen Russell.
FURTHER INFORMATION
This is an edited extract of the interview that first appeared at
www.girlreporter.net/on-the-road-with-tin-house/
Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, www.tinhouse.com
Sally Browne is a features journalist at the Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail
in Brisbane, where she interviews creative types for a living. She is also a
sometime poet, a comics creator, occasional stand-up comic, lazy blogger
and wannabe novelist. This year she published her first collection of comics,
LUV Comics: A Geeks’ Guide to Girls, a geek-meets-girl humorous love story
available at the website: ilikeluvcomics.com. Her off-piste musings can be
found on her blog, Girl Reporter (girlreporter.net).
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU15
Workshops and events
Whispers Reading Salon
Saturdays 8 February, 8 March,
12 April, 10 May, 7 June,
12 July, 9 August, 11 October,
8 November, 13 December
3–5pm
Free
Relax in the Library Cafe as
a diverse snapshot of writers
share their works, and connect
with passionate readers and
writers as we celebrate the
unique stories and voices that
define Queensland.
Year of the Edit
with Kári Gíslason
Brisbane masterclass series
Sundays 10 February, 14 April,
9 June, 11 August, 13 October
10am–4.30pm
Fee $595
These five intensive
masterclasses will help you
explore the possibilities in your
completed draft, and learn the
practical tools to revise and
rewrite your work-in-progress,
in readiness for submission. All
students participate in group
critique on the first 10 pages of
their work.
The Joy of Writing
with Nike Sulway
Townsville workshop
Saturday 15 February
9.30am–3.30pm
Cairns workshop
Sunday 16 February
9.30am–3.30pm
Free
While understanding the
fundamentals of writing are
integral to any writers’ career,
it’s equally important for a
writer to enjoy their craft.
This workshop will help you
discover, or rediscover, the
pleasure of writing. Through
simple exercises, inspiration
and conversation, you’ll explore
your voice, your characters and
your story in a fun, expressive
environment.
16
Introduction to E-book
Publishing
The Long & Short of It:
short story writing
Brisbane City Council taster
course
with Jack Dann
Brisbane masterclass
Brisbane Square Library
10–11.30am
Free
10.30am–4.30pm
Fees
QWC members $160/$144
Non-members $210/$189
Learn how to polish to
perfection by discovering the
tropes and techniques of great
short stories. Hone your craft to
create compelling short fiction,
explore the challenges of the
form and identify key markets
for your work. Participants must
submit a sample of their work
for feedback from the tutor.
This short workshop introduces
the opportunities for authors
in the e-book revolution and
explores the technology
available.
Developing Your Writing
Practice
with Anna Campbell
Brisbane workshop
10.30am–4.30pm
Fees
Year of the Non-fiction
Novel
Are you a passionate writer
looking to give some structure
to your writing habits? Discover
and explore the discipline of
daily writing, and touch on
different approaches, ways to
get started and methods for
going the distance.
Saturdays 22 February, 26 April,
28 June, 30 August, 25 October
10am–4.30pm
Find Your Tribe:
developing your author
platform
with Matt Condon
Brisbane masterclass series
Fee $595
Explore all aspects of long-form
non-fiction writing, including
characterisation for memoir,
narrative structure, and voice.
Practise your craft and develop
your skills to make your
research work for you.
Brisbane workshop
Riverbend Poetry Series
Thursdays 20, 27 February,
6, 13 March
6–8pm
Fees
Tuesday 25 February
6pm
Riverbend Books and Café, 193
Oxford St, Bulimba
Cost $10
www.riverbendbooks.com.au or
07 3899 8555
The series showcases a diverse
snapshot of the brightest
Queensland poetic voices and
spoken word artists.
The digital revolution means
authors can reach and cultivate
their audience. Discover the vast
online opportunities available to
establish your author platform,
and develop digital strategies to
effectively access readers, build
an engaged online community,
promote your work, and explore
ways to leverage your blog to
generate income.
Rhyme & Reason I
with selected artists from the
Brisbane workshop
Wednesdays 26 February,
30 April, 25 June
6–8pm
Fees
QWC members $30/$27
($80/$72 for all 3)
Non-members $50/$45
($140/$126 for all 3)
Learn about poetry, from
conception through to
publication and performing.
Develop your poetic voice,
explore form, function and
theme.
Killer Critiques: selfediting and beta-reading
with Jodi Cleghorn
Brisbane IQ workshop
Saturday 1 March
10.30am–1.30pm
Fees
QWC members $30/$27
Non-members $50/$45
Youth $15
Get the skills and knowledge
to examine your own work –
structural editing, line editing,
beta-reading, and critique –
and gain a clearer idea of how
to identify the strengths and
improve the weaknesses of your
own and others’ writing.
Writing 101
Brisbane short course
Wednesdays 5, 12, 19, 26
March
with Stacey Clair
10.30am–12.30pm,
with Megan McGrath
6–8pm
Fees
Learn the foundations of what
makes stories great in this
four-week course. Discover
your creative side, explore your
unique writer voice and develop
a strong writing practice.
Listings are subject to change.
Please check www.qwc.asn.au or
phone 07 3842 9920 to confirm.
For Australian
Writer’s Marketplace
online courses,
see PAGE 20
I F : B O O K AU S T R A L IA
ADVERTISE
IN WQ
Reach your target audience
– over 2,300 writers actively seeking
products and services that can help
their professional development.
Members receive a 25% discount on all advertising.
For ad rates phone 07 3842 9923
or email [email protected]
Connected, listening, aware
Simon Groth
WHEN we get the chance, my family and I hitch a camper trailer
to our car and head out of the city for a few nights. An hour
or two west of Brisbane are some of Australia’s most beautiful
camping grounds and we like nothing more than to light a fire,
pull up a chair and stare straight up into a sky impossible to see
from home.
While my son and I warm our feet, we confidently point to
constellations and individual stars, and track loopy planet
trajectories. We’ve often been astounded to discover that what
we thought was Venus was actually Jupiter and talked about
important issues such as how easy it can be to mistake the redtinged Betelgeuse for Mars if you’re not sure what to look for.
And when we’re finished identifying as much of the night sky as
we can see, we close The Night Sky app and put the phone away.
I went through an astronomy phase as a kid. I suspect most
curious kids do, even the ones who grow up in the pervasive
glow of street lights. I had a couple of children’s astronomy
books; I had a set of binoculars (‘borrowed’ from my brother’s
room); and I had a lot of enthusiasm, at least for a while.
See, astronomy was hard. Those books were published a long
way from home in places such as New York and London. The
sky they described was not the sky I saw. Their constellations
were strange (Bear? What bear? Where’s the Southern Cross?).
And the maps they contained were inscrutable, filed with
arcane directions and esoteric symbols. Books were of no help
to me as a would-be astronomer.
the
ART
&
BUSINESS
of
( WRITING )
For my son, no such barrier exists.
We talk about how pervasive handheld screens have changed
the nature of reading as an activity and the book as an object.
But all too frequently, we get blindsided by electronic books
that take little to no advantage of a container that’s connected,
listening, and aware of its position in space. The Night Sky takes
data and information (all previously shoehorned into books)
and connects them in meaningful ways to the person holding
the device right now. It takes something as opaque as a star
atlas and makes it instantly understandable. Crucially, in order
to achieve this, it abandons any bookish trappings.
Does that mean The Night Sky is still a book? Kind of a
book? Or something completely different? Watching my son
confidently identifying Antares, I realise such thoughts are
irrelevant to him, baggage for a previous generation.
MORE INFORMATION
The Night Sky, http://bit.ly/ifbook450
if:book Australia promotes new forms of digital literature and explores ways to
boost connections between writers and audiences (futureofthebook.org.au).
Simon Groth is if:book’s manager as well as writer and editor of fiction and
non-fiction (simongroth.com).
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU17
Competitions
8 February
Accenti 8th Annual Writing
Contest
www.accenti.ca/writingcontest
Entry fee CDN$20
This Canadian magazine ‘with
an Italian accent’ accepts
multiple submissions from
writers worldwide. Fiction, nonfiction and creative non-fiction
to 2,000 words is accepted,
by website form. First prize,
CDN$1,000; 2nd, $250; 3rd,
$100, with all three published in
the magazine.
14 February
Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts
Literary Competition
dahlia.bendigo.net.au
Entry fee $5
Short stories to 3,000 words
(1st, $200; 2nd, $50), poetry
to 30 lines (1st, $200; 2nd,
$50) and bush verse to 52 lines
(winner only, $100) are sought
for this Victorian contest. Enter
by post.
15 February
[untitled] Short Story
Competition
www.busybird.com.au/?page_
id=892
Entry fee $10, $5 thereafter
This contest is for short stories
to 5,000 words and offers 1st
prize, $500; 2nd, $250; 3rd,
$125. Winners will be published
in [untitled]. Enter online, by
email or post.
15 February
Friends of the Merril Short
Story Contest
friendsmerrilcontest.com
Entry fee CDN$5
This international contest aims
to raise awareness of Toronto’s
Merril Collection of science
fiction, speculation and fantasy.
Short stories with speculative
fiction content to 5,000
18
words are eligible. First prize,
CDN$500; with two runners-up
of $50 each. Submit by email
or post.
28 February
Darker Times
www.darkertimes.co.uk
Entry fee £5
This UK contest runs monthly
on the theme of ‘darker times’,
and invites submissions of
short stories to 5,000 words,
poetry to 1,000 words or flash
fiction to 500 words per entry.
Word limits are flexible. Winners
receive a share of the entry fees
(£15 min.) and publication in an
anthology. Submit by email.
essays of 800–1,000 words.
All have international themes.
Prizes for each category are 1st,
US$50; 2nd, $25; 3rd, $10, and
publication in DoveTales. Submit
online.
7 March
Tabor Adelaide Creative
Writing Awards
tinyurl.com/knfp36o
Entry fee Free
There are two components
to this contest: a short story
award, to 1,500 words; and a
poetry award, for a poem or
collection of poems to 42 lines,
both offering 1st prize, $250,
and 2nd, $150. Enter by email.
28 February
15 March
Fish Flash Fiction Contest
www.fishpublishing.com
Bundy Writers Short Story
Competition
bundywriters.com/short-storycompetition/
Entry fee €14 online, €16 by
post
This contest, based in Ireland,
is for fiction to 300 words and
offers a first prize of €1,000. The
best 10 stories will be published
in an anthology, with writers
receiving five copies. Enter
online or by post.
1 March
Ginosko Flash Fiction
Contest
ginoskoliteraryjournal.com/
contest.htm
Entry fee $5, 5 for $20
to 2,500 words and offers 1st
prize, $300; 2nd, $100. Enter
by post.
17 March
Straid Collection Award
templarpoetry.com/collections/
awards
Entry fee £22 postal, £25
digital
This US contest accepts up to
two pieces of flash fiction, each
to 800 words, and offers a prize
of US$250. Enter by email or
post.
This UK-based contest offers
publication of the winning poetry
collection by Templar Poetry.
Manuscripts should be between
40 and 60 pages, with 40 lines
max. to a page. Enter by post
or email.
1 March
31 March
Young Writers Contest
writingforpeace.org
Nairda Lyne Award
fawtas.org.au/competitions/
Entry fee Free
Entry fee $5
For writers aged 13 to 19,
this contest run by Writing for
Peace seeks short stories of
800–1,000 words; one to three
poems to a max. of 100 lines;
to 1,000 words suitable for
children aged 8–12. Prize is
$100. Enter by post.
Entry fee US$5
31 March
The Bragg UNSW Press Prize
for Science Writing
www.newsouthpublishing.com/
scienceprize/
Entry fee Free
This award seeks non-fiction
prose to 7,000 words on
science, published between
1 April 2013 and 31 March
2014. First prize, $7,000; two
runners-up of $1,500 each, plus
all may be published in The Best
Australian Science Writing 2013.
Enter by email.
31 March
Ethel Webb Bundell Short
Story Award
www.swwofwa.com/
competition-now-open.html
Entry fee $8, 2 for $15, 3 for
$21
This contest, for short stories
to 4,000 lines, offers 1st prize,
$500; 2nd, $300; 3rd, $150.
Enter by post.
31 March
Ethel Webb Bundell Poetry
Award
www.swwofwa.com/
competition-now-open.html
Entry fee $8, 2 for $15, 3 for
$21
This contest, for poetry to 100
lines, offers 1st prize, $500;
2nd, $300; 3rd, $150. Enter by
post.
31 March
Fish Poetry Contest
www.fishpublishing.com
Entry fee €14 online, €16 by
post
This contest, based in Ireland,
is for poetry to 300 words and
offers a first prize of €1,000. The
best 10 poems will be published
in an anthology, with writers
receiving five copies. Enter
online or by post.
31 March
30 April
FAWQ Poetry Competition
www.fawq.net/?page_id=30
Bristol Short Story Prize
www.bristolprize.co.uk
Entry fee $5 (3 for $12)
Entry fee £8
This Queensland contest offers
a first prize of $200 and two
encouragement awards of $50
each, for poems to 40 lines.
Enter by post.
This UK contest is for short
stories to 4,000 words. Twenty
short-listed stories will be
published in an anthology. First
prize is £1,000; 2nd, £700;
3rd, £400. The 17 runners-up
receive £100. Enter by post with
entry form or online.
1 April
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry
Contest
tiny.cc/txz1qw
Entry fee Free
This US contest seeks
humorous poems of any length.
First prize, US$1,000; 10
runners-up of $100 each. Enter
online.
4 April
Text Prize
textpublishing.com.au/abouttext/the-text-prize
Entry fee $25
Opening 3 March, the prize
offers a publishing contract
with a $10,000 advance for
a manuscript of children’s or
young adult non-illustrated
fiction or non-fiction of at least
20,000 words. Enter by post.
25 April
Raspberry and Vine Contest
tiny.cc/vgrdsw
Entry fee $10
This contest seeks fiction to
4,000 words, with a $300 prize.
Submit by post.
30 April
Bronze Swagman Award
www.bronzeswagman.info
Entry fee $20 (up to 3 poems)
This Queensland-based contest
seeks bush verse. First prize,
trophy and $500; 2nd, trophy
and $200. All entrants receive
a copy of the competition
anthology. Enter by post.
30 April
International Rubery Book
Award
www.ruberybookaward.com
Entry fee £35/US$50
This UK-based contest is for
independently published books
across most genres. First prize,
£1000; 2nd, £200; 3rd, £75.
Electronic copies accepted.
30 April
British Australian Community
Literary Prize
tiny.cc/uxpim
Entry fee $10
This contest seeks essays of
up to 800 words addressing
‘the positive heritage of British
culture in Australia’. The winner
receives $1,000 and will be
published in the organisation’s
journal. Submit by post.
1 May
ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short
Story Prize
tinyurl.com/c8wgkcm
Entry fee $20 ($15 for
Australian Book Review
subscribers)
This contest is open to short
stories of 2,000–5,000 words
and offers a total of $8,000 in
prize money, plus publication.
Enter by post or online.
2 May
Erotic Short Story
Competition
littleravenpublishing.com/
erotic-short-story-competition/
Entry fee Free
This contest is for erotic short
stories to 3,000 words. First
prize, $75; 2nd, $50; 3rd, $25.
Prize winners are eligible for
publication in a digital anthology.
Submit by email.
5 May (early-bird)
Writer’s Digest Annual
Contest
www.writersdigest.com/
competitions/writers-digestannual-competition
Entry fee Early-bird US$25
MS, $15 poem
This US contest offers
discounted entries before 6 May
and discounts for subsequent
entries. Categories include
poetry, essay, short story, script
excerpt to 15 pages, and more.
The first 10 place-getters win
cash prizes from US$1,000 to
$25, with a grand prize winner
receiving $3,000. Enter online.
31 May
Creative Nonfiction Memoir
Essay Contest
www.creativenonfiction.org/
submissions/memoir-issue
Entry fee US$20
Competition Guidelines
The following guidelines for literary
competitions are recommended
by the ASA: where a prize is
more than $1,000, a $5 fee is
acceptable. A $20 entry fee
is generally unacceptable.
Information given should include
the name, phone number and
street address of the organiser
– be cautious where only a post
office box is given. The names of
the judges should be published on
the competition’s form and results
should be publicly announced.
Authors should receive publication
fees (minimum ASA rates in
appropriate category) where their
entry has been published.
Unfortunately many competitions
in WQ, for one reason or
another, do not meet all of these
guidelines. Members need to
secure full information and satisfy
themselves that they are happy to
enter a particular competition.
For ASA guidelines for literary
competitions send an ssae
to PO Box 1566, Strawberry Hills
NSW 2012 or phone 02 9318 0877.
Further Information
International competitions
www.kimn.net/contests.htm
www.writelinks.com (go to search
and type in competitions)
www.nzwriters.co.nz
www.poetrykit.org/comps.htm
www.fundsforwriters.com
Scam and hoax competitions
www.sfwa.org/Beware/
http://windpub.com/literary.scams/
www.winningwriters.com/contests/
avoid/av_avoid.php
Predatory publishers and
authors’ experiences
http://poetrynotcom.tripod.com
Please note
Not all information is listed for
every competition or opportunity.
QWC advises writers to obtain
guidelines and entry forms before
entering or submitting work.
This US magazine seeks
essays to 4,000 words for its
memoir issue. The winner gets
US$1,000 and the runner-up
$500. Entries will be considered
for publication in Creative
Nonfiction magazine. Submit
online or by post.
MORE
H E R E
QWC.ASN.AU/CONNECT/BLOG
Stay up to date
with contests
and literary
opportunities
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU19
Opportunities
Open submission calls
A selection of regular
submission programs run by
major publishers:
Bloomsbury Spark:
YA digital imprint,
www.bloomsbury.com/au/
bloomsbury-spark/
HarperCollins:
Wednesday Post,
www.wednesdaypost.com.au
Random House digital:
www.atrandom.com/eoriginals/
index.php
Hachette Australia:
general email subs,
tiny.cc/kzivbw
Children’s Picture Book
Illustrator’s Initiative
asauthors.org/childrenspicture-book-illustratorsinitiative
Allen & Unwin:
Friday Pitch, tiny.cc/3vckz
Pan Macmillan:
Manuscript Monday,
www.panmacmillan.com.au/
manuscript_monday.asp
Momentum:
Momentum Monday (digital
only), momentumbooks.com.au/
submissions/
Penguin:
Monthly Catch, www.penguin.
com.au/getting-published
Harlequin Digital First:
tiny.cc/ubwixw
Escape:
digital imprint of Harlequin
Australia, harlequinescape.com
Carina Press:
Harlequin digital-first imprint,
carinapress.com
Destiny Romance:
a Penguin Australia digital
imprint, www.destinyromance.
com/writers-centre
While the Australia Council
provides grants for picture book
writers, the Australian Society of
Authors runs the grant program,
offering up to $15,000, for
illustrators. Applications close
on 3 March. Submit by post
or email. The ASA also offers
mentorships for unpublished
authors and illustrators –
applications open in October
– and, with Varuna writers’
retreat in NSW, the Ray Koppe
Young Writers Residency for an
unpublished writer under 30,
with applications open in April.
Metro Magazine
www.metromagazine.com.au
This Victoria-based magazine
specialises in film reviews and
industry analysis across cinema,
television, media and associated
entertainment and technology.
It is open to submissions of
essays (4,000 words), reviews
and interviews (2,000 words
each). Email submissions
Amplified Author
Two-week Taster Course
Get a taste of learning online
with this self-guided two-week
taster course, free and available
all year round.
20
www.udemy.com/the-amplifiedauthor-creating-ebooks
This course, created by if:book
Australia, provides an overview
of e-books, including industry
trends, rights, licensing and
royalties, as well as self-directed
lectures on the practical skills
of using PressBooks, an online
e-book creation tool.
See page 20 for details
preferred. Payment is up to
$350. A sister publication,
Screen Education, aimed at the
education sector, is published
quarterly and pays up to $300
for school-based articles.
on 3 March. Submit online. The
magazine also accepts essays,
subject to peer review.
Arts Queensland
www.arts.qld.gov.au/funding/
acif/index.html
Edition 14 of this speculative
fiction magazine, with a theme
of ‘Australiana’, is open for
submissions until 15 April.
Submit online.
The Queensland Government’s
arts funding body makes up
to $60,000 available under its
Projects and Programs Fund,
with applications closing on
21 March and 1 August this
year, and up to $10,000 for
individuals, closing on 28 April
and 15 September.
QPF Expressions of Interest
tinyurl.com/ny9lwcz
The Queensland Poetry
Festival, being held in Brisbane
on August 29–31, seeks
expressions of interest from
poets, spoken word artists and
performers interested in taking
part. Deadline is 27 February.
Submit by post.
SQ Mag
www.sqmag.com
Canary Press
thecanarypress.com
This magazine accepts short
stories to 7,000 words, travel
columns to 4,000 words and
‘postcard fiction’ of 150 words
or fewer. Submit online.
Sassafras
sassafrasmag.wordpress.com
This new digital literary
magazine seeks poetry of 1–20
lines, prose poetry to 3 pages,
short fiction to 1,000 words,
opening pages of upcoming
books and other items. Submit
by email.
Little Raven
tiny.cc/ao73pw
Words without Borders
wordswithoutborders.org
This Melbourne publisher is
looking for short stories to 4,000
words and poetry for its Little
Raven Three anthology, closing
5 April. Submit by email.
This website publishes
original translations of fiction,
poetry, non-fiction, drama
and interviews into English. It
restricts general submissions to
particular areas of the magazine.
Churchill Fellowships
www.churchilltrust.com.au
The annual fellowship covers
travel and living expenses for
research trips, often to more
than $20,000. An application
form, available from the website,
is required to be filled out by the
applicant and referees. Deadline
is 19 February.
Cordite Poetry Review
cordite.org.au
Send a maximum of three
poems to this paying Australian
magazine. Submissions for
unthemed issue 46, guest
edited by Felicity Plunkett, close
Flip The Bird Literary Journal
www.flipthebirdliteraryjournal.
com
This new, non-paying
digital magazine is open to
submissions of poetry to 80
lines and short stories to 2,500
words. Submit by email.
Career Fund
www.copyright.com.au
Run by the Copyright Agency
Limited, the fund provides up to
$5,000 for training and careerrelated projects. The current
round closes 7 February.
Australia Council
grants programs
australiacouncil.gov.au/grants
The Federal Government’s
arts funding body offers grants
throughout the year. Here is a
selection:
New this year are the Artistic
Leadership and Executive
Leadership grants, both aimed
at fostering new management
skills and processes in arts
organisations, and both closing
on 24 February.
The Writers’ Travel Fund,
closing 14 February and again
in May, offers up to $4,000 for
writers looking to explore market
opportunities in Asia.
Early Career Residencies
close on 24 February, and offer
up to $30,000 to enable artists
to work with host organisations.
Asian artists, and Artists with
Disability Program, supporting
development and projects of
artists with a disability, both
close in March.
Residencies, either in Australia
Council flats or self-organised,
close on 27 March, and offer up
to $18,000.
Publishing and Promotion
grants, for organisations and
publishers, both close in March
and October.
New Work, and New Work –
Digital and New Media, both
close in May.
Creative Australia – New Art
closes in August.
ArtStart, for early career
practitioners, closes this month
and again in September.
Creative Partnerships with
Asia, linking Australian and
See the website for details of
these and other grants suitable
for writers and literature-related
organisations.
XIII
www.resurrectionhouse.
com/2013/12/call-for-stories/
on mental health to 4,500
words. Submit by post or, for
US$3, online, by 1 March.
American publisher Resurrection
House seeks speculative fiction
and creative non-fiction of
1,000–7,000 words on the loose
theme of transformation and
rebirth. It pays US5c a word.
Submit by email by 13 March.
CLOSING THIS MONTH
(previously listed)
Margaret River Press
www.margaretriverpress.com
Speculative fiction short stories
of 4,500–40,000 words. $100.
Submit by email.
The WA press is open to literary
fiction manuscripts. Submit
three chapters online or by post.
Vestal Review
www.vestalreview.net
This US magazine publishes in
hard copy twice a year. It pays
US3–10c a word for flash fiction,
which should be less than 500
words. Submit online.
Mental Health Anthology
www.creativenonfiction.org/
submissions/mental-healthanthology
US publisher In Fact Books
seeks essays for an anthology
Dimension6 (Feb 22)
keithstevenson.com/CDLblog/
submissions/
Insert Title Here (Feb 28)
fablecroft.com.au/about/
submissions
Speculative fiction stories of
2,000–12,000 words. $75
plus e-book royalties, plus a
contributor’s copy. Submit by
email.
Australian Love Stories 2014
(Feb 28)
inkermanandblunt.com/home/
submission-guidelines/764-2/
Short stories to 3,600 words
that explore ‘amatory love’.
$100 and a copy. Submit by
post.
Milestones
We always love to hear about
members’ successes; please
email [email protected] with
your good news.
Peter Mitchell has been highly
commended for the short
story ‘Call of the Crow’ in the
Trudy Graham and Julie Lewis
Award. His poems ‘The Scarlet
Moment’, ‘Doors’, ‘Explosive
Devices’, ‘Final Straw’ and
‘Magpies’ have been published
in Indo-Australian Anthology of
Contemporary Poetry: Vibrant
Voices (Authors Press, 2013)
and he has been awarded the
2014 Varuna Dorothy Hewett
Flagship Fellowship (Poetry).
Kerry Lown Whalen (Varsity
Lakes) was highly commended
for two stories, ‘A Bad Boy’
and ‘A Casual Affair’, in the
Morrison Mentoring Short Story
Competition. Both stories will
be published in an anthology
later this year. Kerry’s story
‘Missing’ will be published in
Black Beacons: Subtropical
Suspense, due out later this
year with Black Beacon Books.
Peter Clyburn shared first
prize in the Omega Writers
Caleb Competition, Memoir or
Biography section with his first
work Down Humdrum Street
(Lumino Press).
Kerry White has published his
collection The poet from hell.
Grant McDuling has been
contracted to ghostwrite his
42nd book, this one on the
mining industry.
The Australia Times published
two poems by Mocco Wollert
in Volume 10: ‘Warning’ and
‘Elegy for a Street Parade’.
‘Home Visits’, a short story
by Trish Cation, was read on
the Queensland Storyteller
Christmas Day program on
radio station 4RPH. Her
short story ‘Class Reunion’
has been short-listed for the
Stringybark Malicious Mysteries
competition.
‘Any Other Sunday’, a short
story by Kevin Smith, has
won the Katharine Susannah
Prichard Short Fiction Award.
Julie McCullough has published
her debut novel Of Wolves and
Wildflowers.
Félix Calvino has had his
novella Alfonso published by
Australian Scholarly Publishing.
Jocelyn Hawes has had
her short story ‘Dear Sam’
accepted for the Gold Coast
Anthology, to be published by
Prana Writers in May.
‘Flat Out’, by Ian Laver, was
commended in the 2013
Scribes (Victoria) Short Story
Competition.
Warren Ward has been shortlisted for the Hazel Rowley
Literary Fellowship for Lovers
of Philosophy.
Kylie Kaden will have her debut
novel, Losing Kate, published
with Random House Australia in
April. She is also a columnist for
My Child magazine.
Warne Wilson has won third
prize in the Rolf Boldrewood
Literary Awards with his short
story memoir ‘An Australian
Child’s War’.
Ten Journeys to Cameron’s
Farm, by Cameron Hazlehurst,
has been published by ANU E
Press.
John Hickman has selfpublished Tripping Over, a
post-war family memoir, picking
up from his first book, Reluctant
Hero.
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU21
Membership application
To join the Centre please complete the information below
or join online at www.qwc.asn.au.
Diary dates
Please complete and return to:
Queensland Writers Centre, PO Box 3488,
South Brisbane Queensland 4101 | F 07 3842 9920
[8 Feb]
[26 Feb]
Whispers Reading Salon
3–5pm
Rhyme & Reason I
with Riverbend Poetry Series
poets
6–8pm
Applicant’s details
Name
[10 Feb]
Organisation
Year of the Edit (begins)
with Kári Gíslason
10am–4.30pm
Postal Address
Postcode
Telephone
The Joy of Writing
with Nike Sulway
Email
Please indicate
New member
Renewing
Duration and type of membership
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PrintPDF* PrintPDF*
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$120
$120
Full membership
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Concession**
$260
Passionate (5 yrs) $260
$25
Youth (under 26)
–
Writers’ group
$99 $99
or organisation
$150
$150
Institutional sub.
Donation
[15-16 Feb]
$
Townsville
9.30am–3.30pm
Cairns
Sunday 16 February
9.30am–3.30pm
[15 Feb]
Introduction to E-book
Publishing
Brisbane City Council
10–11.30am
Developing Your Writing Practice
with Anna Campbell
10.30am–4.30pm
(Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible)
[20 Feb]
Workshop booking form
Yes
QWC member
Name of event/s
Developing Your Author Platform
(begins)
Australian Writer’s Marketplace
6–8pm
No
[22 Feb]
Payment
Please find enclosed my payment of $
Mastercard
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Expiry date Short Story Writing
with Jack Dann
10.30am–4.30pm
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Signature
*PDF option means that you receive WQ as a PDF copy into your inbox
on the first of each month, not as a hard-copy magazine. **Concession
applicants must provide a copy of health care, student or pensioner
cards. All prices include GST. Donations are welcome and are tax
deductible. QWC has a no-refund policy. Provided three working days
notice is given, participants may use the paid funds as credit for or towards
the cost of attending another workshop, seminar, masterclass or event
(space permitting). All credit must be used within 30 days of issue.
22
Year of the Non-fiction Novel
(begins)
with Matt Condon
10am–4.30pm
[25 Feb]
Riverbend Books
6pm
All workshops and events are in
Brisbane unless otherwise stated.
See www.qwc.asn.au for details.
ONLINE
See page 20 or awmonline.com.au
for AWM Online Learning Centre
courses.
QLD EVENTS
February 13–14: Digital Writers
Festival (online, national)
March 19–21: Somerset Festival of
Literature, Gold Coast
March 22: Indie Authors Down
Under, Gold Coast
April 23–26: Voices on the Coast,
Sunshine Coast
May 7–18: Anywhere Theatre
Festival, Brisbane
May 17: Bundy WriteFest,
Bundaberg
July 5: CYA Conference, Brisbane
July 16–19: Whitsunday Voices
Youth Literature Festival, Mackay
July 18–27: Noosa Long Weekend,
Noosa
July 27–30: Curtis Coast Literary
Carnivale, Gladstone
August 16–22: Book Week,
national
August 29–31: Queensland Poetry
Festival, Brisbane
September 3–7: Brisbane Writers
Festival, Brisbane
Email [email protected] to have
your festivals listed in WQ.
Membership benefits
For membership information
contact
Level 2
Cultural Centre Stanley Place
South Bank
T 07 3842 9922 | F 07 3842 9920
[email protected]
www.qwc.asn.au
Write to us
PO Box 3488
South Brisbane Qld 4101
Membership Benefits
As a member of the Queensland
Writers Centre, you have access
to a wide variety of resources
and information.
Information and Advice
The Centre’s professional and friendly
staff are available to answer queries
by phone, mail, email or fax.
Writer’s Surgery
Offers members the chance to
discuss their projects (including
grant applications) face-to-face
or by telephone with an experienced
editor or published author.
Workshop Calendar
An annual program of workshops,
masterclasses and industry seminars.
Members’ Bookshop
Stocks a range of practical writing
guides and handbooks sold online
and at QWC with exclusive discounts
for members.
Advertising Discounts
Members receive a 25 per cent
discount on advertising in WQ and our
fortnightly e-bulletin, a fantastic way to
promote their business to an engaged,
educated readership of thousands,
with wide interests in culture, music,
food, family and travel as well as
reading and writing.
Legal Advice
We advise contacting the Arts Law
Centre of Australia: www.artslaw.com.
au, T 02 9356 2566, F 02 9358 6475,
toll free 1800 221 457. Alternatively,
the Australian Society of Authors
offers a contract advice service –
details are available on their website
www.asauthors.org. There are also
contract FAQs on the site. Alex Adsett
Publishing Services offers commercial
publishing contract advice to authors
and offers a discount to QWC
members, www.alexadsett.com.au.
Member Discounts
Presentation of your membership
card will provide you with discounts
at the following stores:
Bookshops
12 per cent discount at Queensland
Writers Centre
10 per cent discount
(includes mailing facilities):
American Bookstore, Brisbane City
Book Nook, Brisbane City
Byblos Bookshop, Mareeba (discount
on second-hand books only)
Dymocks, Brisbane City
Dymocks, Gladstone
Dymocks, Townsville
Folio Books, Brisbane City
The Jungle Bookshop, Port Douglas
Maleny Bookshop, Maleny
Mary Who, Townsville
Riverbend Books, Bulimba
Rosetta Books, Maleny
The Written Dimension Bookshop,
Noosa Junction
The Yellow Door Books and Music,
Yeppoon
Cinemas
$10 tickets at Dendy Cinema,
Brisbane
Other Discounts
Aromas coffee 10 per cent
La Boite Theatre tickets $25
(preview) $39 (in season), all shows.
Chinese Remedial Massage, 20 per
cent discount to all female writers,
phone Sara 07 3844 2331.
Good Reading Club cardholders
receive members’ prices at
QWC events.
Olvar Wood Writers Retreat offer a 10
per cent discount to QWC members
on all their writer services. Find out
more at www.olvarwood.com.au.
Founding Patrons
Thea Astley
Bruce Dawe
Geoffrey Dutton
David Malouf
Michael Noonan
Jill Shearer
Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker)
Honorary Life Members
Hilary Beaton
Martin Buzacott
Heidi Chopey
Laurie Hergenhan
Helen Horton
Philip Neilsen
Craig Munro
Robyn Sheahan-Bright
Life Member
Lynette Kellow
Group Members
Association of Writers at Work
Brotherhood of the Wordless
Bundaberg Writers Club
Bush Curlews
Capricorn Writers Group
Carindale Writers
East Creek Writers
Fairfield Writers Group
Fellowship of Australian Writers
Garden City Creative Writers
Geebung Writers
Gold Coast Writers Association
Hervey Bay Council for the Arts
Scribes
Horizon Publishing Group
Licuala Writers Group
Mackay Writers Group
Macleay Island Inspirational Writers
Group
The Manuscript Appraisal Agency
Ravenshoe Writers
Romero Centre
Rosecity Writers
Sisters in Crime
Society of Women Writers
Stanthorpe Writers Group
Strathpine Library Writers Group
Sunshine Coast Literary Association
Sunshine Coast Writers Group
Symposium Society
Tropical Writers
Writers in North Queensland
Writers in Townsville Society
Writing with a Vision
Institutional Members
ACT Writers
Arts Nexus
Australia Council Literature Board
Australian Society of Authors
Boolarong Press
Brisbane Square Library
Brisbane Writers Festival
Business Training Group
Copyright Agency
Griffith University
Melbourne Writers Festival
New South Wales Writers Centre
Northern Territory Writers Centre Inc
Parliamentary House QLD
Perth Writers Festival
Peter Cowan Writers Centre
Redcliffe Library
Riverbend Books
Somerville House
South Australia Writers Centre
Sunnybank Library
Sunshine Coast Libraries
Tasmania Writers Centre
Thuringowa Central Library
University of Queensland
University of Queensland Press
Writers Victoria
Writing Western Australia
Terms & Conditions
Refund/Returns Policy
QWC does not offer refunds on
books, magazines or other products
purchased from QWC, except where
the goods are defective by fault of the
publisher, manufacturer or distributor.
In the event that you have purchased
an event ticket and Queensland
Writers Centre must cancel that
event, we will try to reschedule it for
a later date. If we cannot reschedule
the event, or if you are unable to
attend on the amended date, your
payment will be refunded in full.
If you cancel a booking for, or are
unable to attend, an event such as a
workshop, seminar or masterclass,
Queensland Writers Centre will
not provide a cash refund. If your
cancellation is made at least 5
business days prior to the event,
you may use your original payment
as credit towards the cost of
attending another QWC workshop,
seminar, masterclass or event (space
permitting). If the alternative event
is valued at less than the value of
the original booking, no cash will
be refunded for the balance. The
alternative event you select must
take place in the same calendar year
as the original booking. If there are
no available places in another event,
your credit may be used to purchase
or extend QWC membership.
If you have paid a deposit to secure
a place in a Year of the Writer course
(Year of the Novel, Year of the Edit
etc.), your deposit will only be
refunded in full if you cancel more
than six weeks prior to the course
start date. Cancellations after this
date will not be refunded.
All credit must be allocated within
30 days of issue by making a
subsequent booking. Please note:
credit cannot be used to purchase
books or other products available
from the QWC shop.
WWW.QWC.ASN.AU23
YEAR OF
THE WRITER
great Australian
novels in progress
YEAR OF THE NON-FICTION NOVEL
with Matthew Condon
S AT U R D AY S
22 February, 3 May, 28 June, 30 August, 25 October
YEAR OF THE FICTION NOVEL
with Marianne De Pierres
S AT U R D AY S
19 April, 14 June, 16 August, 20 September, 15 November
YEAR OF THE EDIT
with Charlotte Nash
SUNDAYS
6 April, 1 June, 3 August, 5 October, 7 December
qwc.asn.au

FEB 14 - Queensland Writers Centre

Transcription

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