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SCOPE
February 2010 volume 56 no. 1
The magazine of the Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland (FAWQ) since 1956
W
hile everyone had some time off over the
Christmas period, your Scope magazine
had a facelift. Not too much work — just
an eyetuck here and a wrinkle ironed out there. I
hope you like it and that you will let me know your
thoughts.
As you turn the pages of your revamped Scope
you will notice we have some fresh ideas to keep you
informed and interested, and above all — writing.
Inside, check out the new members-only writing
competiton for flash fiction; see how you can have
your award-winning stories published on our website
and challenge yourself with the WordSmith quiz.
Tim Morrell will try to present you with different
challenges each month.
The old favourites are back too — members profiles; WordWatch (we’re always on the lookout for
media blunders); the Poetry Page; competitions and
opportunites for writers and all the news behind the
scenes at FAWQ. Tricia Eban, Scope Fiction Editor,
has some suggestions to help you write something
for Scope in 2010. Make this your year to contribute
and get published!
Finally, two of the winning stories from last year’s
Soapbox Competition are included for your reading
pleasure. Hope to see many of you at the first meeting
of the year on February 27.
Until then
Happy reading and writing
Patrice Shaw, Ed
FAWQ Soapbox Competition 2009 Results
The Winner:
Marine Safety Compromised
Graham Smith QLD.
The Runner Up:
name withheld
Highly Commended:
Stealing Childhood
David Campbell VIC.
Commended:
name withheld
.
FAWQ President, Nancy Cox-Millner
presents Graham Smith with his first
prize certificate at the November
meeting.
FAWQ members enjoy
some festive cheer at the
Xmas party in November
Fiction Editor: Tricia Eban,
CONTENTS
10 Walsh Street, Scarborough, 4020.
Email: [email protected]
February 2010
Behind the Scenes
Nancy’s Niche
FAWQ Calendar 2010
Soapbox Judges Report
Marine Safety Compromised
Stealing Childhood
Poetry Page
Members Profiles/Credits
Keep WordWatching
WordSmith
Flash Fiction Competition
Entry Form
Submit to Scope in 2010
Committee Nomination Form
Deadlines
Opportunities
Advertising Rates/Submissions
Contacts and Next Meeting
Poetry Editor: Caroline Glen, 5/34 Monaco St,
3
4
4
5
5-6
7-9
10
11
12
12
13
14
15
16-17
18
19
Surfers Paradise, 4217. Email: dollyglen@bigpond.
com
Contributions:
Scope welcomes contributions from individual FAWQ
members. Group members are eligible to send
articles and letters. Groups, not individual group
members, are invited to send Credits. Submissions
to the Editor are preferred via email, or as hard
copy accompanied by disk, double-spaced, (1.5
spaced for poetry) 12-point typeface. Manuscripts
will not be returned. Disks are not returned unless
an appropriate stamped, self-addressed envelope is
provided.
Scope welcomes writing previously published and/or
placed in competitions. State name of competition
or where published, the year and give Permission to
Reprint.
The Editor reserves the right to edit or reject any
submission.
Poetry and Fiction: Editor’s comments on
submissions will be provided only if requested. Hard
copy submissions must be accompanied by SSAE.
Fellowship of Australian Writers (Qld) Inc.
Aims: To encourage the study of literature; to foster
a love of good books and fine writing; to bring
established and aspiring writers together.
President: Nancy Cox-Millner
Vice President: Mark Russell
Secretary: Robyn Ashford-Martin
Treasurer: Susan Skowronski
Web Author: Nancy Cox-Millner
Membership Secretary:Margarete Michel-Innocend
Correspondence:
The Secretary
PO Box 6338
Upper Mt Gravatt, 4122
Phone: 0432 646 167
Editor: Patrice Shaw,
Short stories and articles: Word limit of up to 2000
words. Pseudonyms acceptable provided real names
and contact details are supplied.
Send articles, letters, credits and items of general
interest to the Editor; poetry to the Poetry Editor,
short stories and other fiction to the Fiction Editor
at the addresses provided.
No cheques to the Editor. No correspondence not
directly related to Scope.
Copyright of material printed in Scope remains with
the author. Opinions expressed by contributors are
not necessarily those of FAWQ or the Scope Editor,
and no responsibility is taken for them. Copy printed
in Scope is at the Editor’s discretion. Acceptance of
submissions does not guarantee eventual use.
Scope was first published in 1956 as the newsletter of
the Brisbane Writers Group.
70 Birkin Rd,
Bellbowrie, 4070.
Email: [email protected]
/FEBRUARY 2010
www.fawq.net
Behind the Scenes
Committee Meeting
November
There was a buzz of anticipation
in the air as committee settled into
the meeting room at the Brisbane
Square Library. Today was the day
the Soapbox competition results
would be revealed, but first there
was some FAWQ business to
attend to.
A letter was received from the R
Carson Gold Trust administrators
notifying that due to the current
financial situation of the trust
it was no longer viable for
FAWQ to continue running and
administering the competition.
It will be offered to a tertiary
institution (possibly UQ) for the
benefit of their students.
Committee decided that if a
suitable sponsor could be found,
it would be keen to run another
competition in its place. The
search is on for a benefactor or
a company who would like to
support such a competition.
Susan, our tireless treasurer
has been busy convening the
Soapbox competition and juggling
two cheque accounts as we are in
the process of changing from one
bank to another. While most
people will be on holiday over
the Christmas/New Year period,
Susan will be convening the Lovers
of Good Writing competition.
Nancy moved a sincere vote of
thanks to Susan for her hard work
and dedication.
Planning for 2010 events began
with ideas and suggestions for
guest speakers. Patrice offered to
spruce up Scope magazine and give
it a new look. Everyone agreed this
was a good idea.
FAWQ members may not
be aware that FAWQ is a group
member of the Qld Writers Centre
www.fawq.net
and our members are entitled to
benefits provided under that
membership. Check out the
list elsewhere in your new look
Scope.
Our meeting adjourned with
one minute to spare before the
exciting announcements of the
Soapbox winners and seasonal
festivities afterwards.
Robyn Ashford-Martin
Secretary
Dear FAWQ members,
During the course of the last two
years we have had correspondence
with the Trust Company which
controls the bursary of Ronald
Carson Gold. It recently put
the R. Carson Gold Short Story
Competition on hold due to the
2009 financial crisis.
The Bursary is provided by
a charitable trust, established
in perpetuity. Since the fund
is inadequate to provide the
award under the terms prescribed,
the Trustee must bring these
circumstances to the attention
of the Cour t. The Trustee
must propose how the fund
may be applied to provide a
commemorative award that is as
close as possible to the original
purpose, having regard to the
spirit and intention of the gift.
The Trustee believes the
intention of the Testator in
establishing this Trust was to
provide (i) a commemorative
award and (ii) that this be for a
short story.
“We are Trustees for other
awards where, similarly, the income
became wholly insufficient. In these
circumstances the only way the Trustee
can avoid the administrative costs and
continue to provide an award is to
propose that the prize be awarded by
an educational institution to a student
in the relevant course and to remove
all the impractical terms. For example,
QUT offers the subject Creative and
Professional Writing in its Bachelor
of Fine Arts Course and it might
be invited to award the R. Carson
Gold Prize to a student enrolled in
the course for the best short story.”
(extract from letter 14 July 09)
It is with regret that FAWQ will
no longer be the administrator
of the R. Carson Gold Short
Story Competition and it will no
longer be a prize for the writing
public but be offered to QUT to
administer and to present as an
award within their Bachelor of
Fine Arts course.
The long success of the
R. Carson Gold Short Story
Competition is due to FAWQ’s
efforts. Imposing an entry fee
ensured the competition ran
much longer than expected. In
recent years, fees were waived by
judges and administration costs
were carried by FAWQ so the
competition could continue.
FAWQ offers many thanks
to all the judges, convenors and
FAWQ committee members who
gave of their valuable time. Thank
you to the many, many writers
who entered the R. Carson Gold
Competition. Your contributions
and attendance at prize
presentations was appreciated. If
you require more information on
this decision contact details for
the Trust are:
(Dr) Edward Lowson
Solicitor, Philanthropy
Trust Company Ltd
P O Box 361
Collins Street West,
VIC 8007
Trust Company
(02) 9556 0203
[email protected]
Nancy Cox-Millner,
FEBRUARY 2010/ Nancy’s Niche
W
elcome to 2010, a year of
new adventures. We had
some exciting times last year
especially at BWF and with our
Read Your Own meetings. Your
Committee have not been idle
over the holidays. We have a
new-look Scope and would really
appreciate your comments.
Our February meeting is our
AGM followed by a Read Your
Own. This will be my final year
as President, so if you have some
administration skills and good
people skills consider a role on
FAWQ committee, perhaps as a
committee member this year to
learn the ropes then progress to a
more fulfilling position in 2011.
Many thanks to my committee
for the support they have given me
and FAWQ in 2009. A president is
only as good as the people around
her and I’ve been very lucky. I
hope you’ve all been writing madly
during the break. Come along to
the meeting or send your work to
our editors.
Cheers
Nancy
FAWQ Meeting Dates for
2010
Meetings are held every fourth
Saturday of the month from February
to November at:
The Brisbane City Central Library
Community Meeting Room.
266 George Street, Brisbane.
FAWQ 2010 CALENDAR
FEBRUARY 27
AGM/READ YOUR OWN
MARCH 27
LOVERS OF GOOD WRITING PRESENTATION
APRIL 24
READ YOUR OWN
MAY 22 GUEST SPEAKER - David Gibson
JUNE 26
Workshop with Jay McKee Developing your Literary Characters
JULY 24 READ YOUR OWN - open mic session
AUGUST 28
GUEST SPEAKER - Jena Woodhouse
SEPTEMBER 25 READ YOUR OWN
OCTOBER 23 GUEST SPEAKER - Fiona Stager
NOVEMBER 27
SOAPBOX PRESENTATION AND XMAS
PARTY
/FEBRUARY 2010
www.fawq.net
FAWQ Soapbox Competition 2009
Judge’s Report
words: Mark Russell
T
he annual Soapbox Competition is likened to an orator standing on a soapbox
voicing concern about a topic of which the
public is either uninformed or misinformed;
thereby drawing, this speaker must hope, an
engrossed crowd in the process.
In 2009, many entries were noticeably
passionate in their telling, and each penned
with a high-standard of writing, more so than
in previous Soapbox submissions. There were fewer entries that were
simply short stories; however, many entries failed to develop a consistent, persuasive logic for their particular argument or concern. This
shortcoming only helped the judges who, as stated, had been swamped
with passionate, well-written material.
Several articles were unique but wouldn’t have held any envisioned
crowd’s attention for long. There was a marked amount of wit in many
entries, which though sometimes endearing and at other times outright
funny, didn’t always advance the premise of the author’s argument.
Quite a number of entries would have made good magazine articles.
Indeed it was a small chest of wonders that had been presented to this
year’s judges; one not knowing what colourful polemic to expect from
one entry to the next.
There were very few entries concerning global issues. The global
financial crisis, the environment, war and terrorism were all but absent. Australian-based issues predominated. Entries covered a diversity
of topics: adoption laws; taxation reform; a broad scope of problems
related to aged care; abuse and misuse of social and volunteer services;
gender equality; widening generation gaps and an ensuing erosion of
mutual respect; security of information; and traffic safety issues, to
name but a few.
It was a pleasure to see Australian writers concerned about national
issues that moved them sufficiently to enter the competition. Again
it wasn’t an easy task for the judges to decide on the winning entries;
but after several cups of coffee and lengthy, considered debate, the
winners were chosen.
The 2009 judges were Nancy Cox-Millner, Jay McKee and Mark
Russell. The winning and highly commended entries may be read in
the following pages.
Thanks to our judges and convenor for their hard work and to all the
writers who entered Soapbox 2009.
www.fawq.net
Marine Safety
Compromised
words: Graham Smith
T
he Caboolture Shire Herald
reported (18/8/2009) that
the Bribie Island Volunteer
Marine Rescue had 463 callouts
in 2008. Of these, less than one
sixth (only 73) were legitimate.
Most callouts were related to
breakdowns. Others were caused
by owners not maintaining their
boats, not taking the weather into
consideration, running out of
fuel, and not being able to read
charts.
Over the years, our marine
rescue system has been corrupted
by public greed and public
stupidity.
The rescue service started
up with very good intentions,
and in its infancy it had great
results. But its very success was
its downfall. Soon all knew about
the rescue service, and saw its
patrols whenever they took to the
water. Before long, the attitudes
of “boaties” changed from one of
making sure that their craft were
seaworthy and that they had spare
parts, to one of, “if we get into
trouble we will call out the Marine
Rescue Service”.
The growing number of
newcomers took every advantage
of the situation. The older boaties
had safety drilled into them, and
knew how “The Bay” (Moreton
Bay) could quickly change from
calm to tempest. But even the
attitudes of older boaties changed
when they saw the newcomers
treat the Marine Rescue Service
as if it were a roadside breakdown
service, not unlike that run by the
RACQ (Royal Automobile Club
of Queensland), with the added
advantage that it cost nothing.
FEBRUARY 2010/ Now, the situation is out of
control. Originally the volunteer
service was able to handle the
demand for help. However there is
a limit to what can be achieved by
an organization that relies on the
sale of raffle tickets for its funds.
The whole system needs a rethink.
There needs to be a major injection
of public funding. Boat registration
fees need to be increased, and
penalties ranging from fines to
vessel confiscation, imposed on
those acting irresponsibly.
It is said, “The road to hell
is paved with good intentions”.
Clearly the Marine Rescue Service
started off with impeccable “good
intentions”, but what we have now
is “hell on the high seas”. Marine
casualties are increasing and many
innocents are paying the price
for a situation that has got out of
hand. More often than not, our
present boaties are putting their
own lives and the lives of others,
including children, at risk.
In the days before the Rescue
Service there was a “Brotherhood
of Boaties”. If anyone got into
trouble they could call on each
other for assistance.
I am reminded of the situation
my father, grandfather, and a
friend with a wooden leg,
found themselves in one night
on Moreton Bay, back in the
late 1940s. On the way back to
Sandgate their boat, named the
“Weeroona”, exploded just off
Shorncliffe, and burnt to the
water line. All the rafts and life
jackets on board were destroyed in
the conflagration. The three were
left with a dinghy that overturned
and would only take the weight of
two people hanging to its sides.
There was a cyclone just off the
coast, it was getting dark, and the
landlubbers came to watch from
the Shorncliffe headland. News of
the fire was soon broadcast over
the radio, and the Police Launch
/FEBRUARY 2010
set off down the Brisbane River to
come to the rescue. On reaching
the Fisherman Islands at the
mouth of the River, those onboard
the Police Launch decided that the
Bay was too rough, and turned
back.
In the end, a local boatie from
Cabbage Tree Creek, Shorncliffe,
came out to rescue them. This
time my father and grandfather
were on the receiving end of the
generosity that existed between
boaties in those days. But, on
other occasions I can remember
my grandfather being the Good
Samaritan and giving a tow to
boats that had broken down. Then
there was my father, an engine
whiz, who often came to another’s
help, in the middle of nowhere,
to get some cantankerous boat
engine to kick over and come to
life.
Once created, it was inevitable
that any volunteer marine rescue
service should fail. There are
those that argue, “That if it is not
broke, don’t fix it”. Our present
situation gives the proof of this
old adage. We once had a perfectly
good system that depended on
“mateship” that had been honed
to perfection by two world wars.
Now we have a community only
interested in themselves. If “all the
King’s men could not put Humpy
Dumpy together again”, there is
no way to turn the clock back to
days long past. Now we are faced
with a system that is really “broke”,
and we need to “fix it”.
The experience of the Bribie
Island volunteers is indicative of
a boating malaise that extends to
all reaches of our continent. The
way forward needs to be manypronged. Firstly there is the boat.
An unseaworthy boat should not
be allowed to be registered. All
boats should be inspected at least
every five years.
Seaworthiness incorporates the
need for medicine kits, tool kits
(including spare parts), a compass,
GPS equipment, radio, water
tanks, torches, flares, life jackets
etc. Then there are penalties. Steep
on-the-spot fines are a must, as is
a point system for infringements.
These infringements need to be
totalled not only against those
in charge of a vessel, but also
against the vessel itself. Anyone
who flouts the system should
have his or her vessel forfeited in
addition to receiving a fine. The
confiscation penalty should apply
equally to a “tinnie” or a multimillion dollar luxury yacht. A
billionaire might not mind paying
a fine, but the possibility of losing
the boat would quickly bring him
to his senses.
In addition to rules surrounding
the boat and the driver, there needs
to be a strict and comprehensive
testing regime. We need to ensure
that those responsible for boats
on trailers can back their vehicles
down a boat ramp, launch their
boat, and load a returning boat
back onto their trailer. On the
water, all need to be tested to
ensure that they can safely come
alongside another vessel, tie up
at a jetty, and respond to a “man
overboard”. In many places there
can be strong tides that have to
be allowed for. Then there is the
testing required for chart reading
and navigating at night, as well
as testing about “rules of the
sea”. The days of getting licences
without any real testing, need to
be a thing of the past. Being a
mate of the inspector is not good
enough anymore.
Boat users need to be made to
understand that the use of our
waterways is a privilege, and not
a right. Lives are at risk. Action is
required now!
www.fawq.net
Stealing Childhood
W
hen I was a kid in the
1950s I walked home
from primary school
every day to find my mother waiting. She was always there. She
didn’t go out to work ... never, as
far as I know, even contemplated
it. She had ‘home duties’. My
father rang from the city at ten
past five and was home at six. We
all sat down together for dinner...
main course and dessert...mother,
father and four sons. Fifty years
ago.
How things have changed.
Nowadays couples marry later or
not at all. Many children live in
blended families, sharing time
with multiple sets of parents.
Schools have to send out several
reports to cover all the interested
parties. Stories about drugs, crime,
homelessness, youth suicide and
their relationship to broken homes
are common in the media. It’s a
different world. Or so it seems.
Perhaps we were less honest fifty
years ago, less open, more likely to
paper over the cracks in the social
facade. But when the nostalgia
bug bites, I envy the certainty, the
sense of security, that memory attributes to my childhood.
Television came to Australia
in 1956. Over the next few years
my brothers and I watched, entranced, as Hopalong Cassidy,
Superman, The Lone Ranger,
Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid, Kit
Carson, Jet Jackson and the remarkable Zorro meted out swift
justice with courage and flair. The
goodies lived to fight another day
and the baddies received their
just (and bloodless) desserts.
There were no moral dilemmas,
no question marks. These heroes
were simple men who had never
www.fawq.net
heard of psychology. They solved
problems with a BIFF-THUMPKAPOW philosophy that seemed
remarkably effective.
And every week that quintessential television father Robert
Young dispensed wisdom as the
kindly, caring Jim Anderson in
Father Knows Best. True, it was
American wisdom, but it was the
only kind available in the late fifties and early sixties. Jim wasn’t
always right, but on the rare occasions he made a mistake, even
that became a virtue:
“A fellow just hates to admit
he’s wrong. It takes a little courage to do it, and swallowing of
pride, but it’s one of the paths to
wisdom.”
This paragon was always there
for his family in times of trouble.
Problems were quickly sorted out,
and after thirty minutes everyone
was smiling. It was comforting,
this weekly reassurance that all
was right with the world.
It was an illusion, of course,
an impossible dream...but we
lapped it up. Jane Wyatt, as Jim’s
wife Margaret, was the ultimate
homemaker...always beautiful,
always calm, and always by Jim’s
side when it came to solving each
episode’s minor crisis. Most of
those problems revolved around
the growing pains of Betty, Bud
and Kathy, their three amazingly
well-mannered children. They
were the ideal family...middleclass, double-brick and decent.
Rock solid. No matter what happened, the strength of the family unit always triumphed, neatly
wrapping up all the loose ends
within the half-hour time limit.
Mission accomplished. Moral
message delivered.
words: David Campbell
The television families of my
childhood emphasised respect
for those in authority, particularly
parents. And that reflected my
own experience. All adults were
wise, and teachers were the wisest
of them all. Teachers weren’t real
people, not in the sense of having
family lives outside the school.
They were just...there...every day,
and their existence was defined by
the walls of their classroom. This
was Miss Duffield’s room, that
Miss Nedwell’s. I remember my eagerness to please, arm flailing the
air when I knew the answer. Such
enthusiasm! We kept our eyes
down, our voices low, and a wary
eye on the strap. In hindsight, we
were probably repressed, teacherdominated little mites, but I don’t
recall being miserable about it.
I do remember having nightmares about the hobyahs. I’d
forgotten all about them until they
came back to haunt me when our
old readers were re-issued several
years ago.
Through the long grass came
the hobyahs, creep, creep, creeping,
Through the grey gum-trees
came the hobyahs, run, run, running,
Skip, skip, skipping on the ends
of their toes ran the hobyahs.
And the hobyahs cried, “Pull
down the hut, eat up the little
old man, carry off the little old
woman.”
What do children dream about
now? Lord Voldemort? The tyrannosaurus from the Jurassic Park
series? The trolls and demons
from Lord of the Rings? Or take
your pick from any number of
slasher/ monster/ horror movies
and video games. It seems a long
FEBRUARY 2010/ way from my old primary school
and the hobyahs.
We sat in our wooden desks
two by two. We dipped our pens
into the inkwell and scratched
away in our exercise books until
the nibs became splayed and bent
and would only write in squiggly
lines. When our inkwells ran dry,
the ink monitor would tour the
room with a strange bottle and
try to squirt the dark liquid into
that tiny hole in the desk- top. The
ink monitor was always a boy and
he invariably spent the day with
blue fingers.
LSD was pounds, shillings and
pence. We drove for miles and ran
for yards. A cricket pitch measured
a chain. We weighed things in
ounces, pounds and hundredweight...peculiar measures that
led to endlessly complicated calculations, all done with pencil,
paper and the help of the conversion tables on the back covers of
our exercise books. Here we also
found mysterious information
about rods, perches, links, chains,
pecks and roods. I remember that
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, but what, precisely,
was a rood?
And, of course, there were the
multiplication tables. Hours were
spent pouring over these, and
then more hours were spent chanting them in unison: “Once nine is
nine, two nines are eighteen, three
nines are twenty seven ...” and so
on, until they were mashed forever
into our brains. There were no
calculators back then, just endless repetition. We were tested on
Mental Arithmetic and, without
reference to Google, wrote essays about ‘A Day in the Life of
a Penny’. We laboured over our
spelling and our handwriting. We
got marks out of ten and reports
that said: “A pleasing result”.
We studied ‘Health and Hygiene’, which seemed to involve
/FEBRUARY 2010
much gazing at large posters of
meat, fish, fruit and eggs. We examined ‘Nature’ from a distance,
although we did go on an excursion once, to a pine plantation,
where we learnt about...pine trees.
For variety we did handwork and
tried to make mats by winding balls
of wool on nail-studded wooden
frames. We fashioned coasters
with glue and dead matchsticks,
or wove endless keychains from
multi-coloured strips of plastic.
At playtime we gulped down
the ghastly half-pint bottles of
milk that had been sitting out in
the sun all morning. That experience put me off milk for years.
Then, with the revolting, greasy
liquid sloshing around inside
us, we raced out into the yard to
play. The boys headed to the oval
for cricket or footy, shot marbles
in the dirt, and bounced tennis
balls off the red-brick walls. The
girls played rounders, ‘jacks’, and
skipped rope. Yo-yo crazes came
and went. In the spring we played
‘hidey’ way over in the far corner,
pressing down into the soft, sweetsmelling grass and peering out
through a curtain of daisies.
School was rote-learning of
facts and figures, ruled over by
unquestioned authority. At the
end of each day I went home to
double-brick security and stability,
no shades of grey. Schools have
changed and the concept of the
traditional family is evolving too,
overtaken by the unpredictability
of our troubled times and a pattern of ever-changing relationships. Typically dysfunctional
television families are light-years
from the sanitised world of Father
Knows Best.
In my childhood, television
promoted an idealised society.
But the radio and black and white
television of those far-off days
have morphed into giant plasma
screens, iPods, video games and
mobile phones. Today’s electronic
media emphasise stark reality
and make it easily accessible to
children and adults alike. The
distinction between the real and
the imaginary is blurred as the
boundaries of acceptable behaviour are constantly stretched. The
march of technology places vast
amounts of information at our
fingertips. Successive generations
absorb the advances but, as the
pace of change accelerates, the
gap between one generation and
the next increases.
Less and less is left to innocence and the imagination,
while more and more is laid out
in lurid detail. There is a greater
dependence on, and access to,
the visual, which means that the
world of imagination is rapidly
shrinking. Today’s children would
demand the terrible hobyahs in
all their animated glory, complete
with graphic scenes of the little
old man being devoured. For such
things are standard fare via the
fantasy/adventure/horror movies available at the cinema or any
number of bloodthirsty computer
and video games.
What effect is this visual assault
having on young children? Quite
simply, it is stealing childhood.
Childhood was once considered a biological process, but it is
increasingly seen as a product of
societal pressures. With every year
that passes, children are forced to
‘grow up’ at a younger age. One
obvious example of this is the
Tweenie phenomenon, in which
advertisers target girls in the preteenage years with cosmetics and
clothing based on adult designs.
Thus there are two forces operating in tandem. Not only are
children adapting quickly to the
technology that surrounds them,
but parents and merchandisers are
combining to transform children
into mini-adults. Eleven-year-old
www.fawq.net
girls now have an outlook that not
so long ago was the preserve of fifteen and sixteen-year-olds. In a few
years the seven and eight-year-olds
will take over that space.
Today’s youngsters are worldly-wise and considerably more
mature and knowledgeable than
those of a mere decade ago. But
they bring to their language, and
to their relationships with family
and peers, a degree of experience
and understanding that was completely unimaginable when I was
a child.
The gap between the current
generation and mine is a vast
chasm. And that makes me sad,
for the innocence of the childhood I remember is vanishing
before my eyes. What will be left
for my grandchildren?
Did you know?
FAWQ has group membership
with the Queensland Writers
Centre which entitles us to many
benefits. Some of these are:
•
New to FAWQ ...
Do you have any prize-winning stories languishing in your bottom
drawer? If so, you may have the opportunity to have them published
on the FAWQ website. Some conditions apply:
•
•
•
•
you must be a financial member of FAWQ
only short stories or articles with a word count of 2000-5000
words are eligible
the story/article must have won a prize in a writing
competition
you must have permission to reprint and cite where and when
it was published previously
Please send your submissions as an email attachment to:
Tricia Eban [email protected] (fiction) or
Patrice Shaw [email protected] (articles)
No hard copy submissions will be accepted
New convenor required
FAWQ is looking for a new competition convenor. Susan
Skowronski has done an outstanding job over the last couple
of years but has other commitments which prevent her from
continuing in this role. A competition convenor needs to have good
organisational and recording skills. Training will be provided.
discounted bookings for
group members at QWC
workshops and events
discounted venue hire
d i s co u nted a d vert i s i n g
for the group in Writing
Queensland
use of the QWC editorial
consultancy service (conditions apply)
QWC voting rights
If you can help, please contact Nancy at nancycoxmillner@
optusnet.com.au or phone 3343 7645
WE NEED YOUR PROFILE
Send your entries with a completed entry form and entry fee,
making sure you have complied with all the conditions set out on
the entry form.
•
•
•
•
Haven’t had your profile
published in Scope yet?
Start writing and email it to
Tricia Eban.
[email protected]
www.fawq.net
Members-only mini writing competition
Turn to page 13 for details about this new competition.
For financial members of FAWQ only, send in your flash fiction
stories of 50 to 100 words and you could win $50 plus have your
story published in Scope and on the FAWQ website.
The deadline is June 30 2010.
Good luck!
FEBRUARY 2010/ Poetry Page
FROM THE POETRY EDITOR
I
am looking forward to receiving your poems for 2010. They will differ in style and subject matter and
that will be fine. But I would especially love to get a poem that contains the excitement; that makes one
say ‘wow’ instead of ‘that’s great.’ This is easier said than done I know, but I am going to aim for the ‘wow’
myself, so I have a big effort staring down at me. Let’s all see what we can do.
Again a reminder that when you have finished your poems, to study them to see if you have used the
senses adequately. Remember to check if you have used the ‘how’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why,’ where they would
have helped the poem. Who is speaking? From where are they speaking? I imagine more prose-writers
than poetry-writers read poems so you need to pay attention to not writing so obscurely that the reader
cannot possibly understand what you are talking about. It is good to challenge the general thinking but I
am talking here about excess.
Cheers for now.
Caroline
BUSH CAMP
words: Pat Ferguson
I, TOO, WRITE A POEM
For Margaret
words: Jo Ann C Burke
Your poems evoke visions
that fill me with awe
and wonderment – enable me
to see the goblins, gremlins,
dragons.
I enter that opal YOU see,
become part of its green shallows,
venture hesitantly
into ‘blue and purple depths.’
With the wind
I travel as it eddies through
your grey pillars of landscapes
and I sorrow over what once was
a green living landscape.
Now, I hear the song of a bird,
taking me high into the sky.
Just seconds ago was my mood
really grey?
10/FEBRUARY 2010
Camp fire spits and crackles
in the land of the dreamtime spirits,
a scene replayed in centuries past.
Smoke spirals ascend, embrace bushland haze
while the unseen breath of campers rises too
to join the misty backdrop.
Light sifts down around the spires
of green-leaved gums,
tips scraping the invisible brooding sky.
Sun filters through sidestepping shadows
cast by guardian trees, and falls upon a patch
of blood red soil that feeds the land.
Over time, tent and campers blur and change
as future tent and campers express their need
to be encradled by the bush. In a sense
of protection, somehow they feel they belong,
their roots reach back and touch a nerve
which signals oneness with all life.
The air is redolent with scents of the Australian bush,
Eucalypt, escaping from leaves and burning twigs,
invades the lungs.
A subtle hint of grass and shrubs
wafts languidly with the smoke.
My nostalgia hits with yearning ache
to be there now and hear the yarns
that campers always spin.
Old tales and new, are brought alive
as the bush just listens in.
www.fawq.net
Profiles
Writing: A journey shared
words: Sarah Muller
I
first learnt about Haiku poems
when I was a school student. I
didn’t write another poem until
I was 35 years old. It was a fairly
auspicious occasion on Easter
Sunday. That night, reading
the autobiography of the Trappist
monk, Thomas Merton, while
lying on my mattress, which
substituted for a bed, a stray cat
wandered around my flat. The
book contained some of Merton’s
Haiku poems. Suddenly inspired,
I sat up and wrote Haikus about
my surroundings and the cat that
had adopted my house.
I then started to keep a journal
and write Haiku. This branched
out to include longer poems
on such topics as metaphysics,
nature, solitude, home life and
Brisbane city streets. The first
person I shared my writing with
was my old friend Lidia, from my
University days in Tasmania. We
corresponded by email and shared
inner thoughts, ideas and our love
of nature. A lot of this was done
through poetry.
After about five years of fairly
solitary writing, my friend, Indrani
Ganguly, whom I had met at
Queensland Health, expanded
my writing horizons. She told me
about the postal magazines run
by the Society of Women Writers Qld. Inc. I joined the poetry
group called Jacaranda and every
two months members contribute
poems. These circulate in the mail
and we comment on each other’s
writing. I have been a member of
this group for almost a decade. It
has been an enormous source of
inspiration, support and friendship. The SWWQ has published
two books containing the poetry
www.fawq.net
and writings of its members. These
included my work.
At the Brisbane Writers Festival about five years ago I met
Tricia Eban from The Fellowship
of Australian Writers Qld. Tricia
encouraged me to join the group.
I really enjoy the meetings; especially ‘read your own’ sessions
and talks by local writers. There
is a friendly atmosphere and raffle
draws always provide entertainment. FAWQ has published three
of my poems over the last couple
of years. This provided tremendous encouragement.
At one of the FAWQ meetings,
June Pomfrett told me about Scribblers on Sunday. They meet once
a month at the Carindale Library.
Ten to fifteen of us read out our
poems, which may have been
written on the group’s monthly
topic or any other theme. These
meetings are full of camaraderie
and laughter. I tell people that
Scribblers is my Sunday church.
This year I have formed a
Serendipity Writers’ Group
with three other friends. I met
Yvonne Pick and Ann Jamieson at
Scribblers and we started monthly
morning teas at Riverbend Books,
Bulimba. I suggested we each
journal our experiences and
this has forged a strong, creative
friendship between the three of us.
We have shared discoveries and
insights from our life journeys.
Tamara Lazaroff is the fourth
member of our Serendipity group.
I met Tamara in 2008 at a Haiku
workshop. She has inspired me
with her writing; producing many
“zines” that I’ve been privileged
to read.
I am grateful for my writing
experiences, which have brought
many wonderful people into my
life. It has been an adventure.
Members Credits

The following members
have had some publishing
successes recently:
Robyn Ashford Martin:
Highly Commended for her
short story ‘Dichotomy’ in
the FAW Vic Mornington
Peninsula Branch Short Story
competition.
John Strano:
In The Write Angle March
2009, ‘Manuel, Mervyn and
Me’, a humorous story and
‘Brown Pigeon’, a poem.
In eumundi green March
2009, ‘Chasing Fireflies’, a
poem.
In Idiom 23 March 2009,
poems ‘Port Arthur’ and ‘The
Chair’.
In The Write Angle, September
2009, an article, ‘Poetry in
Motion’.
Caroline Glen:
Highly commended for her
poem, ‘Swimmer ’ in the
Open Poetry section of the
FAW Mornington Peninsula
Competition.
Jay McKee:
Twenty-two theatre reviews
in 2009 for Stage Whispers
(a national theatre magazine
based in Sydney).
FEBRUARY 2010/ 11
Keep WordWatching
I
s anyone else twitchy when they
hear gifted used to replace presented? I know nouns are being
dragooned willy nilly to do the
work of verbs, but why, if there is
already a perfectly useful verb?
Two verbs are being replaced in
this way: presented and donated.
So if Mr Rudd chose a painting by
an indigenous artist to present to
an American dignitary, why not
say Mr Rudd presented it to him,
rather than gifted it to him? And
if someone wants to give their
lifelong collection of wine bottles
to a museum, why can’t we say he
donated it, rather than gifted it?
I suspect an ABC news copywriter is confused by summonsed
and summoned. Several times
recently in news reports the former was used when the latter was
meant.
Their meanings are similar and
may overlap, unfortunately. But
to summon someone is merely to
send for them as in ‘We are summoned to class by the bell’ or ‘The
CEO had a habit of summoning
the staff to extraordinary meetings
by a twitter message.’
‘Summons’ has legal overtones
as in, ‘She was summonsed to
appear at the next magistrate’s
court hearings.’ It can also be used
when a higher or highest authority
sends for someone: ‘The Premier’s
summons referred only to Cabinet
Ministers.’
The life force of drawing in
air and exhaling it is to breathe.
That’s a verb. When we draw air
in, that’s a breath, a noun. Several
times lately I’ve seen the latter being used as the verb. I appreciate
we shouldn’t be too critical of the
extemporised spoken word but I
share these three I picked up at
Writers Festival sessions to toss
around in your mind:
12/FEBRUARY 2010
... ‘divided it amongst themselves’
when there are only two people
involved.
... ‘I’m the middle of two sisters.’
... ‘between the family’ which was
a fairly big lively group of people.
Jay McKee
Writing
Hints
E
ditors are continually faced
with mountains
of manuscripts
awaiting consideration. It is not
an uncommon practice for a
manuscript to be palmed off to a
trusted employee of the company
further down the line ‘to browse
over lunch’. Always remember
that. If your article/story/novel
does not grab the attention of the
first reader within the first page
or so, the remainder may never
be read, whether it is the editor
or a minion doing the reading.
But if they like the opening/first
page/first chapter, your work
has a very good chance of being
read right through, and if the
first reader likes the whole work,
there is a good chance it will get a
wider readership ‘in house’ by the
publishing company.
Remember, publishing is a
business; they want to make
money. They operate on educated
guesswork. When those who read
your work get to discuss it in a
meeting called to decide what will
be published, the decision is not
made on the basis of who liked the
work so much as on the answer to
the question: ‘But will it sell?’
Jay McKee
WordSmith
Tim Morrell
1. “Indict” (accuse)
rhymes with:
A. Inflict
B. Insist
C. Incite
2. “Corps” (group)
rhymes with:
A. Corpse
B. Core
C. Course
3. “Ague” (fever)
rhymes with:
A. Ache
B. Argue
C. Age
4. “Billet” (lodging)
rhymes with:
A. Bullet
B. Billy
C. Ballet
5. “Clangour” (loud noise)
rhymes with:
A. Charger
B. Cashmere
C. Clanger
6. “Victual” (food)
rhymes with:
A. Vittle
B. Vital
C. Visual
7. “Succour” (assistance)
rhymes with:
A. Saucer
B. Sitar
C. Sucker
8. “Wreak” (inflict)
rhymes with:
A. Reek
B. Rake
C. Rack
Answers page 18
www.fawq.net
Fellowship of Australian Writers (Qld) Inc.
Flash Fiction Competition
First prize $50
•
Closing date June 30, 2010
•
50 to 100 words
Entry fee $5 per entry or 3 entries $10.00
Must have a beginning, middle and an end — must have conflict and resolution.
Theme: ‘The Big Picture’ must be included in the story, not the title.
Conditions of Entry
1. Entries open to FAWQ financial members only, must be the original work of the entrant. Not to
have won a prize or been published before August 2010.
2. Copyright remains with the author. The FAWQ reserves the right to publish the winning entry in
Scope magazine and on the FAWQ website.
3. The judge’s decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
4. Title of story, author’s name, address, phone number and/or e-mail to appear on entry form
only.
5. The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript in any form.
6. Each entry to be typed, 12 point Courier or Times Roman, double spaced on A4 paper, one side only.
7. No more than six entries per author. Entry to be accompanied by an entry form and entry fee.
Enclose a stamped, self addressed envelope if results are required. No entries will be returned.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ENTRY FORM
(may be photocopied)
Send to:
Convenor
Flash Fiction Writing Competition
PO Box 6338
Upper Mt Gravatt Q 4122
Name of Entrant ………………………………………………......................................... Address ..............................................................................................................
Postcode …………………..
Phone No . ............................................. ...................Email …………………………
Title of entry......................................................................................................
Title of entry ………………………………………………………………………………………..
Title of entry ………………………………………………………………………………………..
How did you hear about this competition? …………………………………
Enquiries email: [email protected]
Website: www.fawq.net
Please do not send cash. Make cheques or money orders payable to FAWQ Inc.
www.fawq.net
FEBRUARY 2010/ 13
Submit to Scope in 2010
T
hank you, to all members who submitted profiles for Scope last year.
Every writer had a different story to tell and shared unique perspectives of their writing routines. It is
hoped more profiles will be received, especially from those who are unable to attend monthly meetings.
You do not need to be published.
Your editors would love to be overwhelmed with what you have to offer. Make 2010 the year you submit
work to Scope. There is no restriction on any member for the number of submissions that may be considered
during the year.
We would love to see more letters to the Editor, reports on book launches, book reviews, short pieces,
stories and articles.
Previously published work is always welcome. Be sure to state at the end (not in the email), where the
work was published, or the competition in which a prize was won, and the year. Also give permission to
reprint, unless you have signed away your copyright or other specific Rights.
e.g: FIRST PRIZE
Published in Women’s Fiction Magazine
2006
Permission to reprint.
NEW! Submit a Synopsis:
A well-written synopsis is crucial in the presentation of a manuscript to a publisher. Some writers can
find it difficult to write one and would welcome a few examples. Why not share your expertise and promote
your book with a synopsis from a novel that has been accepted for publication?
Have you started on your first novel? Do you wonder if anyone will want to read it? Get your name out
there and test the waters at the same time. Send us a synopsis for your proposed novel, to be printed in
Scope. It can be changed later if necessary should your story line veer off in a completely different direction.
Valuable feed-back may reassure you that you are on the right track. A synopsis printed in Scope offers the
opportunity for free publicity ahead of potential book sales.
Submit it to the Fiction Editor, double-spaced in no more than two pages as you would to a publisher.
Dust off the Cobwebs:
Take a fresh look at past rejected writing. Has it collected cobwebs from lack of attention? Brush them
off! Rewrite and update with new research. Ask yourself is more conflict needed, or perhaps new characters
with page-turning problems? Edit, improve the presentation and search out new market opportunities. Or
send it in to be considered for Scope. When you have rid yourself of pesky writing cobwebs, such as excessive
punctuation, poor spelling and grammar, multiple repetitions and too many weak adjectives instead of strong
nouns and verbs, you may be delighted to find you are a much better writer than you ever imagined.
Please include all contact details with submissions, including your email address. Non-fiction to
Patrice Shaw, fiction to Tricia Eban. Address details page 19.
We look forward to hearing from you with unrestrained anticipation.
Tricia Eban
Fiction Editor
14/FEBRUARY 2010
www.fawq.net
HELP DIRECT FAWQ’S FUTURE
As you may well be aware, the
Fellowship of Australian Writers
(Qld) committee exists to manage
the best interests of the membership and keep FAWQ operating
smoothly. You can have a part in
deciding the direction of FAWQ
by being involved in the Annual
General Meeting, which will be
held on February 27, 2010. The
main importance of the AGM is to
elect Committee members for the
new year. Please give thought to
contributing to FAWQ by nominating yourself or somebody else
you feel would be an asset to the
Fellowship as a Committee member. Positions include: President,
Vice-President, Secretary, Minutes
Secretary, Treasurer, and Committee members.
Please note that if you do
elect to become an office-bearer,
it is desirable that your schedule
permits you to attend as many of
the monthly meetings as possible
(a one hour meeting prior to the
general membership meeting).
All nominations for the 2010
Committee must be received before the commencement of the
AGM.
Please ensure the nominee,
signature and name sections are
correctly filled out or your nomination may not count.
The Committee
___________________________________________________________________________________
COMMITTEE NOMINATION FORM
(May be photocopied)
I, being a financial member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (Qld) Inc.,
nominate
Name: . .............................................................. Position: ...............................................................
Nominated by
............................................................................. (Signature) . ............................................ (Name)
Nomination seconded by
............................................................................. (Signature)................................................ (Name)
I accept the above nomination
............................................................................. (Signature)
Date . ...........................
Please post nomination forms to The Secretary, FAWQ Inc., PO Box 6338, Upper Mt Gravatt, 4122
OR hand-deliver it to a committee member on the day of the AGM before the official business
begins. The nominee, the proposer and the seconder must all be financial members of FAWQ
Inc. on the date of the AGM (February 27, 2010).
www.fawq.net
FEBRUARY 2010/ 15
Deadlines
february 28
charlotte duncan award
for children’s writing
Short story to 1500 words for
young readers aged 9-12 years. The
main character must be a child.
All profits from the Award will be
donated to the neo-natal unit at
the Melbourne Royal Children’s
Hospital.
$9 per entry.
First prize $75, second $50, third
$25 plus certifcates for Highly
Commended and Commended.
Prize-winning stories will be published on the Celapene Press
website no later than one week
after winners are announced. All
shortlisted stories may be considered for publication in an anthology at a later date.
Send entries to: Celapene Press
2 Bonview Crt, Knoxfield, VIC,
3180.
For full details go to www.celapenepress.com.au
mARCH 12
BUNDABERG WRITERS’ CLUB INC
UNPUBLISHED SHORT STORY
COMPETITION
Short stories to 2,500 words.
$5 per entry (5 entries for $20).
First Prize $300, Second $100.
Post entries to: Bundaberg
Writers’ Club Inc., PO Box 1486,
Bundaberg Qld 4670.
Entry form & details from
www.bundywriters.com
march 12
H enr y kenda l l poetr y
competition
No set theme or poetry style.
$7 per poem
First: $500 Second: $200 Third:
$100
Post entries to:The Convenor,
Henry Kendall Poetry Award,
Central Coast Poets Inc., PO Box
780, Woy Woy, NSW, 2256
16/FEBRUARY 2010
Please check websites where applicable for more details and
entry forms.
Include a stamped, self-addressed
envelope if you wish results to be
mailed to you.
Entry form & details from
www.centralcoastpoets.com.au
march 19
Common thread short
story competition
Short stories between 3000 and
5000 words.
$10 per entry, extra $15 if feedback
required.
First Prize: $500 plus possible
publication in The Common
Thread Anthology 2010.
Second Prize: $200 plus possible
publication in The Common
Thread Anthology 2010.
Send entries to: The Common
Thread Short Story Competition
Convenor, PO Box 1083, Hunters
Hill NSW 2110.
Entry form and details from
www.pippakay.com
march 20
Fish Publishing one page
short story prize
Flash fiction in 300 words or
less.
Online entries €12; Postal entries
€15
(The cost of an online entry is
fixed in Euro and the conversion
into your local currency will be
done automatically by your credit
card company according to the
current exchange rate.)
First Prize - €1,000 plus publication
in the 2010 Fish Anthology.
Nine runners-up will be published
in the Anthology and will each
receive €50 plus five complimentary
copies of the anthology.
Send entries online via the website
(not as email attachment)
Post entries to: Fish Publishing,
Durrus, Bantr y, Co Cork ,
Ireland
No entry form required. Full
details from: www.fishpublishing.
com
march 24
THE HENRY LAWSON SOCIETY OF
NSW INC. literary awards
Sections include:
Open Short Story: maximum of
1,000 words with an Australian
theme.
Open Written Poetry: Poems must
be in the ballad form, having good
rhyme, rhythm and metre. There
is no word or line limit.
L e o n a r d Te a l e M e m o r i a l
Per formance Poetr y
Competition:
Entry forms are required in all
sections. Please send SSAE to
Henry Lawson Society of NSW
Inc. Literary Awards, PO Box
235, Gulgong NSW 2852 or email
[email protected].
au. They will also be available on
www.henrylawsongulgong.org.au
when finalised.
MARCH 31
tOM HOWARD SHORT STORY
CONTEST
Short stories, essays and prose to
5,000 words.
$15 per entry.
First Prize $3,000. Second
$1,000. Third $400. Fourth $250.
In addition, six Most Highly
Commended entries will each
receive cash prizes of $150.
Post entries to: Winning Writers,
Attention Tom Howard Short
Story Contest, 351 Pleasant Street,
PMB 222, Northampton, MA
01060-3961, USA or submit online
at http://www.winningwriters.
com/contests/tomstor y/ts_
guidelines.php
No entry from required.
Details from writeway.exactpages.
com
www.fawq.net
Deadlines
march 31
FAW Tasmania I nc 2010
Nairda Lyne Award
Short story of no more than 1000
words suitable for children aged
8-12 years. Open to all writers
resident in Australia.
$5 per story.
First prize $100.
Send entries to:
Nairda Lyne Award, FAW Tas Inc,
PO Box 234, North Hobart TAS
7002.
Full det ails at www.fawtas.
kingston.org.au
march 31
Australian Christian Book
of the Year
Awarded annually for original
books written by Australians
and published by an Australian
publisher. Must have been
published between 1st April of
the previous year and 31st March
of the current year.
$50 entry fee per title.
First prize is $2,500 for the author,
and a framed certificate for author
and publisher.
Send entries to: The AwardsCoordinator, Australian Christian
Literature Society, c/o SPCK
- Australia, PO Box 198, Forest
Hill, Victoria 3131.
For full details go to www.spcka.
org.au
april 2
The Diana Raffle One Act
Play Competition
The theme of the competition is
to write plays that “entertain”.
Playing time between 30 mins and
one hour.
Entry is free.
First prize £100.
Send plays by email or disk, in Word
format to [email protected]
The file name must contain the
name of the play.
www.fawq.net
Full details at www.plays4theatre.
com
april 7
the cancer counci l
victoria arts award
Open to anyone with a cancer
story to share. Short story to 1000
words, poetry to 30 words. Also
film, visual art and indigenous art
categories.
$10 per entry - all proceeds go to
the Cancer Council Victoria.
Cash prizes will be awarded to
an outstanding entry in each
category.
Send two copies of your entry
to: Cancer Council Victoria, 1
Rathdowne Street, Carlton Vic
3053 or email as a Word document
to: [email protected]
For entry form and full details go
to: www.artsawards.com.au
april 16
The Gold Coast Writers’
A ssociation C hi l dren’s
Writing Competition
For children aged 7-17, resident
throughout Australia – short
stories and/or poetry. There are
three age sections: 7-10 (stories
maximum 300 words, poems
maximum 20 lines); 11-13 (stories
maximum 500 words, poems
maximum 30 lines) and 14-17
(stories maximum 1000 words,
poems maximum 40 lines).
The theme is ‘Wishful
Thinking’.
Entry is free.
First prize $100, second $50 and
third $25.
Send entries to: 2010 Childrens’
Writing Competition, PO Box
441, Pacific Fair, Broadbeach QLD
4218.
For entry form and full details go
to www.goldcoastwriters.org.au
june 30
queens l and premier ’ s
drama award 2010–2011
The Queensland Government,
through Queensland Theatre
Company, is seeking submissions
from artists or groups of artists
for the 2010-2011 Queensland
Premier’s Drama Award. Artists
are invited to submit material
ref lective of Queensland: its
politics, people, culture, history
and experience. Subject matter
which also has ongoing relevance
and wider resonances will be
viewed favourably. The material
may be submitted in a variety of
formats – for example DVD, CD,
written – and may take a variety
of forms – for example political
sketches, play, songs, cabaret
elements, multimedia. It must be
original material.
For more information email
[email protected]
for full details and application
form go to www.qldtheatreco.
com.au
ongoing
the global short story
competition (monthly)
Short stories to 2000 words
open to writers over 17 yrs of age
from anywhere in the world. No
theme.
£5 entry fee
First prize £100, runner up £25
E n t e r o n l i n e a n d p ay v i a
paypal or send postal entries
to: administrator John Dean,18
Milbank Court, Darlington, Co
Durham, England DL3 9PF, or
to the Certys office at Livingstone
House, 29 High Northgate,
Darlington, Co Durham, England
DL1 1UQ, marked Global Short
Story Competition.
For full details go to: www.
globalshortstories.net
FEBRUARY 2010/ 17
Opportunities
first edition book sales $
First Edition Book Sales handpicks
unique, quality independently
published books from all over
Australia and brings them directly
to booklovers through book
groups and the local community.
Opportunity for self published
authors to market their books
through party plan selling. Now
seeking submissions to add to
their ever-growing catalogue.
To submit your book, send one
copy together with the application
form and a pre-paid satchel (or a
padded envelope and stamps) for
return postage to the address on
the form.
Application form and full
details available from www.
firsteditionbooks.com.au
For more information email info@
firsteditionbooks.com.au
harper collins
publishers at bundaberg
writers festival
Editor/writer interviews:
Commissioning Editor s Jo
Butler (Literary Fiction) and
Anna Valdinger (Commercial
Fiction) from Harper Collins
Publishers Australia will be
attending the Bundaberg Writers
Festival, WriteFest, on May 15
and conducting editor/writer
interviews.
Writers are required to submit the
first 50 pages (in industry-standard
format) of their manuscript,
together with a two-page singleline-spaced synopsis and covering
letter addressed to either editor
outlining details of writing
experience and publishing history
(if any).
Submissions must be from a
completed manuscript ready for
submission to a publisher - first
drafts are not acceptable.
18/FEBRUARY 2010
$$$ denotes paying market where applicable
The editors will select those
writers they will interview, and
those writers must be attending
WriteFest.
E a ch s u b m i s s i o n m u st b e
accompanied by an entry fee
of $25. This entry fee is nonrefundable but will be taken off
the entry fee to the WriteFest
workshops ($65) or masterclass
($90), or combined two days
of workshops and masterclass
($140).
Submissions and entry fee can
be posted to the Bundaberg
Writers Club Inc, PO Box 1486,
Bundaberg Qld 4670.
Submissions may also be emailed to
[email protected] provided
the entry fee, or a receipt for a
direct deposit to the Bundaberg
Writers Club Inc is posted. The
club’s bank details are Wide
Bay Australia Ltd, BSB 656400,
Account No. 104337281
Successful applicants will be
notified at least two weeks before
the event. As reading and assessing
the submissions will take the
editors some time, please submit
as early as possible. All submissions
must be received by Monday,
March 22.
Any queries should be made to
[email protected] or PO
Box 1486, Bundaberg Qld 4670.
As Harper Collins Publishers
Australia are no longer accepting
unsolicited manuscripts, this is a
wonderful opportunity for writers
to get their manuscript before a
commissioning editor.
AN EVENING WITH ANDREA
LEVY AND SARAH DUNANT
When:Thursday, March 11, 2010
Time:6pm for 6:30pm start
Venue:The Irish Club 175
Elizabeth St Brisbane
Price$20/$18 ($15 groups of 10)
Bookings:
American Bookstore: 3229 4677
Avid Reader: 3846 3422
Coaldrake’s Barracks: 3367 8526
Coaldrake’s Emporium: 3854
0188
Brisbane Writers Festival in association with Brisbane’s Better Bookshops proudly presents
Conversations with Richard Fidler
(612 ABC Brisbane) with Orange
Prize winning Andrea Levy and
founding patron of the Orange
Prize for women, author Sarah
Dunant.
Sarah Dunant’s Italian Renaissance novels have become international bestsellers and received
wide critical acclaim.
From the author of Small Island
(winner of the Whitbread, Commonwealth Writers and Orange
Prize) comes Andrea Levy’s followup novel; The Love Song. Described
by Levy as the kind of book that
she would have wanted to read
when she was a young woman, The
Love Song entertainingly explores
the experiences of ‘black Britons’.
Looking closely and perceptively
at Britain and its changing population Levy focuses on the intimacies that bind British history with
that of the Caribbean.
Presented by Brisbane Writers Festival
in collaboration with Brisbane’s Better
Bookshops
WordSmith Answers
1C; 2B; 3B; 4A;
5C; 6A; 7C; 8A;
www.fawq.net
Advertising in Scope
Classifieds
FAWQ members: Short ad $5.
Members of other FAWs: $10.
Non-members: Minimum $15 for up to 20 words; 20c each
additional word.
Special yearly
advertising rates are
Display
now available by
1/6 page vert. (5x12.5cm)
$50
negotiation. Purchase
1/4 page vert. (8x12.75cm) $60
an annual ad space
1/3 page horiz. (16x8.5cm) $80
and your ad will appear
1/2 horiz. (16x12.75cm) $100
in 10 issues of Scope
2/3 page horiz. (16x16cm) $110
m
agazine. Please
2/3 page vert. (11x25.5cm) $180
contact the Editor pm_
Full page (16x25.5cm) $200
[email protected]
Ten per cent surcharge for preferred position. Ten per cent surcharge
if finished artwork not supplied. Possibly more for complicated
layouts.
Members: Half price.
Inserts
$50 per issue if material is supplied.
Material not supplied: by arrangement.
Payment by cheque or money order to:
FAWQ
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Upper Mt Gravatt, Qld, 4122
Submissions for Scope
should be emailed (preferably)
or posted by the last day of
the previous month. If using
email, please state SCOPE in
subject line. If mailing, please
include SSAE. Please indicate
if you would like feedback on
your work from the editor,
or notification of whether
or not your work has been
accepted. All submissions will
be acknowledged.
Short Stories: Tricia Eban, 10
Walsh St, Scarborough, 4020 or
email: [email protected]
Poetry: Caroline Glen, 5/34
Monaco St, Surfers Paradise,
4217 or email: dollyglen@
bigpond.com
Articles: Patrice Shaw, 70 Birkin
Rd, Bellbowrie, 4070 or email:
[email protected]
NEXT MEETING
2.00pm
Saturday, February 27
Brisbane City
Central Library
Community Meeting Room,
266 George Street.
Members $2
Non members $5
Includes afternoon tea/
coffee
Free Lucky Door ticket.
www.fawq.net
Annual General Meeting
and Read Your Own
session
Afternoon tea to follow.
All members and friends welcome.
FEBRUARY 2010/ 19
Fellowship of Australian Writers Queensland Inc.
Application for Membership
The Membership Secretary, FAWQ Inc., 56 Callaghan
Way, Maridale Park, Qld 4157. Phone: (07) 3245 6869.
Email: [email protected]
I/We hereby apply to join the Fellowship of Australian
Writers (Qld) Inc. and agree to abide by its Constitution.
Cheque/money enclosed to cover the joining fee, plus
12 months membership. For more information visit our
website www.fawq.net
Title/Name:
______________________________________________
Postal Address:
______________________________________________
Phone Number:
__________________________
Email Address:
_____________________________________________
Area of writing interest:
__________________________
Please indicate what prompted you to join
FAWQ:
Friend’s recommendation
TAFE teacher’s recommendation
Read copy of Scope
Heard of it at a writing group
Application form from QWC
Attended meeting as a guest
Other (please specify):
______________________________
Receipt required; SSAE enclosed
NOTE: If you have joined FAWQ on
the recommendation of an existing
member, please give that member’s
name and address:
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
Signature:
______________________________________________
Subscriptions:
Over 18: New $50. Renewals $45.
Eighteen and under: New $40. Renewals $35. (Evidence of age must accompany applications for junior
membership.)
Family (spouse/partner and their children): New $60. Renewals $55. One copy of Scope (Each member
nominated has full membership rights.)
Group/School: New $75. Renewals $70. (Groups, two copies of Scope. Schools, three. All Group/School
members may enter Scope competitions and submit work for publication as set out under Contributions.)
Life Member: $500.
Overseas Members: Add postage: Air Mail $A37 extra.
If not delivered, return to:
FAWQ Inc., PO Box 6338,
Upper Mt Gravatt 4122
Scope
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