Highlights
Link to the Photo Gallery1993: GETTING STARTED
Jim Vicars, Joe Massingham (then Master of Wright College at the
University of New England) and other New England writers lobbied local
and State support for the establishment of a New England
Writers’
Centre. Jim Vicars chaired an interim committee, and Michael Sharkey
was invited to become Chair of the Board on 30 August. The committee
adopted a constitution, and incorporated the organisation. The New
South Wales Ministry for the Arts encouraged a submission for funding
and approved a grant of $5,000 towards administration and projects for
1994.
From 1993 until 1997, the New England
Writers’ Centre sought a permanent home. Wright College
hosted
committee meetings, and literary events took place there and in many
Armidale and regional venues.
1994: EARLY ACTIVITIES
At the first AGM on 28 January 1994, the elected board consisted mostly
of writers: Michael Sharkey (Chair), Paul Packham (Treasurer), Jim
Vicars (Secretary & Public Affairs), Joe Massingham, Val Chubb,
Kaye Mill and Dan Byrnes. They were later joined by Greg Shortis, Pat
Lightfoot, Sandra Kerr, Joan Robb, Susan McMichael, Rex Kearns and
Arthur Chaffey.
Activities sponsored by NEWC in 1994
In response to a questionnaire circulated in the region, the Centre
sponsored readings and workshops by regional and visiting writers and
performers. The Centre sponsored regional writers Terry Larsen, Sophie
Masson, Pat Lightfoot, Joe Massingham, Andrew McCue, and Sue Fell.
Events were held in Armidale, Tamworth, Moree, Coffs Harbour and
Bellingen.
Visiting writers included Susan
Hampton, Gabrielle Lord, Mark Scrivener, Ursula Dubosarsky and Barbara
Brooks (all at Armidale), John Forbes (at Inverell, Guyra and Armidale)
and American poet Yusuf Komunyaaka (at Tamworth and Armidale).
At the end of 1994, Jim Vicars and Michael Sharkey, with
Neil James (Project Officer with the NSW Ministry for the Arts) met
with the University of New England Vice Chancellor Bruce Thom and
Deputy Vice Chancellor John Sharpham to discuss joint NSW Ministry and
UNE sponsorship of accommodation for the Centre.
1995
In 1995, the Centre sought a salaried, part-time coordinator. Lesley
Sly was appointed, and she commenced in July. Her first act on the
Centre’s behalf was to attend the Regional Writers’
Centre conference
at the NSW Writers’ Centre, at which LitLink (a formal
linking of NSW
Writers’ Centres) was established.
In
January
1995, the Centre sponsored a Festival of Words & Music at
Wright College. During the year, regular events includes poetry
readings at Rumours café in Armidale, and a series of
workshops held by
Sophie Masson, Alana Valentine, and other locals and visitors.
Melbourne writer Mary Lord spoke on her biography of Hal Porter; Malina
Marchetta gave talks on her work, at Inverell and Moree, and New
England writers were featured at readings throughout the region as well
as in Brisbane. Visitors to New England included The Poets on Wheels
group, and Melbourne poets Geoff prince and Phil Ilton.
1996
The NSW Ministry and the University of New England collaborated to
provide accommodation for the Centre. The University donated the
caretaker’s lodge, a two-bedroom dwelling adjacent to the old
Teachers
College in Kentucky Street, Armidale. Renovation work commenced at the
end of the year.
Meanwhile, the program of
activities grew to include year-round readings, talks, workshops,
master-classes and literary festivities. Historian Graham Wilson,
playwright Terry Larsen, and the Centre’s coordinator Lesley
Sly ran
courses for children at Camp Creative. Visiting writers included many
from interstate, such as South Australian poet Geoff Goodfellow,
Western Australian poets Tracey Ryan and John Kinsella, and Canberra
writers Geoff Page and Anne Edgeworth. Chris Mansell read and ran
courses for high school students, Koori writer Kathleen Schilling ran a
workshop on researching Aboriginal family history (at the Aboriginal
Cultural centre); Amanda Midlam ran a writing workshop at Armidale;
Rosemary Mort, Tony Gillies (Northern Daily Leader) and Lesley Sly ran
a workshop on journalism and marketing of work, and Gwen Kelly, Tony
Scanlon, Sue Woolfe and Dorothy Porter read and discussed their work.
1997
At the 31 January AGM, 1997, it was decided that the title of
Coordinator be changed to Director in line with other
Centres’
practice. The Centre’s new premises were opened on 10 May
1997 by Kate
Grenville, with State MP Ray Chappell representing the NSW Ministry for
the Arts.
In April, Michael Sharkey, Felicity
Plunkett, Yve Louis, Tony Bennett gave talks on writing and publishing
to readers and writers at Moree, Narrabri, Inverell, Glen Innes, and
Tamworth. Regular reading groups were maintained throughout the year by
Yves Louis, Val Chubb, Jane O’Sullivan and others. Local
writers Jim
Vicars, Kaye Mill and Joe Massingham gave talks and readings at
Tamworth. Joe Massingham, John Bishop and Pip Powell visited Gunnedah
and Quirindi. Chris Kelen and Judith Eburn were writers –m
residence at
Kentucky Street in 1997.
Patti Miller and Les Murray gave
readings and talks in Armidale, and writers who followed included John
Bishop, Kate Grenville, MTC Cronin, Lauren Williams, Tug Dumbly, John
Marsden, Sophie Masson, and Beverley Harper. During the October Writing
Festival, John Marsden, Sophie Masson, Leonie Rutherford, and Wendy
Smith debated children’s literature and gave public talks,
readings,
and workshops.
1998
Regular reading groups and workshops were maintained throughout 1998: a
series of ‘drop-in workshops’ coordinated by Yves
Louis; readings and
discussions on the essay form (Val Chubb); ‘Reading, writing
and
gender’ readings; a workshop on the styles of workshops for
different
age groups (Joe Massingham); a workshop on ‘how to get
published’ by
Lesley Sly. Other events included the following:
• Maurice Briffa (‘Turning family history into
fiction’ and ‘Romance’;
• Gabrielle Lord and Roger Johnson: public talks, a literary
lunch, and
a workshop on researching, writing, and reading crime fiction;
• a regional writers’ tour and meetings with
regional writers in Moree,
Narrabri and Tamworth;
• workshops by
writer-in-residence
David Reiter (Qld poet & editor);
• a
youth project
coordinated by Tim Rushton;
• Mary Hutchinson,
discussing
family stories and writing (‘Out of the Ordinary’)
at Gunnedah;
• an evening dedicated to ‘The funny
side’, on humour in (their own and
others’) writing;
• Judith Ridge
(President of NSW Children’s
Book Council) on writing for children
• a public
talk by
Mungo MacCallum and Bob Ellis (‘The Long Lunch’) at
Tattersalls Hotel,
Armidale;
• a reading and workshop by novelist
Carmel Bird;
• the launch of the LitLink CD at NEWC. Five New England
writers are
represented on the CD (of work from NSW Writers’ Centres).
1999
The Centre’s main projects were a Writing Festival in May and
another
in October, and an ambitious project to take writers into schools and
libraries in the New England region. Eleven writers carried out 77
events in seventeen schools, bookshops and libraries in Armidale,
Tamworth, Moree, Glen Innes, Wollomombi and at the Centre. Writers
involved in Young Writers Week activities included Jill Morris, Richard
Harland, Sophie Masson, John Heffernan, Judith Eburn, Sue Ingleton,
Cathie Craigie, Joe Massingham, Julie Fuad and book illustrator Julie
Vivas.
We continued to offer regular events at
the Centre: discussions on the essay form (Yve Louis);
‘Reading Women’
(Lesley Sly); prose reading and writing (Judith Eburn); poetry (Yve
Louis); the Nineveh Club (a social gathering dedicated to lovers of
books and writing (Val Chubb). There was also a full program of other
activities:
• Dan Byrnes’
discussion sessions
on the topic of yarning;
• Meet the Editors
(Rosemary Mort,
Winifred Belmont, Jim Vicars, Yve Louis);
• An
evening with
novelist Matt Condon, and a workshop on ‘A Writing
Life’;
•
Tim Rushton’s youth writing and performance group with
twenty-five high
school students;
• an advanced poetry workshop
(Michael
Sharkey);
• An evening with Anita Heiss;
• a
literary breakfast on the theme ‘The Author is
Dead’ (hosted by Gwen
Kelly, Liz Horne, Felicity Plunkett, Joe Massingham & Joe
Massingham);
• a on self-publishing (Anita Heiss);
• Julie Fuad reading and discussing her book One of My
Daughters;
• Julie Vivas discussing children’s book
illustrating;
•
Cathie Craigie’s workshop on Koori writing (at the Aboriginal
Cultural
Centre);
• a panel on writing for children (Jill
Morris, John
Heffernan and Judith Eburn);
• Richard Harland
reading,
discussing and workshopping science fiction writing;
• a
reading and launch (by State MP Richard Torbay) of the New England
Writers’ anthology Skylines at Caffiends café (and
subsequent readings
at Tamworth;
• Breakfast with Sue Woolfe, and a
workshop on
‘Writing Dangerously’, followed by book signing at
Dymocks;
•
Alan Valentine on ‘Writing for Radio’;
• Barbara Brooks
talking on and workshopping ‘Creative nonfiction’;
• A
literary lunch and discussion with Armidale historian John Ferry.
2000
In addition to ongoing readings, discussion and reading groups and
workshops (including a ‘drop-in’ weekly workshop
session, and a popular
fiction writing session held by Wendy James), the following major
events were sponsored in 2000.
• ‘Writing
for Media’
discussion and workshop (Lesley Sly);
•
‘Writing for the
Internet’ (Dan Byrnes);
• a workshop on
‘Drama for Radio’
(Barbara Albury;
• Readings by NEWC members at
‘Art in the
Garden’ at Newling campus;
•
‘Writing for Radio’ (Alana
Valentine);
• Wendy McCarthy author talk at the New
England
Regional Art Museum (NERAM);
• Robyn Davidson
reading ‘Desert
Tracks’, as part of a literary dinner at NERAM; following
this, (at
NEWC) a workshop on writing of memoirs;
• Steven
Herrick’s
poetry readings, performances and discussions at NEWC and in regional
schools;
• a literary breakfast with Jennifer Maiden
and
Julian Croft, and reading by Jennifer Maiden at NEWC;
• a
‘Novel weekend’ with author Charlotte Wood;
• Readings and a
short story masterclass with Rosie Scott on fiction;
• A
literary debate ‘Fact into Fiction’ with Rosie
Scott, Christopher Koch
& Michael Sharkey at the UNE Union’s annual Literary
Awards
(the debate co-sponsored by NEWC and the UNE Union);
• a
literary breakfast with novelist Christopher Koch at Caffiends
Café;
• a dramatised reading of the script of The Green Prince at
NERAM. The
Writers’ Centre, in conjunction with the Armadillos theatre
company,
successfully applied for a grant from the Armidale Dumaresq City of the
Arts fund toward a production of the play based on a story by Sophie
Masson;
• ‘Shaping Experience’
– readings and discussions
by authors Gillian Hanscombe and Suniti Namjoshi.
2001
During 2001, Janice Burn was employed as Office Manager for 3 hours per
week, to assist with refining and developing systems to cope with the
new GST and Business Activity Statement requirements, and to assist
with grant acquittals.
Regular events held at the Centre in
2001 included ‘Read Your Work’ meetings
(coordinated by Janice Burn);
‘Exercises in wiring’ and ‘Creative
writing’ classes by Wendy James.
The major projects for 2001 were the Spring Writers’ Festival
and the
production of The Green Prince.
Highlights of 2001 included
these events:
• poet Jennifer Maiden talking on
‘Issues in
Poetry’ with Julian Croft and providing a one-day workshop at
Armidale;
• The ‘Isolated Writers Tour’ undertaken
by poet and novelist John Muk
Muk Burke, with Kaye Mill and Lesley Sly at Inverell, Boggabri, Moree,
Narrabri and Gunnedah;
• Gretel
Killeen’s forum and
workshop on children’s writing and writing for children;
•
Kerry Greenwood’s talks on crime writing
•
Robert Drewe
speaking at the UNE Union Literary Awards an event cosponsored by the
UNE Union and the Writers’ Centre. Robert Drewe also gave a
talk at
NERAM.
• Editor Carl Harrison-Ford’s
workshop on editing
prose at NEWC
• Eighteen performances of The Green
Prince at
the Arts Theatre at UNE.
• The launch of Marilla
North’s book
Yarn Spinners;
• Sylvia Martin’s reading
from her book
Passionate Friends.
2002
On 4 March 2002, the University of New England transferred ownership of
the Kentucky Street premises housing the NEWC to the Armidale-Dumaresq
Council. Literary critic and scholar Stephen Harris was a part-time
writer-in-residence at the Centre.
Highlights of the year included the following:
• ‘Women writing women’ at NERAM: Wendy
James, Kristal Yee, Shari
Kocher, Jill Adamson, and a reading from Bette Guy’s play,
The Other
Side of the Lake;
• Jan Cornall’s 3-day
intensive workshop
on ‘A Life Worth Writing – A Life worth
Telling’;
• Bette
Guy’s intensive script writing workshop;
•
Marele Day’s
reading and discussion of her novel, A Reading of Mrs Cook at Dymocks,
and a writing workshop at NEWC;
• Rosie
Scott’s one-day
intensive workshop;
• Karla Meyer’s
journal workshop at NEWC.
2003 2003 Spring Writers' Festival
The Centre announced early in 2003 that major undertakings for the year
would be the publication of a journal of members’ work, and
the Spring
Writers’ Festival. The anthology is edited by Wendy James,
and the
publication will be distributed free throughout the region.
Early in the year, Stephen Harris held a workshop on ‘New
roads to
research’, Karla Meyer held another day-long session on
journals and
journal writing, and Michael Sharkey collaborated with the UNE Literary
Society to present a seminar on preparing work for publication. Wendy
James continued to hold popular writing classes in response to growing
demand.
The Centre collaborated with organisers
of the Uralla Book Festival on several September events. Fantasy writer
Ian Irvine and poets Julian Croft and David Evans were featured at
Uralla and Armidale readings and talks. Dorothy Porter discussed the
book and the movie of The Monkey’s Mask at Armidale, and was
guest at a
literary breakfast and a literary dinner at Uralla.
2006
2007
Workshops:
- Getting Started (Wendy James)
- Making Stories (Wendy James)
- Writing Gym (Wendy James)
- Polishing for publication (Wendy James)
- Writing for profit (Lesley Sly)
- The art of reviewing (Michael Sharkey)
In addition to ongoing readings, discussion and reading groups, the following major events were sponsored in 2007:
- Miles Merrill - Performance poet, Miles Merrill, toured schools and libraries in the New England region and hosted regional heats for the NSW State Library's SLAM07 Poetry Competition. He also held workshops for the Armidale Dumaresq Council's Together Together project.
- Youth Online - Following on from our pilot program in 2006, the second part of our Youth Online project was expanded this year to include more schools, including some in isolated locations.
- Susan Mitchell - author,
broadcaster, biographer
- Lunch with Susan Mitchell
- Writing a life - workshop.
- History Week
- Celebrating History & Identity in New England,
events for History Week, in conjunction with the History Council of
NSW.
Presented by NEWC, Australian History at UNE, and the Aboriginal Cultural Centre & Keeping Place, and featuring Henry Reynolds, Roger McDonald, David Roberts and Julian Croft.- Drawing the Global Colour Line :A public seminar with Henry Reynolds, discussing the findings in the new book he has co-written with Marilyn Lake.
- Aboriginal Massacres across the New England Region: A discussion between Henry Reynolds and Aboriginal elders.
- The importance of national identity to Australian writing: A panel discussion. This event was opened by Mr Richard Torbay, MLA.
- Making Fiction Work in History: A workshop (Roger McDonald)
- Manuscript consultations with Peter Bishop, director of Varuna - The Writers' House.
- interview/research/writing skills,
- how to analyse publications/readership,
- write in style suitable for general and specialist publications,
- pitch stories,
- syndicate your work, and
- run a profitable freelance writing business.
- developing a strong premise for a romance novel
- creating complex, empathetic characters
- crafting emotional journeys and character arcs
- using text and texture effectively
- pacing, structure, and plot development
- finding good resources for romance writers.
- five (5) places in the prose workshop,
- four (4) places in the poetry workshop, and
- three (3) places in the drama workshop.
2008
APRIL
POETRY
WORKSHOP & SLAM POETRY COMPETITION
- with David Hallett. Workshop:
Saturday, April 5, 2-3pm, in the Funk Lush room at the back of the Top
Pub in Uralla, to be followed by a reading in the Beer Garden. Cost of
workshop $10.
Poetry Slam Contest: April 6,
10am, Top Pub, Uralla.
For information and bookings email Maxine or
ring 6778 5038.
GETTING
STARTED
- one-day creative writing workshop with Wendy James.
DATE: April 19 (Saturday), 10am to 4pm.
FREELANCE
WORKSHOP - WRITING FOR PROFIT
with Lesley Sly.
Lesley has worked as an
editor
(newspapers/magazines), reporter for print and radio, senior sub editor
for the Sydney Morning Herald, Financial
Review, columnist for Rolling
Stone, travel writer for BBC Radio and
various UK newspapers. As a
freelance her work has appeared in The Bulletin, Good
Weekend, HQ,
Limelight, and many other national and overseas magazines.
She also
wrote a 400-page book, The Power & The Passion, a
guide to the Australian music industry, based on 150
interviews.
DATE: May 10 (Saturday). 10am to 4pm.
DATE: May 24 (Saturday) 10am to 4pm.
MANUSCRIPT
ASSESSMENT CONSULTATIONS
- with Peter Bishop, director of Varuna, The
Writers House. For members only. You can become a member and
book a place. DATE: Armidale, July 18 and 19;
Tamworth, July 17.
LOVING
WRITING
- An Introduction to Writing Romantic Fiction - with Bronwyn Parry.
Participants will find the
exercises most
beneficial if they have at least some ideas about a novel they'd like
to write.
Bronwyn Parry's first novel, As Darkness Falls,
will be published in September 2008 by Hachette Australia, with a
second book contracted for publication in 2009. Combining the emotion
of a romance with the intensity of a suspense plot, As
Darkness Falls follows two detectives searching for an
abducted child in a traumatised town on the edge of the outback. Prior
to signing with Hachette, Bronwyn's unpublished manuscripts won a
number of awards and contests, including a prestigious Golden Heart
Award from the Romance Writers of America, and the Valerie Parv Award
and Single (Title) and Loving It contest from the Romance Writers of
Australia. Bronwyn's interests in the romance genre go beyond writing
it; she is also doing a PhD project exploring romance readers' and
writers' internet communities and their perspectives on the genre.
DATE: August 16 (Saturday) 10am to 4pm.
'BRICK
LANE'
– NEWC hosts Film Fundraiser
Brick Lane has won numerous awards and NEWC is
looking forward to presenting it as our annual fundraiser on Thursday,
21 August at 7.00pm at the Belgrave Cinema.
Based on Monica Alis’ prize winning novel,
Brick
Lane is the story of a beautiful young Bangladeshi woman,
Nazneen, whose life is turned upside down. She arrives in 1980s London,
leaving behind her beloved sister and home, for an arranged marriage
and a new life. Trapped within the four walls of her flat in East
London, and in a loveless marriage with the middle aged Chanu, she
fears her soul is quietly dying. Her sister Hasina,
meanwhile,
continues to live a carefree life back in Bangladesh, stumbling from
one adventure to the next. Nazneen struggles to do her duty to her
husband, he tests her
compliance. She struggles to accept her own lifestyle, and keeps her
head down in spite of life's blows, but she soon discovers that life
cannot be avoided - and is forced to confront it the day that the
hotheaded young Karim comes knocking at her door.
DATE: August 21 (Thursday) 7.00 pm
Don’t miss out on a great
evening’s entertainment
and a chance to support New England Writer’s Centre. For more
information about the film or to book tickets, please phone 6772 7210
or email NEWC.
CREATIVE
JOURNAL WORKSHOP-
with Karla Meyer
DATE: August 23 (Saturday) 9.30am to 4.00pm.
Bring an exercise book or your journal, if you have
one. There will be 15-minute morning and afternoon tea breaks, and a
30-minute lunch break (BYO lunch). Hot drinks and biscuits are
provided. KARLA MEYER was born in Germany, migrated to Australia in 1980
at age 28. Spent two years travelling with camels and wagon in north
-west NSW; had two children, studied philosophy, linguistics and
psychology, achieved BA in 2002, and learnt a number of specific
psychological techniques through additional courses. Currently she is
employed as an aged carer for people with dementia, and as a computer
trainer for CRS.
PUNCTUATING
POETRY
- a workshop for readers and writers of poetry, with Michael
Sharkey.
Bring along copies
of three or four brief examples of your own poetry or that of writers
who interest you, to discuss with other people.
Michael Sharkey is the author of many collections of poetry, most
recent of which is The Sweeping Plain (Five Islands
Press, 2007). His work is featured in several of the Best
Australian Poetry anthologies published by Black Inc
(Melbourne) and University of Queensland Press, and his essays and
articles on poetry are included in Blue Dog: Australian Poetry,
Five Bells, and other magazines.
DATE: October 4 (Saturday) 2 to 4.30 pm.
HOOKS
& ANCHORS
- how
to keep readers turning pages, with Marele
Day. DATE: October 11 (Saturday) 10am to
4pm.
POLISHING
FOR PUBLICATION
- a one-day workshop with Wendy James. DATE: October 18 (Saturday) 10am to 4pm.
HEADS
FOR TALES
- how
to write for young readers. DATE: November 1 (Saturday) 10am to 4pm.
Since he began
writing in 1997, John has published 20 books on a range of subjects and
genre, for a variety of ages. His main age group is 10-14 years, but he
writes for older and younger readers, producing both Young Adult novels
and picture books.
One series that has been very popular is the
award-winning SPUD novels. There are three books (SPUD, CHIPS and PUP)
that deal with life on the land in Australia seen
through the eyes of the work dogs. The books are fiercely realistic and
pull no punches, showing a way of life that can be hard and cruel at
times, but also beautiful. A more recent novel – A HORSE CALLED ELVIS
– is also
in this
vein, but goes further. This is a book written on several levels. It
can be enjoyed by readers in the 10-14 year range, but John has
intentionally given the novel more layers so that older readers can
gain something from it.
John has also written on war and refugees.
MY DOG is a picture book for all ages about the war in Bosnia. The
sequel to this book (MORE THAN GOLD) deals with a young Bosnian refugee
who settles in Australia with his mother. This novel has been popular
with a wide range of readers. Although exploring several serious
issues, it is essentially a story of friendship between two very
different boys.
John has made forays into the science
fiction/fantasy genre as well. He has two books out in the
Mythos Trilogy, which focus on a post-apocalyptic Sydney in the 23rd
Century. Wild, tattooed tribes called the Oztrakii battle with the
rulers of the Sydney basin called the CroNullas. The two titles
published so far are CBD and GBH. A third book is being written at
present, called FAQ, and even though this is a trilogy, John thinks it
may extend to five books.
He has received several national and
international awards. SPUD and PUP were both classified as
Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia.
RACHAEL’S
FOREST was short listed for the Wilderness Society’s
Environmental
Award for Literature. MY DOG was awarded Book of the Year and Honour
book by the CBCA, as well as being short-listed for the NSW
Premier’s
Literary Award. MY DOG has been being translated into French and
Japanese. John’s next picture book, TWO SUMMERS was
short-listed for
the CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2004, and won the Crichton award
for Freya Blackwood’s wonderful illustrations.
"I never have enough time to write, even
though I’m doing it full-time now. I don’t think
I’ll ever get all
those tales out that are floating around inside my head. It’s
great fun
trying, though. Story writing is one of the most wonderful and
fulfilling of crafts", he says.
For further information go to: John Heffernan - Australian
Author of Children's Books
LONGLINES
& LITLINK: Creating real pathways for writers
Writers from regional
NSW applying for the LongLines program will also be
applying for the LitLink Varuna Residencies
– ten
(10) one-week residencies at Varuna during the weeks July 28-August 3
and September 8-14.
For each state and territory, one (1) two-week
LongLines Varuna residency is awarded. There are:
In addition, there are
fifteen (15)
non-residential
readings & consultations –your chance for a
considered reading of your whole work plus an hour long conversation
with one of Varuna’s experienced team of writing consultants.
Thirty-five (35) valuable places in all. But...
read on!
From 2008, the LongLines Poetry
Workshop will be presented in partnership with the Australian Poetry
Centre, with additional funding from the Myer Foundation, and the four
poets selected will be the four poets to be published in the annual New
Poets program –the program that has grown from the annual
Five Islands
Press New Poets Program. Yes, you read that right –being
selected for
the LongLines Poetry Workshop means a publication!
For prose writers
there’s the
new annual Penguin/Varuna Scholarship. Each year, Varuna’s Creative
Director,
Peter Bishop,
selects up to fifteen (15) vibrant and viable manuscripts to present to
Penguin – that’s fifteen LongLines
manuscripts
being
read and considered by one of Australia’s most distinguished
publishing
houses. In 2007, ten (10) of the eighteen (18) manuscripts submitted
were from LitLink
writers. The Penguin/Varuna Scholarship winner will
be announced in early April. A LongLines
application can make a lot of things happen!
For more information go to Varuna.
Phone 02 4782 5674. All applications must be on an
application form, accompanied by a $25 application fee and be
postmarked no later than April 30.
Slam Poetry
contest, judged by David. NEWC is co-sponsoring the workshop with
Poetzinc, and we’re putting up $100 prize money for the open
poetry
slam. Sponsored by Arts NSW. 
Knowing where to begin is often the hardest part of writing,
but at the end of this class you’ll have characters, a plot,
and plenty
of inspiration. You’ll be ready to start making stories.
Award-winning
novelist, Wendy, is now working on her third novel. If you’re
having
trouble starting your first (novel, short story or any creative
writing) this is the place to get going.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $65 non-members
MAY
Learn how to turn your interests/knowledge into profitable
writing for newspapers and general and specialist magazines. Learn:
VENUE: NEWC.
COST: $50 members / $65 non-members.
WRITING
GYM
– a one-day workshop with Wendy James for
writers
at all stages.
Exercises to limber up the imagination. Bring
plenty of paper – and a towel!
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $65 non-members.
JULY
COST: (one-hour assessment) $30.
AUGUST
Contrary to the myths, writing romance isn't easy. There's no
formula, and no easy path to success in what is now a large, diverse,
and highly competitive industry. This one-day workshop will provide an
overview of the genre, its markets and readership, and will explore,
through practical exercises, examples, and discussion, some of the key
skills for aspiring writers in the genre:
VENUE: NEWC.
COST: $50 members / $65 non-members.
VENUE: Belgrave Cinema
COST: $12 (available from NEWC)
This is a writers' workshop with a difference. Karla
explains: "usually, the main purpose of writing is the
product – here, it is the process which is at the centre of
our
attention. You can certainly use the techniques specifically to further
your writing career, but the applications are potentially much broader
than that: you can employ them for problem solving, to get in touch
with your intuition, to strengthen your creativity, to get a healthier
perspective on old issues, and in general, to get a more positive
outlook on life. They can also help to uncover layers of your
subconscious mind. I have chosen 6 processes that were particularly
helpful to participants of previous workshops. In nearly 40 years of
journalling, I have learnt, adapted and developed the techniques I'm
going to share with you. Self-help books, my studies of linguistics and
psychology and my NLP training have provided many ideas and
inspirations. Journalling is a great tool, and anyone can do it
– you
don't need any literary talents for it."
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $45 members / $55 non-members.
OCTOBER
This workshop will focus on how poetry employs the resources
of conventional punctuation and concepts of the poetic
‘line’. Many
examples will be provided of wide variation in the ways poets control
and add meaning to what they have to say.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $17.50 members / $25 non-members
Top crime writer, Marele has also written other sorts of novels. The
techniques she'll
teach in this workshop are relevant to all sorts of fiction. [More
details later.]
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $65 members / $75 non-members. 
Ready
to polish the final draft, or start the final draft, or just want to
know what’s involved in polishing your work for publication?
Not just
major publication, such as a novel, but for smaller works too.
It’s
becoming more and more crucial that writers can polish their work, as
publishers offer less and less in the way of editing.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $65 non-members.
NOVEMBER
A one-day workshop with award-winning author of many books for children
and young adults, John Heffernan. The workshop will deal with various
aspects of writing for young readers, particularly in relation to
John's own works, with hands-on exercises.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $65 non-members. Must be booked and paid
in advance.
In these books John deals with
issues such
as dysfunctional families, alcoholism, cruelty to animals, as well as
environmental matters. His books leave readers in no doubt about the
importance of trust, friendship and love especially between human and
animals.
Writers of prose, poetry and drama living away from the
metropolitan centres of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are invited to
send in applications for the Macquarie Group Foundation LongLines
Varuna Workshops & Residencies.
Penguin
has generously provided a $5000 scholarship, plus 20 hours editorial
guidance from Penguin, exclusively for a LongLines
writer.