DeScribe

Thinking of joining the Victorian Writers' Centre and wondering what you'll get for your $45 a year? As well as mailing you a monthly printed magazine, they'll email you a weekly eNewsletter of Victorian writing events/ workshops/ competitions/ job opportunities. It's a pretty good deal. I'll post an occasional sample, and if you have the urge to join, go to:

http://www.writers-centre.org/

Victorian Writers’ Centre E-bulletin: 20 October 2008

Welcome to our weekly e-bulletin containing information on what’s coming up at the VWC and further afield – including listings additional to those published in Victorian Writer.

VWC Program
Scroll down to see the next two weeks’ program or see our website for full program details.

Members are encouraged to book early for our upcoming events to avoid disappointment. Bookings are essential for all events.

Bookings: 9654 9068 or info@vwc.org.au.



Next two weeks at VWC
Tuesday 21 October: Getting into Technical Writing, a seminar with James Turnbull. Learn how to conceive, develop and sell technical books. Bring along your ideas, pitches, tables of contents or other writing samples for discussion and comment. James Turnbull has worked in the IT industry for 15 years and is the author of three technical books in the IT field. 6.30–8pm. $20, Members $15/$12. Rating: A. Places are still available. Book now!



Thursday 23 October: Crime Time, a panel with Robin Bowles, Lindy Cameron and Rochelle Jackson. Meet three women who aren’t afraid of a good crime. Robin’s bestselling books include Blind Justice, Justice Denied (about the Jaidyn Leskie murder) and Dead Centre. Her second novel, The Mystery of the Missing Masterpiece, was launched in May. Lindy is the author of five crime, mystery and adventure novels, and is co-author and editor of true-crime books, and a national co-convenor of Sisters in Crime Australia. Rochelle has 18 years’ experience as an investigative journalist and her first book was shortlisted in both the Ned Kelly and Davitt Awards in 2006. Her second book, Inside their Minds – Australian Criminals, came out in August. 6.30–8pm. $20, Members $15/$12 Rating: A. Places are still available. Book now!



Saturday & Sunday 25–26 October: So You Wanna Write a Romance Novel?, a two-day workshop on romance writing with Ally Blake and Anne Gracie (two bestselling romance writers for the price of one!). On day one, join Mills and Boon romance author Ally Blake on an interactive journey guiding you all the way from Chapter One to The End of your romance novel. On day two, work with prize-winning author Anne Gracie to hone your writing to a publishable standard. This workshop concentrates on writing skills, so come prepared to write. Appropriate for beginners all the way to those ready to take the plunge and submit. For more info on these two bestselling romance writers, see www.allyblake.com and www.annegracie.com. 10am – 4pm. $250, Members $190/$170 Rating: 1+2. Places are still available. Book now!



Tuesday 28 October: Getting into Freelance Writing, a seminar with Alison Aprhys. Explore the opportunities available to writers and get advice on how to market yourself as a freelance writer. Alison Aprhys is an experienced journalist and photographer whose articles and images have appeared in many newspapers and magazines including The Australian, The Age, Cosmos, Surfing and Eureka Street. Alison is an enthusiastic presenter and has lectured at many university and TAFE writing, publishing and editing courses. In 1997, Alison wrote Careers in Publishing & Bookselling: How to Get the Job You Want. 6.30–8pm. $20, Members $15/$12 Rating: A. Places are still available. Book now!





Unless otherwise specified, all our workshops and seminars are held at the VWC Space, Level 1, Nicholas Building, 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne. To book, please call 9654 9068 or email info@vwc.org.au. See the VWC website for our full program.





Other News, Events & Opportunities
Scroll down for further listings on job opportunities, seminars, launches, writing escapes and special offers.



News
Aravind Adiga was announced as winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize on 14 October for his novel The White Tiger. Adiga becomes the fourth debut novelist to win the award in the 40 year history of the prize. Michael Portillo, chair of the 2008 judges, commented: “The book gains from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour.” More (inc a video interview and Q&A with Adiga): www.themanbookerprize.com.



Max Harris Poetry Award winners: Shane McCauley’s poem “The Drunken Elk” has won the $3000 Max Harris Poetry Award. The judges were poets Mike Ladd and Kate Llewellyn. More (inc judges’ report, full results and the awarded poems): www.poetryandpoeticscentre.com.



Vote for the 2008 Inky Awards or submit a creative response. Closing: 27 October. Run by the State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature, the Inky Awards are Australia’s only teenage choice book awards. Those under 20 years of age can vote for the winning book from a shortlist, or submit a creative response to books on the longlist in the Creative Reading Prize. More: www.insideadog.com.au/inkys.



Boys, Blokes, Books & Bytes. A new State Library of Victoria program brings together schools, families and libraries to foster a reading culture for teenage boys. The library is sending a toolkit to every school and public library in Victoria after a successful pilot run in Melton and Drouin. The toolkit is available for download: www.slv.vic.gov.au/about/partners/colla ... olkit.html.





Events this week
For more events, including regular writing groups and readings, see p.21 of the current Victorian Writer.



Monday 20 October: The Book Show – Morris Lurie’s To Light Attained. 10 am (repeated midnight). ABC Radio National.



Tuesday 21 October: The Book Show – Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black. 10 am (repeated midnight). ABC Radio National.



Tuesday 21 October: Senka Bozic-Vrbancic (Tarara: The cultural politics of Croat and Maori identity in New Zealand) book launch at Readings. 6.30pm, Readings Carlton. Free, no need to book.



Wednesday 22 October: Deakin Literary Society. 7.30–10pm at Kitchener House, Ryrie St, Geelong. Bring your writing to read. Brian Edwards mattoid-grange-dls@bigpond.com.



Wednesday 22 October: The Book Show – Lewis Lapham on ways of learning. 10am (repeated midnight). ABC Radio National.



Wednesday 22 October: Michael Bachelard (Behind the Exclusive Brethren) in conversation with Julian Burnside at Readings. 6.30pm, Readings Hawthorn. Free, but please book on 9819 1917.



Wednesday 22 October: John Barron (Vote for Me: The Long Road to the Whitehouse) in conversation with Tony Wilson at Readings. 6.30pm, Readings Carlton. Free, but please book on 9347 6633.



Thursday 23 October. Words@Deakin presents Catherine Deveny at Deakin University – Waurn Ponds campus. Free. 3–4pm, ka3.406. More: amil@deakin.edu.au.



Thursday 23 October: The Book Show – Hunter S Thompson in words and on film. 10am (repeated midnight). ABC Radio National.



Thursday 23 October: Lingua Franca – in her just-published Words of the Year, Susie Dent describes how “the world’s financial markets have been one of the biggest generators of vocabulary”. 3.45pm. ABC Radio National. More: www.abc.net.au/rn/linguafranca/stories/2008/2392738.htm.



Thursday 23 October: Readings event – an evening with Bruce Petty. 6.30pm, Cinema Nova, Carlton. Free, but please book on 9347 6633.



Friday 24 October: Sisters in Crime event – Lawyer Dr Kathy Laster talks to State Coroner Jenny Coate; forensic pathologist Dr Shelley Robertson; and Births, Deaths and Marriages Registrar Helen Trihas about what they do, how they do it and how they cope. Followed by brief Sisters in Crime AGM. Bell’s Hotel, 157 Moray St, South Melbourne. $10/$5. 8pm. More: Carmel Shute on 0412 569 356 or home.vicnet.net.au/~sincoz/newsflash.htm.



Friday 24 October: The Book Show – “Financial doom and gloom and Frankfurt Book Fair antics.” 10am (repeated midnight). ABC Radio National.



Friday 24 October: Sue Cole (Thomas Tallis and his Music in Victorian England) book launch at Readings. 6.30pm, Readings Carlton. Free, no need to book.



Friday 24 October: Rita Maulucci and David Bottomley (Stop Surviving Live Your Life) book launch at Readings. 6.30pm, Readings Hawthorn. Free, no need to book.



Saturday 25 October: Poetica – Slammin’ and Jammin’. ABC Radio National. 3.05pm.



Sunday 26 October. Sundays at Dromkeen. Illustrators Craig Smith and Marc McBride. 12–4pm. 1012 Kilmore Road, Riddells Creek. www.scholastic.com.au/dromkeen.



Sunday 26 October: Anne Summers (On Luck) in conversation with Heather Ewart at Readings. 4.30pm, Readings Hawthorn. Free, but please book on 9819 1917.





Opportunities and competitions
For more opportunities and competitions, see pp.18–19 of the current Victorian Writer.



Poetica Christi Press is seeking submissions of poetry with a Melbourne reference from poets who are Koori for their forthcoming coffee-table book, Melbourne Reflections. If anyone has any connections please email them to poeticachristi@netspace.net.au.



Courses at OpenChannel on script writing in November. Complete Continuity (8–9 November) covers the tasks expected of continuity in pre-production and production, with practical exercises in estimating screen time, marking-up scripts, and creating “options-in” for the editor. Screen Writing Introduction is a seven-week course starting 6 November: develop a story into a compelling narrative with strong characters, write believable dialogue, draft to industry standard and learn to receive constructive feedback in script editing sessions. More: www.openchannel.org.au/training/shortcourses.html.



Submissions sought for Difference – source for growth exhibition to be held at Gasworks, 21 Graham St, Albert Park in the first three weeks of December 2008. Closing: 31 October. DISTSS invites established and emerging artists of all mediums to explore the theme Difference – source for growth. They are looking for paintings, photographs and hangable writings (eg short poem, haiku, very short prose, etc) on the theme of learning from difference. More: www.distss.org.au.



PlayWriting Australia is researching the possible publication of a new journal reproducing reviews of theatre productions around the country. They want your answers to a survey to help plan the best possible publication. Survey is online until Friday 31 October. More: www.pwa.org.au .



Society of Editors dinner meeting on illustrated non-fiction for children. When: 12 November (book by 10 Nov). Presents author/illustrator John Nicholson and his editor Sarah Brenan on the process of creating illustrated non-fiction for children. 6.30pm for 7pm, Lanai Bar – Duke of Edinburgh Room, 113 Queen St (cnr Little Collins St), Melbourne. Bookings essential by 5pm, 10 November (email preferred, state if vegetarian): Christina Ratcliff quillpower@bigpond.com or phone 0400 655 884. $25 members/$20 students/$30 non-members. Cancellations after 7pm on the day of the meeting will be contacted to pay.



Barbara Jefferis Award open now. Closing: 28 November. Offered annually for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”, the award is valued at $35,000 in 2009. Judges are academic Bernadette Brennan, author Nadia Wheatley and literary editor Susan Wyndham. Novels published in December 2008 accepted for consideration if five copies of the novel are received by Friday 9 January 2009. More: www.asauthors.org.



FAW 2008 National Literary Awards. Closing: 30 November. Awards of $1000 each for books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry (first collection), published after 30/11/07; the Barbara Ramsden Award ($500) for a fiction or non-fiction work to recognise the role of both author and editor; the Jim Hamilton Award ($1000) for an unpublished manuscript; and awards in many other categories for anthologies, short stories and poetry including awards for young writers. More: www.writers.asn.au.



Parentingexpress,com Short Story Competition. Closing: 24 December. Open to residents of Australia and NZ. Parents are invited to submit a 900 word story for publication in My Child magazine, and online at parentingexpress.com. Entries must be unpublished creative non-fiction (please note, no poetry), with a theme relating to pregnancy, birth or the first five years of raising a child, and aim to move the reader emotionally, whether to laughter or to tears. As well as having their story published, the winner will receive a selection of prizes valued at $634. More: parentingexpress.com.



Adelaide Plains Poets Inc Poetry Competition. Closing: 15 January 2009. This year’s theme is Tracks and Trails. Car racing, horse racing, bush tracks, train tracks, snail trails – let your imagination go wild. There is a prize pool of over $500 and classes for adults, secondary school and primary school students. More: holkschter@bigpond.com or send SSAE to the VWC.



Josephine Ulrick Literature and Poetry Prizes 2009. Closing: 30 January 2009. Griffith University’s School of Arts administers these major prizes on behalf of the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Foundation for the Arts. The Literature Prize is for a 1000–3000 word short story. The Poetry Prize is for a poem or suite of poems to 200 lines. In each category, the prizes are: 1st $10,000, 2nd $5000, two commended prizes of $2500 each. Entry fee $35. More: www.griffith.edu.au/josephine-ulrick.



Playwright Travel and Promotion Fund. PlayWriting Australia is responsible for administering a new travel fund for playwrights. It aims to eliminate one of the biggest barriers to international development for writers, by allowing playwrights to travel overseas in order to create new opportunities for international productions of their work. Playwrights can apply at any time until 31 December 2009, but the fund has a limited budget and when funds are expended, no further applications may be accepted. More: www.pwa.org.au/Skills/PT&PFund/.



Poetica Christi Press is seeking submissions of poetry with a Melbourne reference from poets who are Koori for their forthcoming coffee-table book, Melbourne Reflections. If anyone has any connections please email them to poeticachristi@netspace.net.au.





Reminders – opps and comps closing this week

For more details see p. 18–19 of the current Victorian Writer or follow the links below.

21 October: Northern Notes Writers Festival – The Pitch Writing Competition. Win a 10-minute slot to pitch your novel or short-story collection to Gordon Thompson, Publisher at Clouds of Magellan. www.cloudsofmagellan.net
25 October: Armidale Playhouse scripts competition. www.armidaleplayhouse.org.au
25 October. Sketchcrawl Melbourne event. sketchcrawlmelbourne.blogspot.com




Upcoming festivals
9–25 October: Melbourne International Arts Festival. www.melbournefestival.com.au.



7–16 November. Northern Notes Writers Festival. www.darebin.vic.gov.au/nnwf.



Job Opportunities
Event Producer, National Play Festival 2009. December to 10 April 2009. Closing date for applications Friday 14 November. Work as part of the core team planning and producing PlayWriting Australia’s major annual playwriting festival. The role includes production planning, contract management, artist liaison, technical and production management, marketing liaison, and travel and accommodation planning. This role will suit a theatre or event specialist with a minimum of 3 years’ professional production management, stage management or equivalent experience and an understanding of the development and rehearsal of new works. More (inc position description): www.pwa.org.au/resources/NPF09%20Event%20Producer.pdf.



Researcher, Australian Plays 2008: Development and Production. December 2008 to February 2009. Closing date for tenders Friday 21 November. Develop, implement and analyse a national research survey of Australian theatre companies and their commitment to developing and producing Australian plays. PlayWriting Australia works to develop and promote great new Australian writing for performance. We wish to commission a comprehensive survey of the national theatre industry to help us track our performance, measure the impact of our programmes and identify new opportunities to engage the wider industry in helping us fulfil our mission. Tenders are now invited from experienced researchers with high level analytical skills, appropriate research experience and an understanding of the Australian performing arts market. More (inc position description): www.pwa.org.au/resources/2008%20Product ... search.pdf.