Imagine having nearly 100 eager young writers visiting and it’s up to you to show them a good time – that was Queensland Writers Centre’s last Saturday at our second annual Brisbane Children’s Writers Festival. With amazing presenters, a great team, and an eager group of children ready to learn and write, the day was a great success.
Internationally successful children’s author Lian Tanner ran a session of her workshop, Imagination Olympics, and as part of our collaboration with Somerset Storyfest's On the Road programme, Indigenous artist Billie Musk had children creating a piece of collaborative group art. Senior slam poet Tess Rowley also stepped in and had everyone writing their own poems. Rowan Campbell and Jemma Pollari led a creative zine making session, while Connor Harvey and Dago Murietta talked about youth and writing. For everyone who missed Yvette Henry Holt’s scheduled Poetry in Pyjamas session we will definitely try to reschedule this workshop for another time.
Thanks to all of our generous sponsors and partners, Essential Screen Skills, Museum of Brisbane, Somerset Storyfest, Express Media and the Queensland Government.
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In this week's edition of Pen & Pixel, we're also delighted to publish the September winner of Right Left Write (genre prompt: Sci-Fi), written by Tee Indawongse - read below.
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September's winning Right Left Write entry (Sci-Fi)
I associate blood with the acrid smell of ozone. The first sign of an imminent storm. My mother says that has always followed me, ever since she fell pregnant. They tried to kill her a dozen times before I even had a heartbeat. Their desperation to kill her then gives me hope I still have a future.
I know my future is marked with more violence. Suffering. Chaos. I’ve heard it described enough times now. Prophetic words. It is an abstract thought, distant like the horizon at the edge of dusk. Can a person be tried and executed before the crime exists even as a thought? Read more...
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Live stream workshop
When: 10:30am, Saturday 5 November
Understand how the three acts work and how you can use it in your story. Held as part of the 2022 Scriptable program.
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Free members-only writing event
When: 10:00am, 26 & 27 November
Join a supportive group of committed writers for two full days of fast-paced writing, and transport yourself into your next writing project!
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Longform online course
When: From 5:30pm, Tuesday 17 January 2023
Over six evening workshops across four months, join established editor, Laurel Cohn, as she guides you through a structural edit of your work-in-progress.
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Check out our website for bookings and more details. |
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When: 10:00am - 11:30am, Saturday 15 October
Where: Coopers Plains Library, Orange Grove Rd, Coopers Plains
We all have a story to tell, but how do we translate that story into an exciting narrative? This Queensland Writers Centre workshop examines the fundamentals of memoir writing, giving you exercises and knowledge to evoke the places, people and events of your memory in a compelling fashion.
StoryArts Brisbane - Sean Williams Workshop
When: 9:45am - 3:45pm, Sunday 23 October
Where: Meeting Room 1B, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane
Offered as part of StoryArts Brisbane, a workshop on the art and craft of writing chapter books and middle grade fiction with award winning author Sean Williams.
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When: 6:00pm - 7:00pm, Tuesday 25 October
Where: Brisbane Square Library, George St, Brisbane
Join bestselling author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and co-host of ABC TV series Back to Nature, Holly Ringland as she shares her new novel The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding.
When: 3:00pm - 5:00pm, Saturday 5 November
Where: The Junk Bar, Waterworks Rd, Ashgrove
A curated writing workshop where you will be prompted to get creative and have fun with your writing. You can also order drinks from the Junk Bar menu. Have a cocktail or a coffee - whatever inspires your creative juices.
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Writing Friday update
Writing Friday is a free, volunteer-led program for Queensland writers at all levels. It connects writers with other writers in their local community and provides a space where Queenslanders can cultivate their habit of writing, following the Pomodoro technique.
Be a part of this great statewide program and get in touch to join your nearest group - or discuss starting your own.
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• Queensland Writers Centre
• Bribie Island (Tues)
• Helensvale
• Elanora
• Wynnum (Mon)
• Victoria Point
• Cooroy (twice monthly)
• Mareeba
• Logan Central
• Maleny
• Toowoomba, The Lighthouse
• Redcliffe (Tues)
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• Yeppoon (Tues)
• Gympie (monthly, 3rd Fridays)
• Bundaberg
• Manunda (Wed)
• Hervey Bay (coming soon)
• Maryborough (coming soon)
• Boonah (coming soon)
• Maroochydore (coming soon)
• North Lakes (coming soon)
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Right Left Write
Our October genre prompt is Horror and will be guest judged by two-time Bram Stoker Award®- and Shirley Jackson Award-winning editor, author, and poet Geneve Flynn.
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Community news & Member Milestones
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David Thomas Kay was the winner of the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Awards' Fantasy category and received the Bronze Medal for Readers Favorite in the Christian Historical Fiction genre 2022, for The Sword of Saint Isidores, Book One of the series Circles of Time.
Brittany Riley's short story Chicken Salt was longlisted in the The West Australian and Minderoo Foundation's 2022 Best Australian Yarn competition.
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Susan Braghieri's flash fiction piece He Never Did Like Snakes will be published in Night Parrot Press's anthology Three Can Keep a Secret. The anthology will be launched at the Australian Short Story Festival in Perth on 29 October.
Kai Ash has been shortlisted in Hardie Grant Children's Publishing's The Ampersand Prize for the Adaptable 2021/22 shortlisted YA novel The Boy Maeve.
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Share your achievements! Submit your Member Milestone using the submissions form. |
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Johnno Award - nominations open
Nominations close: 25 October
Do you know someone who goes above and beyond for the writing community? Queensland Writers Centre's Johnno Award recognises outstanding services to writers and writing in Queensland, and is now calling for nominations from current members.
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Competitions & opportunities
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Magabala Books - Scholarships, Fellowship & Grants
Closes: 31 October
Magabala is now accepting applications for the 2022 Creative Development Scholarships, Fellowship for a mid-career author and the Australian Indigenous Coffee (AIC) Creative Grants. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers, writers, illustrators and artists are eligible to apply.
Magabala Scholarships support professional development relating to writing, illustration and storytelling, which may result in a manuscript for potential publication.
The annual Magabala Fellowship, worth $10,000, is intended to provide time for a mid-career author to work on a current manuscript, and is open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers and writers who have previously published at least two publications.
The AIC Creative Grants, worth $10,000 each, are intended to provide time for storytellers, writers, illustrators and artists to work on a current manuscript or illustration portfolio.
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IPEd Student Prize
Closes: 13 November
Prize open to tertiary-level students enrolled in an editing or publishing program at a New Zealand or Australian tertiary institution. The prize is awarded annually for a piece of work submitted as part of the requirements for a qualification in editing or publishing.
Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship
Closes: 16 November
The Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship supports Australian writers working on biography projects. Up to $20,000 is awarded for travel and research to further a writing proposal or work in progress.
WQ magazine - article pitches
Pitches open year-round.
Queensland Writers Centre's quarterly member publication WQ magazine welcomes pitches and submissions of non-fiction articles on writing and the writing industry (up to 650 words) from current members. Articles should appeal to writers at different stages of their careers, ranging from those who are just starting out through to seasoned professionals.
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Queensland Writers Centre is currently open for workshop proposals and expressions of interest for teaching on our Program in 2023. Please contact info@qldwriters.org.au for more information or submit an application online at www.queenslandwriters.org.au/teach.
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This week's giveaway
Thanks to Hawkeye Publishing, we have copies to giveaway of the anthology collection Jump: The Time Is Now.
Tales from the Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Competition; the collective stories in Jump: The Time is Now offer a cultural representation of the human experience of 2020/2021.
Fill in the entry form for your chance to win. Only winners will be notified.
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Queensland Writers Centre membership
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