Have you seen the freshly-announced GenreCon 2023 schedule yet? We've just dropped the full line-up of panels, seminars and special events, and it's set to be another spectacular year of celebrating genre writing and storytelling, and the people and communities that make it all happen.
With events dedicated to crime, romance, sci-fi, horror, historical fiction, and experimental storytelling, as well as craft and industry focussed sessions on editing, writing in partnership and publishing, there's something to inspire every writer and expand your imagination.
Once again, exclusive opportunities to pitch your work to Australian publishers at the Conference will be available to full ticketholders, along with the chance to meet and mingle with leading authors including Patron Nalini Singh and keynote speaker Garth Nix. So don't wait! Book your ticket below - we'll see you there.
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GenreCon 2023: Forbidden Doors
18-19 February 2023
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General Admission tickets
Secure your place at Australia's leading genre writing conference and attend our packed Saturday/Sunday program with a General Admission ticket.
Price: $349 General / $399 Members. Payment plans available.
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GenreCon 2023 Launch Night
When: 4:45pm, Friday
Where: Queensland Writers Centre
Come to the home of GenreCon, dress to the nines and celebrate genre with a drink or two before the massive weekend. Featuring the presentation of the GenreCon 2023 Short Story competition winner. Included in General Admission.
Keynote Address - Garth Nix
When: 10:45am, Saturday
Where: Auditorium 1, State Library
Let our keynote speaker, award-winning sci-fi and fantasy writer and New York Times bestseller, Garth Nix get you motivated for the weekend activities with the story of his journey in literature and what the world of writing has to offer.
The Shreader Lunch
When: 12:15pm, Saturday
Where: Queensland Writers Centre
Get stuck into lunch and listen as a select group (you could be one of them) have their work professionally read to Amo Jones and other industry professionals. Will they like it enough to offer their feedback, or will it go through The Shreader?
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Writing Saturday & Writing Sunday
When: 8:00am, Saturday & Sunday
Where: Queensland Writers Centre
Free writing time in a quiet, creative space - connect with like-minded creatives to work on your writing and make the most of your inspiration.
Panel + Book Launch: Forbidden Doors, An Anthology – Collaborative Doorways to Publication
When: 9:30am, Sunday
Where: Brisbane Square Library
Come and meet the authors who connected through GenreCon and collaborated to publish two anthologies. Find out about their latest multi-genre book and how collaboration can open doors for your author career.
High Tea with Natasha Lester and Nalini Singh
When: 11:30am, Sunday
Where: Queensland Terrace, State Library
Join us for a decadently delicious high tea in the company of historical romance author Natasha Lester and conference Patron Nalini Singh. *Paid add-on exclusively available to full ticketholders.
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...and 20+ more events, panels and seminars included in your General Admission ticket, with guests and presenters including Mykaela Saunders, J.P. Pomare, Melissa Ashley, Simon Cleary, Jay Kristoff, Benython Oldfield, Stephen Irwin, Megan Norris, Abigail Nathan, Sumudu Narayana and many more.
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Get the full GenreCon experience and add on a Friday workshop (Friday 17 February) to go in-depth with a GenreCon presenter.
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Face-to-face workshop
When: 10:30am, Friday 17 February
Price: $130 (member rate)
Learn to craft the kind of plot that could turn your next book into a bestseller! In this workshop, we’ll be looking at character and emotion driven plotting, rather than trying to impose a plot upon a story.
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Hybrid workshop
When: 10:30am, Friday 17 February
Price: $130 in-person / $55 live stream (member rates)
Great characters and dialogue are intertwined - you can’t have one without the other. In this workshop we will be getting to know your characters on a deeper level.
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Please note these events are ticketed separately and are not included in GenreCon General Admission.
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GenreCon 2023
Short Story Competition
Entries: 5 December - 24 January
Taking over December and January's Right Left Write - our annual GenreCon short story competition is back for 2023. Accepting submissions of genre fiction up to 1,000 words on the theme Forbidden Doors. The winning story will be published online, and announced with a special presentation and reading at our Launch Night event.
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Pen & Pixel returns to regularly scheduled programming below...
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Brisbane International Film Festival - QUT Industry Day
When: 9:45am - 5:00pm, Friday 4 November
Where: Building Z9, QUT Kelvin Grove Campus
Part of BiFF (27/10 - 6/11) - the QUT industry day will provide a range of panels featuring leading directors, producers, and screenwriters, as well as respected exhibitors, actors and experts to provide insight into key issues facing the screen industry and emerging filmmakers.
Asia Pacific Screen Forum
When: 9 - 13 November
Where: Home of the Arts (HOTA), Surfers Paradise
From social engagement to business and professional practice, this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Forum explores leading issues influencing the industry throughout the Asia Pacific, with producers, directors, writers, and industry professionals in an engaging program of roundtables, panels, screenings, and Q&As.
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Brisbane City Council Libraries - Writing for Young Adults with Claire Christian
When: 10:00am - 11:30am, Saturday 26 November
Where: Toowong Library, Sherwood Rd, Toowong
This Queensland Writers Centre workshop will help you develop a distinct young adult voice and write characters that young adult readers can connect with.
The 5 week writing challenge: Speed Writing
When: 10:00am - 4:00pm, Wednesday 30 November
Where: Brisbane Square Library, George St, Brisbane
Free event with Brisbane Library. Join Queensland Writers Centre to learn techniques that will have you sprinting towards the finish line as you get ready to wrap-up your writing project!
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Community news & Member Milestones
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Past Fishbowl resident Jasmin McGaughey has been awarded the 2021 Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for the piece Sweet Anticipation, which has been published in the latest edition of Overland magazine.
Queensland Writers Centre Quills member and former Chair Dr Leanne Dodd has taken over Maleny's Rosetta Books bookstore.
Garth Jones has launched Home Brewed, Vampire Bullets Vol One in a virtual launch event with American author Duvay Knox. Garth has also recently appeared on the Totally Lit podcast.
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Craig Cauchi's screenplay Salience has been chosen as a Finalist in the Script Studio 2022 Feature Screenwriting Contest.
Josie Montano's 65th published resource, the picture book Little Shark Lulu is Sleeping, co-authored with shark expert Dr Charlotte Birkmanis and illustrated by Carla Hoffenberg, has been released by Interactive Publications' IP Kidz imprint.
Verity Croker's poem about Antarctica, Ice Tears, has been published in Polestar Writers' Journal Edition 43.
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Share your achievements! Submit your Member Milestone using the submissions form.
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Competitions & opportunities
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Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize
Closes: 14 November
Presented by Overland magazine, the prize seeks short fiction of up to 3,000 words on the theme of travel. Winning story receives $5,000 and is published in Overland’s autumn 2023 issue. Two runners-up each receive $750 and publication in Overland online in 2023.
Fremantle Press - Get YA Words Out Anthology
Closes: 30 November
Fremantle Press is seeking submissions of fiction between 3,000 - 5,000 words from LGBTIQA+ writers for an anthology of YA literature to be published in 2023, co-curated with Get YA Words Out, and edited by Seth Malacari.
Police Point Artist in Residence Program
Closes: 30 November
Two residencies in Portsea's Police Point Shire Park (VIC) in are available for writers, working across long and short form fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry and scriptwriting. Artists are encouraged to create works portraying the Park's variety of cultural and natural resources such as historic structures, cultural landscapes, geologic features, coastal waters, and marine, plant and animal life.
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Somerset National Poetry Prize
Closes: 2 December
Presented by Somerset Storyfest. Open to submissions of poetry up to 50 lines on an open theme from all Australian high school students, across Junior & Senior categories. Winners receive $300 cash prize and are given the opportunity to attend Somerset Storyfest (March 2023), with national winners announced at the festival.
Australian Book Review (ABR) - 2023 Calibre Essay Prize
Closes: 30 December
Now accepting submissions of non-fiction essays between 2,000-5,000 words. Total prize money available $7,500, with the overall winning essay to be published in the April 2023 issue of ABR, followed by the runner-up. Entries will be judged by Yves Rees, Peter Rose and Beejay Silcox.
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This week's giveaway
Thanks to member Garth Jones and in celebration of his recent book launch, we have copies to giveaway of Home Brewed, Vampire Bullets Vol One.
“Uproariously, deliciously weird and hallucinatory - part Ginsberg, part fictitious rock & roll bio, with plenty of otherworldly chaos!" – JM Donellan, author Killing Adonis
Fill in the entry form for your chance to win.
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Queensland Writers Centre membership
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