Thursday 29 December 2016

The 2017 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing

Open from the 3rd of January the 2017 entry form with terms and conditions is open to be downloaded now.

Find the entry form here:   http://text-publishing-production.s3.amazonaws.com/text-publishing/assets/39/0bee20164011e6bd695593dbaaab7f/TextPrizeEntryForm2017.pdf


Good luck with your submissions.

2017 WRITING COMPETITIONS

Voiceworks

Voiceworks is for the first time in recent history seeking submissions for long-form short stories. For more information click on the link below:

http://www.voiceworksmag.com.au/2017/03/longform-fiction-submissions/

Lord Mayors Creative Writing Awards 2017
This competition has a prize pool of $12,000 and is now open to Victorian writers it closes on the 31st of August, for more information, click on the link below:
melbourne.vic.gov.au/writingawards



Prize: US$2000 will be awarded the winner of each genre
Open to writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have yet to publish a book.
Entries open on 1 March and close 15 May.

Raymond Carver Short Story Contest

First prize is US$1500
Open to writers from around the world and the guest judge for 2016 was Caitlin Horrocks.
Entries open on 1 April and close on 15 May.


Prize is US$1500 and publication.
Dedicated to recognising and supporting the work of emerging writers whose fiction has not yet achieved success. Entries must be less than 3500 words and the competition is open to writers based anywhere is the world. The Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition first ran in 1981.
Entries close on 15th May
Website:         http://shortstorycompetition.com/


Prize: The authors of the two winning manuscripts will receive US$1000 and publication by the University of Georgia Press under a standard book contract.
Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction is a competition for unpublished manuscripts of between 40,000 and 75,000 words. Long stories or novellas may be included. Writers must be residents of North America.
Entries close on 31 May.


The winner of the fiction section receives $1500 and publication in the magazine; second place receives $500 and publication. Prizes are also offered for non-fiction.
Run by December magazine, a magazine whose many accomplishments include being the first to publish the work of Raymond Carver.
Open to stories up to 8000 words in length.
Entries close 15 June.


First prize of $2000.
Only open to writers who have not published a book and submissions may be up to 6000 words. This contest is held multiple times throughout the year.
Summer entries close on 15 July.


First prize is €2000 publication in the literary journal Southword, and a week-long residency at Anam Cara Writer’s and Artist’s Retreat.
Open to writers from around the world the Seán Ó Faoláin International Short Story Competition is an annual short story competition.
Entries close 31 July.


First prize of US$1000 and publication.
Writers can submit up to three pieces of writing of up to 500 words. There are no genre or form restrictions.
Entries open on in July and are expected to close on 15 August.


The world’s richest short story competition, with the winner receiving £30,000
The 2016 prize was won by Jonathan Tel for his story ‘The Human Phonograph’. The six stories shortlisted for the 2016 prize are available here.
Entries for the next prize are expected to open at the end of June and close at the end of September.


The winner receives a cash prize of £10,000 (US$15,000).
A major international literary competition open to anyone aged 16 or over. Stories can be up to 2500 words in length. The organisers also offer a Manchester Poetry Prize.
Entries will open in February and close in September.


A first prize of US$1000
This contest is aimed at seeking out and encouraging talented writers. The winning and runners-up entries will be forwarded to leading literary agents. Stories can be up to 5000 words.
Entries open on 1st July and close 1st October.
Website:         http://www.all-story.com/contests.cgi


The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5000 and the remaining four regional winners receive £2500.
Continues with its aim to bring stories from new and emerging voices, often from countries with little or no publishing infrastructure, to the attention of an international audience. Open to all citizens of the 53 Commonwealth countries, the prize covers the five Commonwealth regions: Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, Caribbean and Pacific.
One winner will be selected from each region, with one regional winner to be selected as the overall winner.
Entries for the 2018 are expected to close on 1 November.


The winner of the John Steinbeck Short Story Award receives a cash prize of US$1000 and all entries are considered for publication
One of three prizes offered by Reed Magazine, this award is for a work of fiction up to 5000 words.
Entries open on 1 June and close 1 November.
Website:         http://www.reedmag.org/submit


Prize: US$1500 and the story will be published in the magazine.
Competition is open writers who have not yet published a book of fiction, poetry or creative non-fiction with a nationally distributed press. Stories may be up to 8000 words and must be previously unpublished.
Entries close 31 December.

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Captains Report 23rd November 2016

Melton Library

23rd November 2016

Hello Wordsmiths

Sonia, Kristen and Terry were apologies today. A great pity because it was quite a vibrant session and I’m sure they would have enjoyed it.

We had critiques for today. From Terry, Kevin and me:

Terry fled the field of battle, preferring to live and fight another day – Next Wednesday in fact.

Kevin’s chapter rolled up in an immaculate, light green Ford Prefect. It stopped beside a bright red telephone booth and our intrepid storyteller jumped out with his caped crusader costume under his arm and dived into the booth. Sadly, as he slammed out of the small edifice yelling, ‘Up. Up and Away,’ he tripped on the undies still around his ankles and fell on his face.
Kevin now has a little work to do on his chapter: A few dents, scratches fixed, and a new muffler will see it back on the road again, as gooderer (special word for Joleen) as new.
 
As my chapter was presented for critique and the air raid sirens began to wail, I grabbed my helmet and waited in terror for the shot and shell to pound my position.
With Captain, Please B. Gentle at the helm, HMS ICBO sailed into a hell storm of fire, taking massive hits to her stout timbers (and a huge Huuumf from Judy). Most bounced off harmlessly, and after replacing and reconfiguring just about everything I’ve written, she’ll be even better than when she was first launched.

On behalf of both Kevin and myself, I’d like to thank the Wordsmiths for once again, helping to improve our stories.

Next year’s calendar is done (attached). I’ve put a fun day after every five critique weeks. Except for July. I’ve jumped a week there, as the fun day would have landed on the school holidays. As the fun day is Sonia’s baby and she can’t be there during school holidays, I’ve put it on the following week.

Don’t forget lunch at Golden Fleas Hotel, 12.00 on Wednesday the 14th December.

As always, a fun and helpful day today.

See you all on Friday night to watch and support our victorious Wordsmith Warriors - Sonia, Kristen and Judy.


Les

Wednesday 16 November 2016

Les's Weekly Roundup

MELTON LIBRARY

23rd November 2016


Hello Wordsmiths

Sonia, Kristen and Terry were apologies today. A great pity because it was quite a vibrant session and I’m sure they would have enjoyed it.

We had critiques for today. From Terry, Kevin and me:

Terry fled the field of battle, preferring to live and fight another day – Next Wednesday in fact.

Kevin’s chapter rolled up in an immaculate, light green Ford Prefect. It stopped beside a bright red telephone booth and our intrepid storyteller jumped out with his caped crusader costume under his arm and dived into the booth. Sadly, as he slammed out of the small edifice yelling, ‘Up. Up and Away,’ he tripped on the undies still around his ankles and fell on his face.
Kevin now has a little work to do on his chapter: A few dents, scratches fixed, and a new muffler will see it back on the road again, as gooderer (special word for Joleen) as new.

As my chapter was presented for critique and the air raid sirens began to wail, I grabbed my helmet and waited in terror for the shot and shell to pound my position.
With Captain, Please B. Gentle at the helm, HMS ICBO sailed into a hell storm of fire, taking massive hits to her stout timbers (and a huge Huuumf from Judy). Most bounced off harmlessly, and after replacing and reconfiguring just about everything I’ve written, she’ll be even better than when she was first launched.

On behalf of both Kevin and myself, I’d like to thank the Wordsmiths for once again, helping to improve our stories.

Next year’s calendar is done (attached). I’ve put a fun day after every five critique weeks. Except for July. I’ve jumped a week there, as the fun day would have landed on the school holidays. As the fun day is Sonia’s baby and she can’t be there during school holidays, I’ve put it on the following week.

Don’t forget lunch at Golden Fleas Hotel, 12.00 on Wednesday the 14th December.

As always, a fun and helpful day today.

See you all on Friday night to watch and support our victorious Wordsmith Warriors - Sonia, Kristen and Judy.


Les



Melton Library

16th November 2016

Hello Wordies,

Be still my beating heart - A full house yesterday, with even the sun tanned, rested and relaxed Terry in attendance. Kristen’s husband tried to stop her from coming by stealing her car, but we foxed him and picked her up – Ha, ha, ha (maniacal laughter). Point scored for the good guys.

   Julee’s chapter was the only piece under the spotlight today, sent in with a flourish and a terse, ‘Do yer worse.’

Once I was able to bring our rioting crowd to some semblance of order, we attempted to present our critiques. Easy you might say, but all I can say is, ‘Hmmmm?’

   Julee’s sleek armour-plated limousine (model Chapter 28), floated down Critique Road with hardly a pothole to spoil the ride. With only a scratch or two at the finish, a tire change and cut and polish will bring it back to showroom condition. Well done Julee, another great offering.

   As always, it was a great, fun session, with everyone joining in.
The NaNoWriMo writers - Judy, Tracey and Terry - are all doing well and if not lighting the world on fire, are well on the way to it.

   Lunch has been booked at the Golden Fleas Hotel (257-263 High St, Melton) for 12.00 on Wednesday the 14th December. Mathew will be there.

   Lastly, I’d like to congratulate our three victorious Wordsmith Warriors - Sonia, Kristen and Judy - for receiving a well-deserved place in the Melton Writing Competition. I’m humbled in your presence and will be there Friday week to bask in the limelight of your win.

   See you all (except the ones I won’t) next week.


Les

Monday 24 October 2016

Five Challenges When Shifting FromTraditional to Self Publishing

This link came into our inbox today and it makes good reading for writers unsure of which type of publishing works best for them.

https://www.chatebooks.com/blog-5-Challenges-When-Shifting-from-Traditional-to-Self-Publishing


Please leave a comment with what has been successful for you.

Friday 21 October 2016

Offset Sixteen Launch - by Les Stillman

Julee and I attended the Offset Sixteen launch last night. Both she and Matthew had their stories published in the book.
Matthew was already there looking quite dapper dressed in chinos, shirt and jacket. He was standing aloof and intelligent his head cocked slightly to the side. Well, we thought he was aloof, but in reality he was waiting for the bar to open, listening for the tinkle of glasses – more shattered illusions.

We had a great chat and a drink with Matthew before we separated to mingle.
Matthew was in his element and it was fun watching him flit around meeting old friends and colleagues. As Yoda, would say, ‘Hmmm, popular our young Matthew is.’
Once the crowd poured in and we had a drink in our hand we started to mingle.
Julee’s shoes hurt her feet, so she had to sit down and wait for visitors. Of course, they flocked to her in abundance and she had a great time chatting with some interesting people. Jessi, the young girl we’d dealt with throughout, swept Julee away introducing her to the other girls on her team, all who wanted to tell her how much they loved her story.
I, on the other hand, had no restrictions. I slipped amongst the crowd looking for interesting people, forcing them to talk to me so I could bore them to death.
It was a most interesting group, full of very colourful characters. I must say, everyone I spoke to was delightful. I had a lovely chat with a girl who sported bright blue hair and dark blue lipstick. She was very nice.
Anyway, back to the crowd. My favourite was a little lady who looked like a lollipop stick. I say this in the nicest way I might add. She was dressed in the colours of a rainbow, with leggings over her pants, a neck scarf and a bandanna holding back a bird’s nest of hair with things sticking out of it. She had a bright, intelligent face with huge glasses and she also carried a walking/sitting stick, equally colourful as her dress. Somehow, it all came together and worked. I had a great long chat with her and she was a delight. An artist of course, who had one of her pieces on display. It was modernistic and stimulating.

Anyway, having said all that. It was a great night, we had fun and more to the point, I’m very proud of both Julee and Matthew for winning and grinning.

Thursday 8 September 2016

Local writer in the news

Local writer Christine Mackley is featured in a story by Sumeyya Ilanbey in this week's Star Weekly.
Christine, a multiple City of Melton Short Story Competition winner gave her views on what it takes to make a story stand out. She is proud that her work, Fair Fight, will be published in this year's Award Winning Australian Writing 2016.

Christine made a point of saying different things had helped her writing. One was being part of a writing group, this had helped because she had other like minded people to read and critique her work. She advised writers to use all of the five senses to put the reader into the story, so they can see, taste, hear and feel what the writer is saying.

Every word has to count in a short story so the writer needs to ask if it has a reason to be in your work.

Fair Fight took weeks of work to get it into shape before she submitted it.

Award Winning Australian Writing was launched at the beginning of Spring and should be available from a bookstore near you.

Les' Report 7th of September 2016

Captains Log 7th of September 2016

It was Mathew’s day on Wednesday – as per normal, interesting and helpful. We discussed our individual writing progress, short story writing and competitions in general, then finished up with a discussion on the Melbourne Writers Festival and its motivational implications. Everyone joined in the discussions and as usual, it was frenetic and jolly, with a dozen different conversations going at once. Of course, I tried valiantly to get everyone on track and of course, as usual, I was completely ignored. Still, it was all good natured, lots of fun and I think we achieved quite a bit.

Then Mathew pulled out a punctuation exercise (cue dramatic music – Da, da, da, daaaa). It was, interesting to say the least and caused an interesting differing of opinion and quite a bit of discussion. Which, of course is exactly what we want.


Please remember that entries to the Melton competition will close on the 7th October. It would be nice if we could all put in entries.

Wednesday 7 September 2016

City of Melton Short Story Competition 2016


The long running Melton Short Story competition is now open to entries copy and paste this address into your browser to access terms and conditions.

http://www.melton.vic.gov.au/Out-n-About/Libraries-and-learning/Libraries/Short-Story-Competition-2016

Thre are three categories again this year and are as follows
Adult Section (18 years and over)*1st Prize: $500
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $100
Teenage Section (13–17 years)*1st Prize: $250 (plus $250 for their school)
2nd Prize: $100 (plus $100 for their school)
3rd Prize: $50 (plus $50 for their school)
Junior Section (up to 12 years)*1st Prize: $250 (plus $250 for their school)
2nd Prize: $100 (plus $100 for their school)
3rd Prize: $50 (plus $50 for their school)
Entries are open to any medium: print, illustration, video, verse, voice or combinations of any of the above. Each entry should be no more than 1500 words and, for other story formats, something that takes no more than 5 minutes to experience.
*First time entry encouragement award
*Prizes for all finalists in each section
In case of two winners in any category the first and second prize will be added together and divided equally between the two winners and there will be a third prize.
Read the conditions of entry before submitting your story
Get some writing tips from a pro!
Find out who's judging.

Saturday 3 September 2016

WHAT IF? by Les Stillman


I love this place. It’s simply enchanting. So exotic. Palm trees and potted plants everywhere, and the blue of the sea, it’s simply divine. The staff look wonderful in their lovely native costumes and they cater to one’s every need. No radios or papers to disturb the tranquillity, a shield from the worries of the outside world, this place is just heaven. Hmm, the pool looks so cool and inviting.
‘I say Dickie, what about a quick dip before drinkies?

          Hate this place. What a disaster. Damn trees and spiked shrubbery everywhere, and the glare off that bloody ocean is giving me a headache. The staff look like clowns in those bloody awful costumes, constantly bothering me. Cut off from civilisation. No radios or even a newspaper, this place is a nightmare. God she wants to go for a swim, not likely after all these yokels have been in there, never know what you might catch.
‘What’s that you say, old girl? Drinkies? Rather.’

What a splendid idea they have, asking the guests to dress for dinner in these wonderful outfits they’ve given us. ‘It’s so romantic, wearing these pretty costumes. I love this veil, it’s rather seductive don’t you think?’ I wish Dickie would put his outfit on, instead of wearing his suit. He’d look like a foreign prince, instead of a stuck up, pompous Englishman. 

Couldn’t believe it when they gave us these ghastly costumes to wear to dinner. No, no, no. I have my suit, and that’ll do me just fine.
‘I say old girl; must you wear that bloody veil. Makes you look like some sort of harem girl don’t you know.  And before you ask – no, I will not wear that bally clown outfit.’

Horrible beast, if it wasn’t for the scandal, I’d chuck him out. Hmmm, still, he can be charming at times and I do make him look good when I’m on his arm.

Silly woman. By God, if it wasn’t for her money, I’d divorce her on the spot. Hmmm, still, not a bad set of pins on her, if you know what I mean.

I do love it here, so tranquil. Or it would be without Dickie. Now all I have to do is convince him to go and leave me here. ‘Dickie my love. What if…’

Writing Exercise: CORFU by Julee Stillman

From her point of view

I saw him when he checked in; Ralph Lauren bag and attaché case, and a swagger of confidence.
He let the porter take his bag but kept the attaché glued to his side. What secrets were hidden in there? What was so important that he wouldn’t let it out of his sight? I hoped it was five-hundred-thousand dollars.
As soon as I could I took a peek at the register. Mr Roger Butterworth was in a suite on the second floor. The suite next to mine. No connecting door, but that was not going to be a problem.
We met for dinner. Two perfect strangers on a perfect Corfu night. Our conversation was teasing.  Furtive glances, coy smiles. The clink of crystal. His silent acknowledgement that he would follow me anywhere. My ambition hidden behind my silk tangerine scarf.
My flight was booked. My suitcase packed. In five days’ time Roger would head back to his boring job in Melbourne and I…Well, I would be flying in the opposite direction, five-hundred-thousand dollars richer.
Men are so easy to bait and I already have another one on the hook.

And from his perspective.

Crisp white shirt, striped blue tie and a navy sports coat with gold buttons. That’s what I wear almost every day. That or something similar. It’s what my job as a general manager of one of Melbourne’s largest banks demands – something that says I’m dependable, trustworthy and it’s safe to leave your money in my hands.
However, I’m not dependable, nor am I trustworthy and it’s definitely not safe to leave money in my hands. At least not money I can embezzle. By all means put it in a safe deposit box, turn it into bonds or shares, but don’t leave it in an account where I can get my hands on it. Especially if I’m desperate to impress a pretty girl.
That’s why I’m sitting on the terrace of a five-star hotel in Corfu. Attentive waiters, good food and excellent ouzo. My eyes wander over a cobalt blue ocean and then back to the terrace with its terrazzo tiling. Then on to a corner table and the girl I stole five-hundred-thousand dollars for.





Thursday 1 September 2016

The Meeting By Kevin Drum


I nervously brush the lint from my jacket, withdraw a cigarette from the silver embossed case, tap it on the cover and light it. I exhale and through the smoke haze scan the poolside bar and surroundings
The relaxed murmur of the guests enjoying evening drinks soothes me. Diamond Head is aglow in the background flaunting its evening dominance in the setting sun. As if in applause I hear the huge crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean on the nearby foreshore.
Where is she? I’ve travelled half way around the world to meet her. Surely she won’t let me down. Surely?
From the first moment I saw her I was transfixed by her beauty and quiet assurance. I was drawn by her eyes, dark liquid pools, mysterious as an Arabian night. The brief contact as we were introduced, her exotic fragrance, the feigned fall, and her quiet but forceful words. ‘I want you more than life itself. Help me to get out of here.’
There’s some movement, bustling, just near the entrance. Shouting. I am adrenaline charged prepared for anything. I move quickly towards the commotion, and there she is. A large swarthy man has hold of her arm, dragging her. ’Let me go! she cries. ’Let me be.’
I drop to one knee, aim the Glock and fire. At that precise instant they stumble. I see the bullet hole to the forehead, deadly and final.


I am blessed as part of a wealthy family. I want for nothing. What more could my heart desire?
Until that fateful day.
I see him and know it is meant to be. He isn’t an important emissary or leader. Just part of one of the many retinues my family entertain in pursuit of their business. With that fluid movement I find so attractive, he works the room.
Secluded beyond my chador, I can only watch in breathless admiration.
Now he is in front of me, takes my hand and with a slight bow, ‘enchanted I’m sure.’ I trip and he stoops to help. ’I want you more than life itself,’ I whisper, ’get me out of here.’
He answers. ‘I’ll leave a note with the doorman. On it will be numbers. They are coordinates and a date. Go to the travel agent, near the clock tower, he will understand.’
‘Madam you are indeed fortunate, here is your passport, first class ticket to Honolulu, accommodation at the Chevron Surfrider Waikiki, and ten thousand dollars.’
We are on final approach into Honolulu. My anticipation is beyond belief.
The cab ride from the airport takes forever, until at last we have arrived. I jump out and call to the driver,’ leave my bags with the concierge, he will pay.’
I hurry to the poolside area, push open the doors and rush inside. I see him walking towards me.
‘Madam one moment please,’ the doorman grabs my arm and I lose balance.

Something is wrong he is down on one knee. Has he fallen?

Pilots log Wednesday the Thirty-first of August, 2016.

Pilots log Wednesday the Thirty-first of August, 2016.

This morning, I climbed aboard my shiny craft, the Mark I Ego, and flew into what I thought would be a warm welcome at the Wordsmiths. Little did I know. Warm? Warm indeed.

As I entered the controlled space of the library, a dark shadow flitted above my craft and opened fire. The rat-a-tat-tat of cannon and bursts of, ‘More like homework – More life homework – More like homework’ exploded around my ears as it tore holes in the Mark I Ego.

In a sweat of panic, I took evasive action and escaped, only to fly into heavy artillery fire from below. Not fun - Not fun - Not fun burst around my intrepid craft, ripping into the Mark I Ego’s fuselage and sending it into a death spiral.

As the flames crackled and blinding smoke billowed from the doomed craft, I bailed out.

Landing in front of my attackers, I held my hands high in surrender and cried out, ‘Don’t hurt me, I’ll do better next time. I promise I’ll make it fun.’
I was let off with a dire warning of extreme punishment if I mucked up again. ‘Next time, it will be fun.’

It was a full crew today, except for Kristen who is on a temporary sabbatical.

Everyone put the two pieces together (except for Terry who was away and didn’t get a chance to put pen to paper this time).  We all read out our stories and there were some cracking yarns, most of which would make good competition entries.
If you would like your story put up on our blog, please send it direct to Terry. However, if you want to send it into a competition, don’t put it onto the blog.

After that, we tried a progressive story, based on a picture of a bride in a tractor with the groom running behind. With each person, in turn, adding a few lines to the yarn, the story stumbled ahead, weaving and jerking its progress. Chaos reigned and it sounded like a chicken pen at feed time.
At the start, before anyone else could move, Joleen grabbed the best job – scribe. She scrawled away furiously on the white board. In constant motion, she wrote comments, rubbed them out, changed them as the crowd roared their advice, until at last we had a rather good, totally disjointed story about a failed wedding, death, and mayhem.

After that, it was general chit chat time until, one by one, we limped away ready to re-charge our batteries ready for next week’s session at the Wordsmiths.   

See you all next week

Les

FUN DAY EXERCISE - - JUDY RIGBY

WORDSMITHS EXERCISE FOR OUR FUN DAY WEDNESDAY THE 31 AUGUST

JUDY RIGBY

͠

My heart soars when I see his face. I have him.
He stands as if frozen in my open doorway. His lips are parted and his eyes are blinking as if dazed in the headlights.
I resist the urge to reach out and smooth the furrow that has formed between his eyebrows. I allow a smile and the skin tightens and moves around my eyes. He registers the movement and, with a tiny shake of his head, rearranges his face. He drops his eyebrows and tries to return my smile, but only manages something between a grimace and a grin.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says, ‘where are my manners? You surprised me. I didn’t expect—’
‘You didn’t expect me to dress up?’
‘No, well, yes. I did expect you to dress up, but not like this.’
‘You don’t like what I’m wearing?’
‘I love what you’re wearing, but I—’
‘It’s too showy?’
‘Oh, no, it’s…’ he pauses and colour begins to rise in his cheeks. ‘I’ve only seen you in black before, and—
‘You think I’m immodest for abandoning black?’
He opens his mouth as if to protest and I allow myself to laugh. His eyes widen and now he smiles a smile that transforms his face and dances in his eyes.
Yes, I have him, I tell myself as I step towards him and shut the door behind me.
‘Shall we go?’ I say to him, ‘You lead the way.’

͠

I feel her presence behind me as I walk down the corridor. The fabric of her dress sighs and beads clink with each step she takes. I confess that the sight of her, backlit by lamplight in the open door of her luxury penthouse suite, did startle me. She looked otherworldly, a diaphanous being, and for a moment I wavered under her spell, drawn into those brown, languid eyes and aware of her siren call in the deep recesses of my brain.
Don’t be a chump, I tell myself, now. Remember who she is and why you’re here. Don’t let yourself get side-tracked.
I mentally check my pocket with its holstered Glock 27 and ignore the itch in my fingers to touch it. I try to focus on my breathing. Too fast and too shallow.
Breathe in, one, out two, in three, out four—
‘You haven’t said where we’re going,’ her voice sounds breathily close to my ear.
My heart skips a beat and the vision of her in the doorway rises into view. I gulp in more air and turn my head towards her voice. 
She’s almost at my shoulder. I catch a waft of her perfume and recognise it, Hypnotic Poison. She laughs, a melody of dancing notes that seem to swirl around my head. Sweat prickles on my brow, my mouth feels dry and my tongue won’t move.
‘Are you all right?’ her voice is barely a whisper.

No, I think, I don’t think I am.

Wednesday 31 August 2016

The Victorian Writer, October-November Submissions

Check out the pitch page of Writers Victoria, for all details of their upcoming themes.

For the next edition, the theme is:             Popular / Genre Fiction

For December - January the theme is:       Beyond the Page.

More details can be found on their website: https://writersvictoria.org.au/node/311




Publishing opportunities and competitions for September:

As more competition notices come to hand the site will be updated and included on our Opportunities & Competitions page.

  • Glen Phillips Poetry Prize 

          CLOSES: October 21st 2016

Sunday 28 August 2016

Josephine Rowe wins the 2016 Jolley Prize

Date:  27 August 2016

From: Progressive PR and Publicity on behalf of Australian Book Review
(03) 9696 6417
arabella@progressivepr.com.au




Image result for josephine rowe photosAt a ceremony during the Melbourne Writers Festival, Australian author Josephine Rowe was named the overall winner of the 2016 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize for her story ‘Glisk’. She receives $7,000.
Josephine Rowe is the author of two short story collections and the novel A Loving, Faithful Animal (2016). Her fiction and essays have appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Best Australian Stories, The Monthly, The Saturday Paper, and elsewhere. She was a recent recipient of a Stegner Fellowship in fiction from Stanford University. Her story ‘Suitable for a Lampshade’ won the Reader’s Choice Award in the 2010 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize.

www.australianbookreview.com.au

Anthony Lawrence, a New South Wales-based writer, was placed second and receives $2,000 for his story ‘Ash’.

Jonathan Tel, a UK-based writer, was placed third and receives $1,000 for his story ‘The Water Calligrapher’s Women’.

All three stories appear in the August 2016 Fiction issue of Australian Book Review. Three other stories were commended: ‘Help Me Harden My Heart’ by Dom Amerena, ‘Window’ by Cate  Kennedy, and ‘Slut Trouble’ by Beejay Silcox. The commended authors each receive $750 and their stories will  be published by ABR.

This year the prestigious ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize (now worth a total of $12,500) attracted  almost 1,400 entries from thirty-eight countries. The judges were Amy Baillieu (Deputy Editor of ABR) and  authors Maxine Beneba Clarke and David Whish-Wilson.

Further information More information about the Jolley Prize and Australian Book Review can be found on the ABR website.

Jolley Prize winner Josephine Rowe is available for interview and comment. Please contact Progressive PR and Publicity on (03) 9696 6417 or arabella@progressivepr.com.au

ABR gratefully acknowledges Mr Ian Dickson’s generous support for the Jolley Prize.

Wednesday 24 August 2016

New Pages

Check out our new pages.

We have included a calendar, another page where our monthly facilitator Matthew Naqvi will offer his writing tips. To get away from critiquing every week, we wanted to include a challenge or exercise that would stretch every member's ability and improve our spontaneity to be creative. Click over and check out this coming week's challenge on our Writing Exercises page.

Saturday 13 August 2016

SD Harvey Short Story Award


The Australian Crime Writers Association has announced the final shortlist for the 2016 S.D. Harvey Short Story Award. The following list that includes a celebrated novelist a prize-winning essayist, and a trio of outstanding writers. 
  • The Adjustment by Honey Brown
  • Sisters in Red by Joshua Kemp
  • The Caretaker by Jemma Tyley-Miller
  • The Hall Chimp by Robbie Arnott
  • Flesh by Sharon O'Brien
These five stories will fight it out for this year’s first prize of $1500 and second prize of $500. The winning story will be published in the upcoming issue of online arts magazine Kill Your Darlings and all the shortlisted authors will receive a year’s online subscription to KYD.
The S.D. Harvey Short Story Award is an annual competition organised by the Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA). It is part of the prestigious Ned Kelly Awards, celebrating the very best in Australian crime writing.
The award is named after the late writer, journalist and producer Sandra Harvey, who along with her partner in crime writing, Lindsay Simpson, blazed a trail not only for investigative, true crime writing in Australia, but also for women writers in the industry.
Go across to their website for more information, While you're at it, click on the membership site and fill out to join, or just receive their newsletter.

http://www.austcrimewriters.com/content/announcing-2016-sd-harvey-shortlists

Thursday 11 August 2016

This week's stats

13/08/2016

We are getting visitors to our blogsite Wordsmiths, I have copied and pasted some interesting data that is displayed on the administration side of the site.
This map shows the countries our visitor live in, dark green for the most visits and lighter as the source information deletes. So we have had people from the USA France and Germany drop in. Not bad for a little website that has only been up for a month.


Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers


This graph shows how many hits and when our site has been visited.

Graph of Blogger page views

As we want to grow our site and make it relevant we need more posts on writing and ask more people to share on their social media accounts.

Let's make writing great again.

This week's stats

13/08/2016

We are getting visitors to our blogsite Wordsmiths, I have copied and pasted some interesting data that is displayed on the administration side of the site.
This map shows the countries our visitor live in, dark green for the most visits and lighter as the source information deletes. So we have had people from the USA France and Germany drop in. Not bad for a little website that has only been up for a month.


Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers