Voiceworks Issue #71/ Callout for Issue #72

Voiceworks is a national, quarterly magazine that features exciting new writing by Australian young writers. It is a unique opportunity for young writers and artists (under 25) to publish their poetry, short stories, articles and comics, illustrations, drawings and photos, and the latest issue #71 "Issues" is due to be launched on December 14. It will be available shortly after from a number of stockists, including 78 Records on Hay St and Curtin University's own bookshop.

In the mean time, editor Ryan Paine is looking for submissions for issue #72 "Harvest" - deadline Sunday 20 January 2007 (pitch deadline 9 December), to be published in March 2008.

Submissions can include:
• fiction
• poetry
• non-fiction
• visual art

To the theme of HARVEST:
The harvest begins and a student agrees to $250 000 in the event of conception. People are saving for a rainy day, and a girl hoards the remains of her dinner for the imaginary friend under her bed. The excess of the harvest is buried deep, and the cake for the birthday boy who never returned rots in his mother’s kitchen. Somewhere, it’s always time for the harvest. So roll up your sleeves!

For more information on the magazine or how to submit, see the website: http://www.expressmedia.org.au/voiceworks.php and follow the links (and, yes, they pay.)

Contributors for Salt section of Xpress Magazine wanted

The Dance Music Editor of XPRESS Magazine has contacted us in search of Curtin writing students "with a good knack for electronic music – this can entail a passion for specific genres such as electro, trance, breaks, drum ‘n’ bass etc. However am also on the look out for writers who can write across the board on electronic music. They need to be easily available for interviews and reviewing events and be committed to meeting deadlines. "
Good grammar and sound proofing skills are, of course, a must. If you are intersted then contact: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au

Alan Marshall Short Story Award

This annual short story competition for Australian writers is held in memory of Australian writer Alan Marshall whose most well known books are the autobiographical, I Can Jump Puddles, This is the Grass and Pioneers and Painters.
Entries for the 2008 Alan Marshall Short Story Award are due 4pm Friday 22 February 2008.

Entry Details at: http://www.nillumbik.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?page_Id=454

Or Email: artsinfo@nillumbik.vic.gov.au

harvest magazine looking for submissions

harvest is seeking fiction and non-fiction between 3,500 and 6,000 words and poetry up to 100 lines for its inaugural issue. Brought together by students of RMIT’s Professional Writing and Editing course,harvest magazine is (in their own words) "born out of our desire to produce a tactile and engaging publication for a well-read audience. An audience who believes that good writing can be both attractive and intelligent." They are interested in nurturing new and emerging writing, but also welcome submissions from more established writers, and they say they'll provide feedback on any work you submit.

Send them a pitch for your non-fiction idea or mail them your stories and poems. Closing date for non-fiction pitches is November 2. Closing date for final non-fiction, fiction and poetry submission is November 30. Payment is $100 for non-fiction and fiction pieces, $60 for a single poem and $100 for a poetry feature.

For more information and detailed submission guidelines, please visit their website: http://harvestmagazine.wordpress.com/

(Interestingly, the word "postmodern" is banned from use in author bios. Do you feel gypped? I know I do.)

National Novel Writing Month

November 1 2007 marks the beginning of the eighth annual (Inter)National Novel Writing Month, which means that there are still two weeks for you to sign up before the madness begins!

Every year, thousands of ordinary people from around the world (many of whom are writers, but even more who have never written anything before in their life) take part in NaNoWriMo, a hands-on writing adventure in which participants are asked to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Pressure much? Don't worry: there are no losers. No official prizes, either, but on the other hand, you might just learn how to turn off that nasty inner editor who is stopping you from getting all those words down on the page until they're absolutely perfect ... you're going to change it all when it's finished, anyway. Write now, edit later.

Needless to say, NaNoWriMo is hugely community-driven. No one understands your novelling woes better than those of us who are going through the same thing. As usual, we will be holding a local kick-off party at midnight on November 1 and other write-ins throughout the month. Last year, we ran an unofficial writing competition with the team from Illinois, US. We're demanding a rematch this year, and every writer counts.

Visit http://www.nanowrimo.org for more information. Be sure to check out the Perth, Australia forum and say hi to the local community. Or email Perth's Municipal Liason, Elaine, at perth_australia@nanowrimo.org. See you in November!

Julienne seeks prose for new anthology

I am the prose editor for a new anthology intended to showcase some of the best of West Australian writing. The anthology, titled In Good Company, is to be published in 2008 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA. I am currently seeking fiction and creative non-fiction from writers born in Western Australia, living in WA or with personal or professional ties to the state. The project is supported by the WA Government, through the Department of Culture and the Arts (ArtsWA). If your submission is successful you will be paid $120 for your contribution. Please send your submission in hard copy to Julienne van Loon, c/- Fellowship of Australian Writers WA, P.O. Box 312 Cottesloe 6911. Submissions close 15 October 2007. Further details available at http://www.fawwa.org.au/projects/anthology.htm

KSP Short Fiction Award

Katharine Susannah Prichard Short Fiction Award
Closing date: 5pm Friday September 28, 2007
WORDS: Minimum 1000 Maximum 3000
2 Sections:
Mundaring Community Bank Open Awards
Shire of Mundaring National Young Writers Awards (20 years and under)


http://kspf.iinet.net.au/2007shortfiction.html

Call For Young Writers

Flyer from Vibewire.net: rewriting youth media:

Calling all young writers.

Are you an aspiring political correspondent?
Australia’s youth media portal, Vibewire.net, is seeking four young writers aged 24 years or under to cover the upcoming Federal Election from the campaign trail itself.
The selected candidates will travel around the country for the duration of one week prior to the election with either John Howard or Kevin Rudd, filing two stories to the ElectionTracker website each day.
Vibewire is looking for writers with a sound knowledge of Australian politics and a solid understanding of the key issues of the election who can write about these issues in an interesting and engaging manner. Writers will have to work to very tight deadlines.
This is a unique opportunity to network with the country’s best and most experienced journalists, see the campaign trail first hand, receive training, have your work read by a large audience and help make the federal election more accessible for young voters.
To apply to be an ElectionTracker you must be 24 years of age or under and an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You must be available to be away from home for one of the two weeks leading up to the election.
All short listed applicants will be invited to submit features, opinion pieces, interviews and other contributions to the ElectionTracker site, the number one site for the election coverage, reportage, commentary and discussion by Australians aged 16-30.
Writers must be available to attend training on Friday, September 14 and Saturday, August 15 in Sydney.
Applications close Tuesday, September 4 at 5pm EST. Email electiontracker@vibewire.net for an application form.
This project is possible due to the support of The Dusseldorp Skills Forum.

Watch this space!!

Prepare to be a.muse'd as a group of Curtin's journalism students launch their first online magazine...a.muse.

Editors are calling for contributions from anyone and everyone who is interested, so get writing!

More details to follow...

Talking Books

WritingWA and PICA have announced a new monthly literary event: Talking Books. The first event kicks of on Sunday 9 September at 3pm at the PICA Bar, Perth Cultural Centre, and will feature Susan Maushart speaking with State Librarian, Margaret Allen, about her new book, "What Women Want Next." The program to follow the inaugral event includes: Niall Lucy and Steve Mickler (both Curtin academics) speaking about their book, "The War On Democracy: Conservative Opinion in the Australian Press" (Sunday October 14 at 3pm); Shane McCarthy and Grant Stone talking about comic book writing and the graphic novel (Sunday 11 November at 3pm); and Deborah Robertson on her novel, "Careless" (Sunday 9 December at 3pm). All events are FREE. Enquires WritingWA at info@writingWA.org or (08) 9228 9908.

Contribute to Concrete Dialogues

The Concrete Dialogues website project offers opportunities for new writers to experiment with some creative re-mapping of Perth in poetry or prose. A snippet from the site's introduction:
"Concrete Dialogues is a narration of the stories seeping from the sidewalks and the silences of Perth. From roads that have been swallowed to suburbs newly born, the city's young writers expose a side of the street you may not have known. The project aims to redraw the street directories with text, filling grid coordinates with prose and points of interest with verse." For more details on how to contribute: http://dialogues.concrete.org.au/

Sell yourself out!

Well, not really...but make sure you put Thursday September 6th in your diary for the launch of Wasted magazine's latest 'Selling Out' issue.

Wasted is a quaterly Perth publication tailor-made to the lives of its discerning readers. It is independently owned and run by local university students, and young professionals.

Be there from 8pm at Gilkinson's Dance Studio in the CBD and get ready to witness the latest threads and trends, as local designers take to the catwalk.

Tickets are available from the Spot, or on the door ($15 earlybird/$20 otherwise)...so get to it!

Write for the university!

What with the many publications available to writers in WA, we tend to forget about the humble university publications available on campus. Amongst them, both Grok and Paragon Magazine are published by the Curtin Student Guild and are always open to submissions.
For Grok, you may go to www.guild.curtin.edu.au and go through these links for more information: About Your Guild > Guild Publications > Grok > Submit an article.
For Paragon, all submissions should be sent to paragon.curtinisc@gmail.com. Writers may look at the current and past issues of the magazine, available at the Guild Reception and through the International Students Committee. The next issue is sports-themed so all relevant stories and ideas will be greatly appreciated. Do feel free to email the editors at the above address if you have any queries.

Jacket magazine

Jacket magazine, edited by John Tranter, is Australia's premier literary ezine. It's free and offers a challenging mix of poetry, prose, essays and reviews in each volume. Jacket 33 is now online: http://jacketmagazine.com/00/home.shtml

A useful tip - while you're on the Jacket site it's worth tuning in to the very handy links section. This contains URLs to, and descriptions of, 70 national and international literary sites. Sample a variety of people to read and places to publish:
http://jacketmagazine.com/00/litlinks.shtml#au1

Indigo launched

The first issue of Indigo - the new writing journal for WA writers - was launched at the Fremantle Arts Centre on August 3rd. The journal includes the work of both established and emerging writers and is a great addition to the local scene. Congratulations to Garry Davies, a Curtin creative writing student, whose short story "Monsoon" was included in this inaugural volume. The submission deadline for Volume 2 is October 31st, 2007. For more info on how to purchase Indigo, or for submission guidelines, go to : http://www.indigojournal.org.au/

WA heats of Australian Poetry Slam kick off at PICA

The WA heats of Australian Poetry Slam kicked off at PICA on Friday, July 27th with 20 contestants pitching their poetry to 5 judges selected at random from a packed PICA Bar. The winner of the 2 minute verse-off was Vivienne Glance. The next of the 5 heats is at PICA on Friday, August 31st at 7:30pm. The ultimate State winner will be flown to Sydney to compete in the Australian Poetry Slam final in December. Participation in Poetry Slam is free but you must register to compete. For more info go to the website of the event's WA division manager Writing WA: http://www.writerswritingwa.org/

Sitelines: New Online Writing

Sitelines is the online journal for new writing and new media. Sitelines showcases a selection of the best new fiction, poetry, essays and creative non-fiction by students and graduates of Curtin University's long-running and highly regarded writing program.

Access Sitelines here:

http://sitelines.humanities.curtin.edu.au/

Writing Information Network

Welcome to all. This blog is intended as a communication network for past and present students from Curtin University of Technology's Creative and Professional Writing programs. The aim is to create a supportive community of writers and to facilitate the sharing of information, opportunities and ideas about writing in both fiction and non fiction genres.