| Welcome to the December newsletter! |
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 | The GCWA Christmas Party will be held on the deck at
Currumbin RSL on Saturday 11 December at 1:30pm
All welcome - please bring a gift-wrapped book as your Secret Santa present.
RSVP to Kellie - gcwa.president@gmail.com |
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Hi Writers!
How have your writing goals fared for 2021?
Personally, I have smashed mine out of the park, but then I've been in something of a forced 'retreat' from the world over the past six months! Setting goals and putting your nose to the grindstone is a great way to get stuff done, but having a thriving writing community around us is infinitely more fun.
The GCWA is once again the hub of the Gold Coast writing community. Over the past couple of weeks Kate and Judy have launched Writing Fridays at Elanora library, a GCWA collaboration with the Queensland Writers Centre and GC Libraries.
In 2022, two new groups will launch: the Critique Group with Judy and Louisa, and the Accountability Group with Selena and Paul. These groups aim to provide essential feedback, support, and camaraderie for writers keen to "level up" in '22.
Now to set those goals because as Bill Copeland once said, “The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” Christine Betts
Newsletter Editor |
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| You can find GCWA membership information here... |
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President's Report
It’s the end of another year and I, for one, have been grateful to live on the Gold Coast. We have been able to attend our writers’ meetings face to face, and have enjoyed restaurants and live performances when other states haven’t. I want to acknowledge how much we have missed our members, guests and speakers who have been unable to attend the meetings due to border restrictions. Our hardworking Newsletter Editor, Christine Betts, has been writing remotely for us for months from just over the border and we miss her terribly. Hopefully, 2022 sees us all coming together again in creative connection.
A huge thank you to our industry collaborators and speakers for 2021. I think we would all agree we have basked in the experience, skills and talents our speakers have shared with us. Behind the scenes we are scheduling our calendar of events for 2022 and have a few little surprises for our members. Expect a big year!
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to our volunteer committee. We come together for a fast-paced committee meeting hours before our general meeting. We then set up the venue in record time and sincerely thank those familiar faces who jump in and help each month. If you haven’t already, please get to know your committee. We are a chatty bunch who love to talk books and writing. I am honoured to be working alongside this immensely talented group of creatives.
Until our first newsletter of 2022… stay safe and well, and enjoy a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and, my favourite part of the year, our Queensland summer.
Create, Inspire, Connect.
Kellie M Cox
President |
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| Our next meeting is on
Saturday 15 January 2022
at Burleigh Waters Community Centre,
Christine Avenue. |
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 | | Writing Fridays at Elanora Library This exciting innovation for writers at Elanora Library is consolidating nicely. Seven writers attended last week. Feedback is very positive with everyone enjoying working with the Pomodoro technique and their level of productivity. Rachel from the library has provided informative news flashes at morning tea. Writing Friday will run every Friday,
except public holidays, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Upcoming dates - 10 December 2021, 17 December 2021
7 January 2022
10:00am - 1:00pm |
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| | | | Opportunities and Competitions |
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 | Somerset National Poetry Prize
The purpose of the Somerset National Poetry Prize is to encourage a love of writing poetry amongst secondary school students, to affirm it as a worthwhile literary pursuit, and to stimulate excellence in writing. It also aims to inspire and enrich youth literature.
As a part of the 2022 Somerset Storyfest, school-aged students are invited to participate in the Somerset National Poetry Prize sponsored by Dr Annette Allen of Tweed Banora Dental.
Entries close Friday 17 December 2021 Read more...
click here for Conditions of Entry. |
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 | | The 2022 Storyfest National Novella Writing Competition As a part of the 2022 Somerset Storyfest, school-aged students are invited to participate in our National Novella Writing Competition.
Entries close Friday 17 December 2021 Read more...
click here for Conditions of Entry |
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 | | Applications open: 15 November 2021 – 18 January 2022
Program longlist notified: Late February 2022
Program shortlist notified: Early March
Program dates: Gold Coast Film Festival 20 April – 1 May 2022 Adaptable seeks material for film or television adaptation. Open to writers across Australia and New Zealand, the contest accepts any genre, fiction or non-fiction, published or unpublished. Queensland Writers Centre also identifies several early career unpublished/emerging writers to pitch their work to screen creatives, with these writers receiving mentorship and advice prior to the pitching sessions. Each successful applicant is given the opportunity to pitch published and/or publication-ready novels, short stories, biographies, and non-fiction works with potential for screen adaptation to producers, showrunners, and screenwriters. See the QWC website for more information. |
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The Queensland Writers Centre is a community that champions writers across Queensland. We help writers at all stages of their writing journey develop skills to improve their craft, engage their readers and build a sustainable career. Read more... |
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 | | 2021 DJILLONG SHORT STORY COMPETITION Geelong Writers invites writers to enter the inaugural Djillong Short Story Competition. Closing date: 15 December 2021 Short stories 3,000 – 5,000 words
Open theme
For more information click here... |
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 | Rhiza Press, Wombat Books and Rhiza Edge take submissions at specific times and right now they are open to submissions for Picture Books and Young Adult Fiction.
For more information Click here... and remember to check the submission guidelines!
Rhiza Edge Short Story Competition is also a great way to attract the attention of the publisher! All you have to do is write a creative and exciting story that engages with their selected themes for 2022, Biblical Fiction and Cultural Diversity. Word count to be between 2000 and 5000 words. Read more... |
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 | | 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 — usually a library or community centre — where Queenslanders can cultivate their habit of writing, following the Pomodoro technique. Join us every Friday at Queensland Writers Centre or get in touch to find your nearest Writing Friday group! |
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 | | A one-day festival jam-packed with exhibitions, workshops, competitions, prizes, and fun activities for young writers in Grades: 6-10. QWC is excited to announce the inaugural Brisbane Children’s Writers Festival for the young creative writers and readers of Brisbane. Fitting the occasion, the theme for the new festival is "Beginnings". Become a Youth Member of Queensland Writers Centre to claim your free ticket today. This one-day festival will be jam-packed with awesome workshops, competitions, prizes, and loads of fun and creative activities to inspire the creativity of young writers and readers. With a mix of social, solo, and more hands-on activities, everyone will have their chance to try something new and share their creativity in a fun, supportive, and creative environment. More information here. |
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 | | John Grisham: Lawyering, writing and innocence - A Conversation with Richard Fidler John Grisham is the author of many best-selling novels, which often take place within the American legal system. His books often expose the clubbiness of the legal system, and the way it can callously destroy the lives of the powerless and the innocent. John has a longstanding involvement with the Innocence Project in the U.S, a movement dedicated to exonerating people who have been wrongfully convicted, using DNA testing.
Words have Power and Stories can truly change the world. Listen to this great podcast here or in your podcast app. |
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 | | Pop-Up: Your Year in Writing
MEET THE TEAM AND FIND OUT WHAT THE NEW YEAR HAS IN STORE FOR YOU AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY WITH QUEENSLAND WRITERS CENTRE.
Whether you’re a new member and you want to meet fellow writers and the Queensland Writers team, or if you just want to know what we can do to support you and your writing, this event is for you! Read More... |
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 | | A fantastic resource filled with competitions and opportunities for writers. Read More... |
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 | | Black Beacon Books publishes quality mystery and suspense anthologies. They are currently OPEN to submissions for our Hitchcock-themed anthology, "Tales from the Ruins: A Post-Apocalyptic Anthology" and "The Second Black Beacon Book of Mystery" will be open for submissions in early 2022. Check out their Facebook page for more information... and read the submissions guidelines here... |
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 | Save the date: Brisbane, 18-20 February 2022. An initiative of Queensland Writers Centre, GenreCon is the leading conference for genre writers.Featuring an impressive line-up of leading names in Australian and international genre fiction across a spectacular weekend of panels, workshops and special events, 2022’s conference is dedicated to you - The Storyteller. Plus, don’t miss out on your chance to pitch your work to leading publishers and agents. Full program live now! |
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 | | Right Left Write is run in conjunction with the QWC weekly newsletter, Pen & Pixel. Each month they announce a prompt word or theme in Pen & Pixel, then it’s over to you to create a short story of up to 500 words and right, left, write. Members can enter for free and non-members can enter for a $5 fee. So make Right Left Write part of your routine and get writing. A new theme is announced when Applications open every month. |
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 | | Why I write... In a few sentences, tell us why you write. To be published in the GCWA newsletter. Email: gcwa.news@gmail.com |
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| Feedback Welcome! You may have noticed the changing face of the Newsletter and the Website. Please let us know what you think of the changes. Contact Us... |
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