| Welcome to the October 2021 newsletter! |
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 | Early results of our mini-survey are in but we'd still love to hear from you. Click here to tell us what you think...
What do we know so far? We want to improve our writing craft. We want to learn about the many pathways to publishing. We want to hear the experiences of our fellow authors, and not necessarily just the success stories! We want workshops, too, where we get down into the trenches and write.
Most of all, we are a dedicated bunch, committed to our art for the long haul. We want to share our writing with the world! Looking forward to sharing the writing journey with you over the coming year, Christine Betts
Newsletter Editor |
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 | | President's Report |
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My first President’s report must start with sharing our heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing committee members for their commitment to the association during a chaotic and uncertain year.
We are all eternally grateful to the outgoing President, Andy McDermott, for stepping in at a crucial time for the association, providing leadership, encouraging creativity, and inspiring a new committee through 2020 and 2021. We welcome Andy in his new role as Patron to the Gold Coast Writers’ Association and look forward to his active involvement for years to come.
Many of the hardworking volunteers are returning to the committee for another year and we have some new faces joining this year's committee with fresh enthusiasm and ideas. This fun loving and truly talented team aim to create a year of inspiring speakers, workshops, and special events.
Congratulations to Kerri Yarsley, our Newsletter Editor for more years than she may care to mention. Kerri was honoured at our AGM with her own place on our association shield for her years of writing our newsletters. The newsletter takes hours to write, compile and edit and our Kerri has volunteered her time producing for us this lengthy communique every month. Kerri remains an active member of the committee, as our in-house editor and all-around vessel of infinite wisdom on all things GCWA.
This is your association, so I want to start by asking you all - what do you want to do to celebrate writing and creativity? How can we grow our association and enjoy connecting with writers across not only the Gold Coast and Australia but even abroad? Please use the suggestion slips each month to share your ideas. These go straight to the committee meetings for discussion and will be recorded in the minutes. We want to make these next twelve months the best yet.
Thank you for allowing me to take on the role of President. We are open to all suggestions, so please email gcwa.president@gmail.com. Go ahead and plant the seeds of your best ideas for when you bring writers together and we can create the seemingly impossible.
Create, Inspire, Connect.
Kellie M Cox |
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| Our next event is on Saturday 16 October, 2021 at Burleigh Waters Community Centre, Christine Avenue. |
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Order of Events from 12pm 12:00 Start
12:05 Guest Speaker: Geneve Flynn – 'Speculative fiction, the state of the industry, and heroes and villains.'
13:00 Afternoon Tea: Pre-packed refreshments provided or BYO
13:45 Workshop: Gail Tagarro – ‘I’m a Good Writer: I Don’t Need An Editor’
15:00 Close
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 | | Speculative fiction is a hugely popular category on Amazon. Bram Stoker Award-winning author and editor Geneve Flynn will explore the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and offer insights on industry directions and how to succeed in this field.
Geneve Flynn is an award-winning speculative fiction editor and author. She has two psychology degrees and only uses them for nefarious purposes.
She co-edited Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women with celebrated New Zealand author and editor Lee Murray. The anthology is a 2020 Bram Stoker Award® winner and is shortlisted for the 2020 Shirley Jackson Award, Aurealis Award, and Australian Shadows Award. Black Cranes is listed on Tor Nightfire’s Works of Feminist Horror and Locus magazine’s 2020 Recommended Reading List. Read More... |
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 | | Gail Tagarro is a book writing coach and Accredited Editor (AE). She currently runs four different book coaching programs, helping many aspiring writers go from zero to finished draft, including the 12-week program Get Your Book to the Finish Line™ running again in October.
Gail has been working with writers since the early 2000s. She is an AE, has an MA in linguistics, a journalism degree, years of experience in the corporate world, and 32 years running her own business. Read more... Gail will present her workshop, 'I'm a Good Writer: I Don't Need An Editor': A full disclosure workshop on how writing and editing are different skills, and how you can prepare your manuscript for your chosen editor. |
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New Membership Prices as follows:
$40 per year for Membership Renewal.
New Members $45, plus $5 on the day for the meeting (total $50).
Or members can pay $99 for a 3-year Membership. |
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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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| | | | Opportunities and Competitions |
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 | | The Australian Society of Authors is delighted to be working in partnership with HQ, a division of HarperCollins, to offer the biennial ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize. The Prize honours a tradition that reaches back thousands of years: storytelling. It is seeking the best of commercial fiction: vibrant writing that entertains, enlightens, and provokes lively water-cooler conversations. Prize closes for submissions on 1 November 2021, 5pm AEDT. Read More... |
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 | | Nelson Literary Agency publishes an unique blog full of what they call 'Polite Rants' about the publishing industry. In business for nearly two decades, NLA is a full service literary and media representation agency with a proven track record and a reputation of advocating for authors above all else. Lots of insider information here! Read More... |
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 | Celebrating Writers' Month! Focused on a writing challenge for the month? Looking for a space to write your novel amongst other writers?
We have opened up a selection of library meeting rooms for you free from distractions. Stay for the day or write for a while. Mondays in November, book your spot, pull up a table, and write away! |
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 | Positive Words is a monthly magazine which was started in 2002 to encourage new writers, showcase experienced writers and generally provide a much-needed opportunity for publication for Australian, and World, writers. Each issue contains poetry, short stories and articles, as well as hints, competition advice and daily topics to get you motivated. Positive Words magazine holds two major competitions each year, one closing 23 April and the other 31 October. Read more... |
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 | Each year, the Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin awards scholarship places for our prestigious Writing a Novel program. Faber Writing Scholarships are open to anyone, and offer successful applicants the opportunity to take part in our programs in either Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and online for free. We also offer a dedicated Faber Writing Scholarship for a First Nations Writer. The scholarship winner in this category may take classes in person in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, or online. Please ensure you have read all the Faber Academy Scholarship terms and conditions before making your application. If you have any queries, email us at faberwritingacademy@allenandunwin.com The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday 29 October 2021 for Faber Writing Scholarships for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Online and for a First Nations Writer. |
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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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 | | 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. Applications open every month. |
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 | So You Want to be a Writer Podcast. Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait, both successful journalists and authors, bring you the latest in news, opportunities, trends and gossip in the world of writing and publishing. Learn practical writing techniques, go behind-the-scenes and discover how real life authors got their big break. Uncover the creative processes of writers who have made it. |
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 | | What we're after...
Overland is always looking for nonfiction pieces, especially for its online magazine. We update the pitch page with subjects that seem interesting – though we consider pitches on any topics. Most of all, we’re looking for thoughtful, provocative and argumentative articles, pieces that will provoke discussion and debate. You can pitch to us on one of the topics below, or submit completed articles (of between 800 and 1200 words) to us via our submissions page. We pay $120 for published online pieces. When pitching, please clarify if you want the piece to be published online or print. |
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 | | The Online Writing Competitions website is just what you would expect - an amazing resource of online writing competitions from around the world. The listed competitions are helpfully divided into two categories: With Entry Fee and No Entry Fee. As always, please read all conditions and guides before entering! |
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 | | Submissions wanted: 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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