Due to our move to the Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas in late October, the VWC Library is now closed for borrowing. However, members are still welcome to use the library until 5pm, Friday 9 October. We ask that all books currently out on loan be returned to the VWC by this date.
— 06.09.2009 »
Announced on Tuesday 1 September, the awards celebrate and support creative writing and publishing in Victoria and Australia.
Winners include:
For the full list of prizes and shortlists, see www.slv.vic.gov.au/programs/literary/pla/recipients/shortlist_winner_09.html.
— 04.09.2009 »
Rosebank Writer's Retreat has opened in Victoria and is now offering residential writing fellowships for stays of up to 3 months.
Writing @ Rosebank invites writers to apply for a residential writing fellowship at Rosebank Retreat. The fellowships include accommodation and a modest stipend.
Writers with a specific project that would benefit from escape to the beautiful rural setting at Rosebank Retreat should apply to the Victorian Writers’ Centre.
Writers of fiction, non-fiction, essay, poetry, stage and screen are invited to apply. The fellowships are open to applicants from around Australia; however, half of the fellowships awarded will go to Victorian writers.
Applications opened 28 August and close 9 October 2009.
Download the guidelines and application form: 
.
See Rosebank Retreat to find out more about Rosebank.
Writing @ Rosebank is the result of a philanthropic partnership between Mary Delahunty, the Sidney Myer Fund and the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, and is administered by the Victorian Writers’ Centre.
The patron of Writing @ Rosebank is Miles Franklin-award-winning novelist Alex Miller.
Fellowship judges:
Chrissy Sharp, director of the Centre of Books Writing and Ideas
Antoni Jach, novelist and creative-writing teacher
Sandy Grant, chief executive of Hardie Grant Publishing
Joel Becker, director of the Victorian Writers’ Centre
— 03.09.2009 »
Overload Poetry Festival continues until Sunday 13 September.
Discover the (un)common tongue at the 8th annual Overload Poetry Festival from 4–13 September.
The festival spans 10 days showcasing all forms of poetry – from slammers to sound poets, with a particular emphasis on spoken word.
The festival launches at 6.30pm, 4 September, at the Fitzroy Town Hall. There'll be (short) speeches, a tribute to the late Dorothy Porter and a not-to-be-missed performance from The Heart Chamber: a chorus of poets Matt Hetherington, Lia Hills, Tom Joyce, Michelle Leber and Marian Spires. Keynote Speech by Jennifer Harrison.
For full details of the festival and program guide, see www.overloadpoetry.org.
— 02.09.2009 »
This new prize is open for an unpublished manuscript by any Australian writer over 35, who may or may not have been published before.
This prize recognises that there are many examples of late bloomers when it comes to writers, certainly in terms of getting published. Youth is already celebrated in so many ways, and Scribe wants to support writers who are emerging or still going strong in their prime.
The winner of the CAL Scribe Fiction Prize will be awarded a book contract from Scribe and a prize of $12,000.
Entries close 15 October.
For entry forms visit www.scribepublications.com.au/prize.
— 03.08.2009 »
The Melbourne Writers Festival is on now - until 30 August.
Note that VWC members get concession rates to all MWF events.
Program and bookings: www.mwf.com.au.
— 30.07.2009 »
Nominations for the 2010 Adelaide Festival awards for literature are open, with a prize pool of $130,000 on offer plus the chance to join a distinguished list of past winners including such literary stars as Peter Carey, David Malouf, Cath Kenneally and Dorothy Porter.
The six national awards (of which the following five are open for nomination) judge the best works published in Australia in the previous two years in the genres of:
children’s literature ($15,000) – for a published children's book, fiction or non-fiction;
fiction ($15,000) - for a published novel or collection of short stories;
innovation ($10,000) - for a published book which departs from the conventional use of genre by borrowing elements from a number of genres such as fiction, non-fiction, biography, autobiography, poetry or cultural criticism;
non-fiction ($15,000) - for a published work of non-fiction demonstrating a command of the subject as well as a fluent and outstanding literary style;
poetry ($15,000) - for a published collection of poetry.
The sixth national award – the coveted Premier’s Award ($10,000) - recognises the best published book among all the entries received and is awarded by the judging panel.
Detailed guidelines for the 2010 Adelaide Festival awards for literature are available www.arts.sa.gov.au (see: Support & Funding).
— 20.07.2009 »
The 8th Overload Poetry Festival (4–13 September 2009) seeks submissions of short poetry for public display on the scrolling text tickers of the west-facing wall in Federation Square, corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets.
Send haiku, one-line poems, short poems (up to 5 lines), short prose poems (up to 50 words) to submissions@overloadpoetry.org.
Payment: the joy of being read by hundreds of thousands of people.
They note: “in submitting, please be mindful of the medium and its public nature. Push the boundaries tastefully.”
— 16.07.2009 »
Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) and Hachette Australia are proud to announce their national program for fiction writers in 2009.
Who will benefit? This program has been created for emerging Australian authors of fiction who are either unpublished or have no more than one significant work commercially published.What is the program? Up to 10 emerging fiction writers will work with publishers from Hachette Australia to develop high-quality fiction manuscripts. During the program participants will consult with the publishers, hear about the publishing industry from professionals such as literary agents, booksellers and established authors, and work on their manuscripts. The program will run at a retreat location in south-east Queensland from 20-25 Novembr 2009.
How do I apply? The program is open to fiction writers who are Australian citizens or permanently resident in Australia. There is a $50 application fee per submission. For full guidelines and application forms, contact QWC on 07 3839 1243 or download from www.qwc.asn.au. Send the first 50 pages of your manuscript, plus a one-page synopsis. We are interesed in strong commerical fiction, including contemporary women's fiction, crime and speculative fiction. Manuscripts for children or young adult readers are ineligible for this program.Deadlines Applications open in May 2009. The deadline for submission is last post 24 July 2009.
— 09.06.2009 »
Writers and publishers are invited to submit entries to the prestigious Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.
A total of $195,000 will be awarded to established and emerging writers across eleven categories in one of Australia’s richest and most diverse writing prizes.
The winner of the Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript by an Emerging Victorian Writer will also receive 20 hours of professional assistance from the Victorian Writers’ Centre. This prize is offered for an unpublished fiction manuscript which may be a novel or a collection of stories. An “Emerging Writer” is defined as an author who has not previously had a fiction book published.
Entries close 1 May.
— 27.04.2009 »
Writers Victoria
Level 3, 176 Little Lonsdale Street,
the Wheeler Centre
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9094 7855
Fax: 03 9650 8010
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm
