By: Sophie Constable, Blogger in Residence Writing outside your own experience has received a lot of heat recently. This has been both distressing and compulsive viewing for me, because I find imagining the human experience in different contexts as an important way of reaching out and understanding each other, and humanity as whole. I am … Continue reading
(photo credit: Rachel Saunders) A few years ago I spent a lot of time looking for writing tips to use in one of my short stories called, “Seventeen Rules for Writing a Short Story.” One thing I discovered is that just about every writer who has ever lived has some advice to give on writing, … Continue reading
C.H. Pearce’s short story, Torvald’s Year, won the 2015 Marjorie Graber-McInnis Short Story Award.
“This account of how poor Torvald struggles to escape his wretched life below ground is a superb example of speculative fiction. It plunges the reader straight into a dystopian world of ‘suffering’ without any of those explanations and technological details which would detract from the story.” (Judge, Maureen Bettle). Continue reading
Essayist-in-residence, Kabu Okai-Davies, explores how the author’s “self” is always integrated into fiction. In reflecting on my career as an author, autobiographical writing has always been the substance of my literature. However, there is an ambivalent attitude and misunderstanding amongst those who perceive autobiographical-based fiction as not being grounded within the genre of literary fiction. … Continue reading
Blogger in Residence, Matthew C Lamb, investigates the pros and pitfalls of setting your story in your hometown. The first novel I ever wrote was set in Canberra. Sort of. I created the fictional city of Riverside for the post-apocalyptic adventure, featuring all the most evocative parts of my hometown (foggy orange streetlight hazes; endless winding … Continue reading
HARDCOPY is a unique, national professional development program run by the ACT Writers Centre that helps build the capacities, aptitudes and resources committed Australian writers need in order to reach their potential. In 2014, the program debuted with 30 emerging fiction writers who were enthusiastic about their projects, and embraced the opportunities the program provided. … Continue reading
Jennifer Hand’s short story, Now and Then, was highly commended in the 2015 Marjorie Graber-McInnis Short Story Award. “Subtle and understated, this double portrait brings together a young woman with her older self in the mundane setting of a supermarket” (Judge, Maureen Bettle). Read Jennifer’s piece below and stay tuned for more winners and shortlisted stories … Continue reading
Congratulations to Pip Marks, winner of the 2015 Frugal Feast Writing Prize, run by our friends at YWCA Canberra. Each year YWCA Canberra raise funds in their Frugal Feast campaign, to distribute food hampers and donate groceries to locals in need over the festive season. As part of this campaign a special writing competition was born to get the community … Continue reading
Ashley Thomson’s short story, A White Woman in Ōjin, was the winner of the 2014 Marjorie Graber-McInnis Short Story Award. Read his piece below. More of Ashley’s work can be found on his blog here. Stay tuned for the publication of other shortlisted and winning entries in the coming weeks. They can be found here. A white woman … Continue reading
Join us on 4 December for a conversation with award-winning writer Sulari Gentill as she shares the 10 things every writer needs to know about the art of fiction and being published. Facilitated by the highly regarded Kaaron Warren. Continue reading
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