Pages

Join us and meet other writers!

In the leafy grounds and hibiscus shade of the Fremantle Arts Centre Café.

Flame Trees in the Courtyard

Take your time to feel the energy of leaf power.

Friendly Fauna

Oh good, a bunch of writers with food!

Always be on the lookout for strange characters

They will make an interesting plot.

Haiku for Joyce

concrete two-seater
come, come, all writers sit on
my hard art

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Launch of Sandfire by Sunline Press: Poets Flora Smith, Rose van Son & Chris Konrad


Dear Members, Poets, Friends!

Now that the plum pudding has settled and the turkey is all gone, here’s an invitation for you to the 14th January book launch of Sandfire, published by Sunline Press. Sandfire is a poetry collection by Flora Smith, Rose van Son and Christopher Konrad. We would love to see all our OOTA members there, and of course if you would kindly RSVP to Roland at Sunline Press (or Flora @ florabl@iinet.net.au) they would be better able to judge numbers at the launch.

Event: Launch of Sandfire – a poetry collection.
Saturday 14th January 2012 @ 2.30pm
Gallows Gallery
53 Glyde Street,
Mosman Park.

RSVP: Roland Leach - rleach@plc.wa.edu.au

Sunday, December 18, 2011

OOTA Christmas Party Slide Show

On Friday, 16th December 2011 we celebrated Christmas under a shady gazebo and the towering plane trees at the Fremantle Arts Centre. Julie Watts our Vice-President welcomed members to the Christmas Party and thanked them for attending. All in all it was a great day with food, wine and readings by our members. Steve Finch from dotdotdash also spoke about their latest promotion called Subscribeathon as well as the idea of subscribers becoming gold members to receive other benefits. Over 40 writers attended, each taking home their first copy of dotdotdash #8, and plenty of Christmas wishes from OOTA.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Merry Christmas from the OOTA Team - Christmas Party Update



Wishing a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to all our members. We hope you can make it to our last function for the year!

OOTA will celebrate Christmas this year on Friday, 16th December at noon in the leafy grounds of the Fremantle Arts Centre. Amongst the festivities there will be readings by Gail Willems, Renee Schipp, Helen Trengrove, Carol Milner, Carolyn Abbs and Julie Watts.

Bring a plate, a bottle of your choice of poison and your good Christmas cheer!

The committee decided that as the16th is the last class/meeting day at the FAC, it was a perfect time to hand out our membership journal dotdotdash. Members are to see Carolyn Abbs to obtain a copy of the publication. We hope you can assist us by coming along and collecting your copy, even if you can't stay. This saves OOTA postage handling time & money.

We also advise that classes for prose & poetry will resume early in 2012, Shane's poetry is starting back on Friday 13th January and prose with Helen Hagemann on 20th. Saturday poetry commences on 4th February at 1.30 at the Grove.  This notice is also up on our two blogs. writingatthecentre.blogspot.com & on our Classes page.

We hope that you can come along and join us for our Christmas celebration!

See You in the Courtyard 
Fremantle Arts Centre 
1 Finnerty Street, 
Fremantle.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Last Prose Writing Class at the FAC for 2011

Our last prose workshop for the year on Friday, 16th December, 2011 is ‘Writing Exercises & Readings of your work'. The first hour will focus on the sensory elements of sight/sound, esp. in Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Tell Tale Heart. 2nd Hour is readings of your work. Anyone who has written during the year in any of the “series” based classes is welcome to come along. Depending on numbers writers are given 5-8 minutes each in the readings. If you want comments from other writers please print out enough copies to hand out. Not really for “Poets” but you are welcome to come along and read a prose poem.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Peter Bishop visits OOTA at the FAC

Mohammed comes to the mountain: Peter Bishop comes to lunch at OOTA. With only two weeks of the OOTA year to go, there is still a great deal happening. This Friday, 9th December, we will be joined at lunch by Peter Bishop, who is currently in residence at Mattie Furphy House. Peter Bishop was Creative Director of Varuna for 17 years, and is about to launch an independent program, The Writer Conversation, which will work with writers at keeping focused on projects and looking for opportunities for their work. Come along for a round table conversation about writing and getting published.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Congratulations to Susan Siddall!

Congratulations to Susan Siddall for the recent publication of the first of her memoirs, Is the Chimney Really Burning? Susan is an OOTA member and has been an attendee at Friday's Prose Class & also Bruce Russell's Master Classes. We sincerely wish her well!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Six Essentials for a Great Writing Masterclass

What you should get from a Masterclass
or in other words *beware of Windbags!*

There are murmurings in the Perth writing community that the oft-touted "Masterclasses" - especially during the Perth Writers Festival - fail to live up to their espoused title. Marsha Durham, author, academic and linguist, has an excellent article on her blog 'Writing Companion' where she details exactly what writers should expect to get from a "Masterclass". If you don't receive all of the quantifiable benefits, then you are wasting your time, and your money. See her article here Six Essentials for a Great Writing Masterclass

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Helen Hagemann is back at the Fremantle Arts Centre with a class on "Australian Short Fiction".

Writing at the Centre
Helen is back at the FAC for the final two classes in 2011 [2/12 & 16/12/11] 

The upcoming Friday Prose class on 2nd December will look at "Australian Short Fiction"
Texts used to stimulate writing exercises will be Peter Cowan's The Red-backed Spiders, Patrick White's Clay, Barbara Baynton's The Chosen Vessel and Cate Kennedy's short story Sleepers. 

10.00am til noon, Room 9, Fremantle Arts Centre, 1 Finnerty Street, Fremantle. 
$20 OOTA : $25 NON-OOTA member. All welcome!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

The First Facebook Short Story Writing Competition

The Writing Lab is proud to announce that they are hosting Australia’s first Facebook Short Story Competition. With a super-tight word count, public votes deciding the winner, and everyone’s favourite object of desire as 1st prize, this should be lots of fun. So get scribbling, get your friends to like your story – and good luck!

Find out more here...

Saturday, November 19, 2011

2012 Saturday Poetry Classes at the Grove, Cottesloe



Saturday Poetry Workshops were successful at the Grove Library in 2011 and OOTA will again offer this after-hours course in 2012. Tutor, Helen Hagemann.

It will consist of fortnightly Saturday Poetry Workshops for casual participants. Each Workshop will introduce contemporary poetry for those poets wanting to write contemporary poetry.  

Participation in the Workshops will cover the study of poems, discussion and several writing exercises. In a recent survey the consensus was that most writers wanted to continue with the same 2011 format, with a minor introduction o
f the classics and traditional poetry and its forms. Poets wishing to attend can view the times and dates here on this blog (under "Classes") and also on the Writing at the Centre blog. Classes are earmarked to start in 2012 on Saturday 4th February. 1.30pm-3.30pm.  

The Grove Library now has a coffee shop and we will continue to incorporate this social side of our poetry group after class. 

Venue: The Grove Library 1 Leake Street (Corner Stirling Highway) Peppermint Grove 

The venue is also close to the Cottesloe station with just a short walk along Napolean Street. 

Writing at the Centre Classes 


Biography of Helen Hagemann
Helen Hagemann's poetry is published in major Australian literary journals, including Westerly, Blue Dog, Famous Reporter, Southerly, Island and Overland. In 2008, she won a Varuna Macquarie/ Longlines Poetry workshop in Katoomba, NSW. In association with the Australian Poetry Centre's New Poets Program her collection Evangelyne & Other Poems was published in 2009. Helen has an MA in Creative Writing, and teaches prose each Friday fortnight at the Fremantle Arts Centre. She also runs a poetry class at the Grove Library, Peppermint Grove (2012). Recently, Helen spent time in Ireland at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre Annaghmakerrig, completing a new poetry collection.    

Monday, November 14, 2011

Creative Writing at the Fremantle Arts Centre

Final Prose Class in Creative Non-Fiction, this Friday 18th November with Rosemary Stevens. Learn ‘Creative Non-Fiction’ by using such fictional devices as scene setting, dialogue and the use of sensuous detail. 10.00am – noon. Casual class, no booking required. Cost $20/$25 (non-OOTA). For more details click here...

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Videos of the Australian Poetry Symposium

Take a look at the videos of the Australian Poetry Symposium, Newcastle October 2011. Papers read by Lucy Dougan, Jaya Savage, Martin Langford. Some insightful and controversial discussions from Peter Minter and Michael Sharkey!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Novel Manuscript Development Opportunity

The Australian Literature Review is seeking expressions of interest for a 20 week novel manuscript development program beginning mid Feb 2012. (If there is enough demand for the program by mid Jan the program will go ahead in one or several Australian locations.)
More here...

Monday, November 7, 2011

Liana Christensen's Book Launch Pics

A large crowd enjoyed Liana Christensen's book launch of Deadly Beautiful on Saturday 5th November at Mattie Furphy House, Swanbourne. You can also go to Flickr to view larger slide show. Photography by Meredi Ortega

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Amanda Curtin's Judge's report for Spilt Ink Competiton

Creative non-fiction is sometimes thought to be a ‘new’ genre of writing, but it’s been around for a while in the form of travel writing, memoir, some feature journalism and the kind of biography in which the biographer steps into the story and inhabits that space between the objective and the subjective. Think Helen Garner, Inga Clendinnen. Go even further back and think Truman Capote with In Cold Blood. Two of my favourite examples of the genre, Janet Malcolm’s The Silent Woman and Hanifa Deen’s Broken Bangles, both date back to the 1990s. What’s ‘new’ about the genre now, other than the shiny new term ‘creative non-fiction’, is its popularity. Perhaps, in some measure, this has been fuelled by the reading public’s interest in true stories told with the use of fictional techniques, their interest in writers as players in the stories they tell, and a growing acceptance that boundaries between genres can be blurred and nobody will get hurt—although Kate Grenville might beg to differ there. Read more here ..

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Our AGM & Results of the Spilt Ink Competition

Our sincere thanks to all standing members on the committee who were voted in for 2012. Helen Hagemann: President, Julie Watts: Vice-President, Leanne Searle: Treasurer, Lucas North: Secretary, Carolyn Abbs: Membership Coordinator, Rose van Son: Agenda Coordinator - Shoma Mitra: Network Tuesday Editor, Committee members: Josephine Clarke, Lucy Czerwiec and Helen Trengrove.
Thanks also to Lucy for photographs and a special thank-you to all the members who attended. You can read the President's report here...
RESULTS OF THE SPILT INK COMPETITION: 1st Prize: Liana Christensen for Before They Fall, 2nd Prize: Helena Kadmos for Fruit Box and 3rd Prize: Laura Tanja King for Utopian Desire and an Earthly Paradise. Thanks to all those who entered.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

All welcome to Liana Christensen's book launch of Deadly Beautiful




















You are warmly invited to the celebration of Deadly Beautiful by Liana Joy Christensen.
To be launched by renowned wildlife photographer Jiri Lochman. Join us at 4.00 pm on Saturday November 5th 2011, Mattie Furphy Centre for Creative Imagining, Adjacent to FAWWA, Tom Collins House
88 Wood Street, Swanbourne. RSVP by November 1st to Liana.Christensen@uwa.edu.au

Friday, October 14, 2011

Helen is Back from the Land of the Leprechauns!

Return of Saturday Poetry for 2012

The Grove Library has offered its support to OOTA writers for our fortnightly Saturday Poetry Class for 2012. Once again this class will be held in the Flax room from 1.30pm to 3.30pm each Saturday fortnight. The class is a drop-in-style, no booking required. Saturday Poetry is suitable for community writers/ OOTA regulars, part-timers and casual attendees. So you can go off on holidays when you choose and we will still be there when you get back!
For those of you who are interested in attending I would be pleased if you would take the time to answer a poll which outlines further details of the coming 2012 workshops on my personal blog @ Evangelyne
Many thanks
Helen Hagemann

Monday, October 10, 2011

Publishing Opportunity for S/F/Fantasy, Horror Writers

Twelfth Planet Press Novel Manuscript Submission Month – January 2012

Twelfth Planet Press is looking to develop a new line of dynamic, original genre novels. Twelfth Planet Press novels will push boundaries to question, inspire, engage and challenge. We are specifically looking to acquire material outside that which is typically considered by mainstream publishers.

We are looking for science fiction, fantasy, horror and crime. We will consider borderline literary, new weird, steampunk, space opera, hard science fiction, soft science fiction, urban fantasy, cyberpunk, military science fiction, young adult, paranormal romance and everything in between.
Please note we are not looking for epic fantasy, splatterpunk, novellas, nonfiction, previously published material (where published includes electronic or audio ie on your blog, as a podcast, ebook etc) and unfinished work. We will not consider multiple or simultaneous submissions. Please take some time to familarise yourself with the kind of content we publish. We are not interested in gratuitous violence, misogyny and gore or sex scenes for shock value.We are looking to acquire all English language territory rights and ebook rights. We are offering advances and royalties.

How to Submit:
The manuscript submissions period will commence January 1, 2012 and end January 31, 2012.

Email the first 3 chapters of your finished manuscript and a brief (1-2 page) synopsis to manuscripts@twelfthplanetpress.com in rtf file format. Title your subject heading with the genre/subgenre for our email management. You will receive an automated email receipt of your submission.
Your synopsis should include a summary of all the characters and plot (including the ending) and a brief discussion of your intended audience, your likely sales market, what other books are like yours and why your book is better or why your book is needed.
Include your full contact details, including email address, manuscript title, word count and a brief biography. Full manuscripts will be requested from those submissions which make it to the second round.All submissions will be considered by our team of readers. Manuscripts will be read in the order of their receipt. The team will pass up manuscripts for the second round and submission of full manuscripts will be on request at that time. Depending on volume, we are intending to respond to all submissions by June 30, 2012. There will be subsequent submissions periods after January 2012.

Checklist:
Submissions period: January 1, 2012 – January 31, 2012.
Email address: manuscripts@twelfthplanetpress.com
First 3 chapters and a 1-2 page synopsis of your book with marketing and sales outline in rtf file.
Include your full contact details, word count and brief biography.

http://www.twelfthplanetpress.com/news/twelfth-planet-press-novel-manuscript-submission-month-january-2012

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Manuscript Monday: An Opportunity to Pitch Your Book

Manuscript Monday is a new initiative which is part of Pan Macmillan Australia's manuscript submission process. If you’ve ever dreamed of getting published, and have a story you’d like to pitch, here’s your chance to have it read by a publisher. No more navigating the slush pile! Every Monday we will accept submissions between 10am and 4pm that are sent electronically and comply with the guidelines. Check it out here...

Friday, September 9, 2011

Launch of Roland Leach's New Poetry Collection


OOTA members are invited to the launch of My Father's Pigs by Roland Leach.
The collection will be launched by Professor Dennis Haskell, Chair of the Australia
Council Literature Board, On Friday, 23rd September 2011, 6pm Drama Foyer -
Presbyterian Ladies' College Please RSVP by Friday 9th September*
Phone Roland on 93833256 or Email rleach@plc.wa.edu.au

Thursday, September 1, 2011

An Opportunity for our Members

Do you need help with your writing? Often attending class or sending work off to various markets or competitions can be a daunting thing.

OUR MEMBER KATHRYN LEE is prepared to help. Kathryn would like your response, so no matter what the circumstance please send her a quick email or your thoughts on the idea of this supportive group.

OOTA writers sought for a regular Saturday writing group: Seeking OOTA members interested in forming a writing group to do a writing exercise together and provide one another with feedback on writing under development. If interested in joining the group, contact Kathryn at kathryn_mry@yahoo.com.au (note the underscore in the address!) or 0409 089 829. Further details to be determined pending expressions of interest.

Friday, August 26, 2011

OOTA Writers read at Spring Poetry Festival

2011 Sunline Press Poets Muster at The Bodhi Tree
Sunday August 28th, 1.30–3.00pm, features Andrew Burke, Vivienne Glance, Jennifer Kornberger, Roland Leach, Shane McCauley and Annamaria Weldon reading new and published poems, and introducing the latest Sunline Press Poet, Mags Webster reading from her new collection The Weather of Tongues. This event is part of the 2011 WA Poetry Festival. Sunday August 28th -1.30–3.00pm @ The Bodhi Tree Bookstore 416-418 Oxford Street Mt Hawthorn 6016 Tel: 9444 9884

OTHER SPRING POETRY GIGS
The Fringe Gallery, Sunday 28th August. John Mateer, Michelle Cahill, Miriam Lo, John Daniel UK, Jane Spiro UK. The Fringe Gallery Willagee, 94 Bawdan Street Willagee (opposite Webber Reserve): 7.30 - 10 pm.

Poets Aloud, Monday 29th August. Janet Jackson and many others. Murray St, Mall

Voicebox
on Monday 29th August: SPRING POETRY FESTIVAL SPECIAL featuring national and international poets - Geoff Lemon, Michelle Cahill, Jennifer Compton, John Daniel and Zachary Cotler. Mc'd by our fabulous OOTA gals, Jo Clarke & Liana Christensen.

Check out the Spring Festival program here...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

OOTA & DOT DOT DASH LAUNCH PHOTOS


What a great day. Steve Finch is AMAZING! Our thanks go to the Fremantle Arts Centre for providing an excellent and professional venue. Big hugs to Susan O'Brien for her photography on the day. Thanks also to our OOTA gang who supplied the food! And to everyone who came along, read, mingled and --- did you join OOTA?

Thursday, August 11, 2011

OOTA invites members/writers to dotdotdash launch






OOTA is hosting a launch of the latest volume of dotdotdash #7 on Saturday, August 20th, 2pm in Room 15 of the Fremantle Arts Centre
dotdotdash is the new membership journal for OOTA members. As a part of your membership, you will receive 3 issues a year. Join us for a very special celebration on Saturday week, where you can meet the dotdotdash team and hear work from the August issue. Readers include: Clayton Lin, Kath Greville, Michael Collins, Pat Johnson, and OOTA members Josephine Clarke and Annamaria Weldon. Please RSVP to editor@dotdotdash.org - Details on FACEBOOK

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Launch of The Weather of Tongues by Mags Webster

The Weather of Tongues by Mags Webster from H2 Design on Vimeo.

"Photographs by Meredi Ortega (OOTA) and Music by www.pacdv.com/sounds/"

Caitlyn's Farewell

Sunday, July 24, 2011

You are invited to Mags Webster's Book Launch

OOTA proudly announces the release of Mags Webster's first collection of poetry, The Weather of Tongues. Mags is a long standing member of OOTA, a regular at poetry & prose classes and has served on committee. We congratulate Mags on her publication by Sunline Press. All OOTA members are invited to help celebrate her latest success! Join us at the Gallows Gallery, 53 Glyde Street, Mosman Park. Saturday 6th August at 2.30pm.

Click on image for larger view.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Mags Webster's new collection: The Weather of Tongues


THE WEATHER OF TONGUES 
by Mags Webster

‘… you’ve scoped me like landscape and I await/ the brushstrokes of your breath, the weather of tongues …’
‘Strange Vernacular’, The Weather of Tongues

Land, language, distance, the music of love, its darkness and its mystery – all these themes are woven into a new poetry collection called The Weather of Tongues, by Perth-based writer and OOTA member, Mags Webster.

The Weather of Tongues is published by Sunline Press, and will be launched by poet Kevin Gillam at the Gallows Gallery, 53 Glyde Street, Mosman Park on Saturday 6 August at 2.30pm. Thereafter it will be available at Planet Books and other independent bookstores in the metropolitan area.

As its title suggests, The Weather of Tongues invokes the metaphorical realm of words and language, and investigates the power of poetry to create mood and feeling, its own kind of 'weather system'. Some of these poems might make you feel the warmth of sunlight, or the humid breath of a tropical storm; others may leave you feeling a bit windswept, or chilled. We think we cannot touch the weather, but weather, like words, has a way of touching us.

Mags was born and raised in England, moving to Western Australia in 2003, where she worked in the performing arts industry and the not-for-profit sector before moving into freelance work and returning to university. Her poems and short stories have won prizes in competitions in Australia and the UK, and her poems have been published in a range of anthologies and journals including The Weighing of the Heart (Sunline Press), indigo, dotdotdash and Kurungabaa. She lives in the Perth Hills, and has been a member of OOTA since 2003.

About The Weather of Tongues:

‘Webster writes in an elegant and seamless voice, sewing wish to wonder, here to hope. Her poems work the parameters of the universal - "the stars have given up their game", nature - "I understand the magpie's enquiring eye", and deep thought - "armfuls of her absence". This is a beautifully crafted volume of work.’ Kevin Gillam

‘The Weather of Tongues is mature and brilliant, a languid and dangerous collection of poems. It’s a book marked by a deep intelligence, a stirring sensuality and a deftness of poetic touch across a wide array of forms…These poems traffic a rich vernacular contraband of heart and place: longing, exile, love, sex, shorelines, grief, fear, hope and the medicine of the enormous present moment … [This] is a book of linguistic fire.’ Mark Tredinnick

For more information, contact Mags on webstermv@arach.net.au

Sunday, June 26, 2011

New Prose Series with Nandi Chinna at the FAC

Four Hills and a Cloud - Writing on Walking

Poet Wallace Stevens writes:
‘In my room, the world is beyond my understanding;
But when I walk I see that it consists of three or four
hills and a cloud’ (Stevens, 1955, p. 57).

In these workshops, writers will investigate the practice of walking as a creative tool. From Basho to Wordsworth, Janet Cardiff to Richard Long, many artists and writers have used the practice of walking to inform their creativity. Participants will undertake short walks and will be instructed in the practice of ‘reading’ the environment with the senses. Writers will then do a series of writing exercises using our walking experiences as raw material for creating prose pieces.
Classes do not require a prior booking. Cost per class: OOTA $20, NON-OOTA $25, $20 Conc. Classes commence (each Friday fortnight) at 10.00am-noon. All welcome!
1st Workshop is Friday, 1st July
2nd Workshop is Friday, 15th July
3rd Workshop is Friday, 29th July

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

FREMANTLE PRESS POETRY MONTH





Celebrate the launch of three new poetry collections with an evening of live music and performance poetry, featuring: TRACY RYAN – MICHAEL HEALD – KEVIN GILLAM – ANDREW LANSDOWN – LIANA JOY CHRISTENSEN – AMANDA JOY – JOHN CHARLES RYAN – CAITLYN MALING
Thursday 7 July, 6pm for a 6.30pm start
Fremantle Arts Centre
1 Finnerty Street Fremantle
RSVP: admin@fremantlepress.com.au OR ring: 08 94306331

Monday, June 6, 2011

Our congratulations to Mary on the publication of 'Beyond Borders'

Beyond Borders by Mary Nakashiba (aka Jarzabkowski) is a major achievement by one of our members. This is a memoir of cultural significance. It is a story of the personal struggle of a multicultural family (Australian/Japanese), and the punitive actions of a government during the war years in Australia. Mary's story is worth knowing and worth reading. Factually written in beautiful prose, she portrays the harsh reality of the times with stoicism and humour. The reader will not be disappointed. Mary's memoir can be purchased at BookPal or purchased through major bookstores.
Our thanks to Josephine Clarke for the pic above showing Mary and the Friday OOTA writers celebrating her success with a bottle of champagne!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Announcing our Creative Non-Fiction Competition for WA Writers!



2011 SPILT INK COMPETITION - Submissions now open!
Each year OOTA conducts a writing competition for its sole membership. In alternate years we have run a Poetry, then a Prose Competition. However, this year our competition is "Creative Non-Fiction."
Note: Guidelines are to be strictly observed otherwise your entry will not be accepted.
Download our pdf (in landscape) entry form here or our .doc entry form (in landscape) here or simply click on image, then print. 

What is Creative Non-fiction? 
by Rose van Son

Creative non-fiction is the writing of a personal essay. The word non-fiction is the clue: prose that is not fictional but of an event in the writer’s life, told creatively.
Often these events are memorable, even life-changing for the writer and therefore the need to put pen to paper, to tell the story in a creative way. The power of creative non-fiction is in the telling; whether the story is life-changing or whether it is simply a moment of everyday life, the telling is important. Creative non-fiction writing frees the writer from the constraints of the formal or academic essay; the telling can be a journey, or a new way of seeing or developing an issue important to the writer.
If research is used in the creative non-fiction essay, it must be acknowledged in the essay, as in the academic essay, to avoid plagiarism. The story-telling must be smooth and can include dialogue or analysis but the reader must feel that this is the ‘telling’ of something that has happened to the writer; an event that may have changed the writer in some way or has influenced the writer sufficiently to pick up a pen. As the story unfolds, the reader may be influenced by both the story and the telling. The writer may use the first person ‘I’ to share his or her personal story with the reader. A good piece of creative non-fiction will leave the reader thinking.

Monday, May 30, 2011

e-launch of Par écrit: poetry of the feminine & The Joyous Lake by Helen Hagemann


Helen Hagemann announces the publication of her 2 new e-books Par écrit: poetry of the feminine and The Joyous Lake. Helen's poetry will take you down a nature trail to rivers, lakes, ponds and more. Par écrit: poetry of the feminine is poetry concerned with life's journey and all things female. You can read her work leisurely on Helen's website or check out ISSUU - a great way to publish - for free!
http://members.iinet.net.au/~helen.hagemann
http://issuu.com/evangelyne/docs/par_ecrit

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Annamaria Weldon announces an artistic collaboration: Bush Journal

Bush Journal - words, drawings, sound; a collaborative installation by writer Annamaria Weldon and Carolyn Marks, artist & sculptor.
Opens this weekend Saturday 28th May 2011 at INQB8. Mandurah's inaugural exhibition. Details of the exhibition, venue, dates, etc. here ...

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Exciting New Creative Writing Classes at the Fremantle Arts Centre

WRITING AT THE CENTRE
Friday's Prose class brings you five new series of creative writing with new tutors.
Our 1st Series "Releasing the Writer Within" was a huge success and so it's a big thank you to writers who attended who made it so. We now offer the
2nd Series - sui generis with Lucas North
3rd Series - Four Hills & a Cloud with Nandi Chinna
4th Series - Writing Children's Literature with Andrew Lansdown
5th Series - Writing Longer Fiction with Bruce Russell
6th Series - Creative Non-Fiction with Rosemary Stevens

We hope you will continue to participate in the Friday class. You can read more at http://www.writingatthecentre.blogspot.com or download the two page brochure here...

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Interesting Article in the West & Some Opportunities for You!

Never Judge an Essay by its Cover
by DONNA WARD - The West Australian May 10, 2011

"My vision takes into account the great sweep of the country from all points of the compass. What events happened in 2011 that made our essayists set forth on their journey to understanding? How do our essayists help us think about our lives," says ABC Radio personality, Ramona Koval when I asked her what she was looking for as the selecting editor for Best Australian Essays 2011.

Award winning author Cate Kennedy says what is thoughtfully crafted catches her attention when choosing pieces for Best Australian Stories 2011. She adds, "If I had to be quoted offering words of encouragement to WA writers (or any writers, come to that) I'd say, send me the stories you really love, stories that have been a joy to create rather than an onerous task to write. That's the energy that will come off the page."

Read more here...

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Speculative Fiction Opportunity

2011 Eureka Street/Reader's Feast Award
The 2011 Eureka Street/Reader's Feast Award has the theme 'Australia
2031', inviting speculative fiction or non-fiction that imagines what life will
be like in Australia, 20 years into the future.
Entries should be no longer than 2000 words and first prize is $5000,
sponsored by Reader's Feast Bookstores in Melbourne as part of its Crime
and Justice Festival.
The Margaret Dooley Young Writers Award for ethical writing (under-30s age
category) is also open. Full submission details for both awards are available @ Eureka Street.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Opportunity from the Melbourne Poets Union

The Melbourne Poets Union is inviting

POETRY SUBMISSIONS for

TEA, WINE AND COFFEE... ANTHOLOGY
edited by Sue Stanford

Tea, wine and coffee are widely enjoyed forms of stimulation, comfort and perhaps addiction. The three occupy slightly different but extremely interesting positions in Australian culture.

The anthology will be a book of 46+ pages. It is open to submissions from MPU members and non-members.

All poems touching on the three beverages will be considered, but selection criteria include:

1) the poems should be of high standard that ask to be read and re-read
2) the more centrally the poems deal with one of the beverages the better
3) it would be ideal if there was a range of mood including humour,
celebration, reflection and passion
4) shorter poems (20 -60 lines) will be more likely to be selected
5) it is unlikely that more than one poem per poet will be selected

Considerations:
- MPU is not looking for first rights. Submitting poets are welcome to look for publication elsewhere while their work is under consideration
- The editor is happy to work with poets to polish promising poems
- At present we cannot offer payment other than a copy of the anthology
- Notification of consideration of acceptance mid-year 2011
- Publication planned after Dec 2011

Email Submissions: mpuinc@yahoo.com
Place Attention Sue Stanford in the subject heading of the email.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

An Advanced Easter Notice

The Friday Prose Class and Saturday Poetry at the Grove Library will be cancelled due to the Easter Holidays.  Please make a note in your diary - Friday 22nd April - no class at the Fremantle Arts Centre. And Saturday 23rd April - no Saturday Poetry at the Grove Library, (both venues are closed). These classes will resume again on Friday 6th May and Saturday 7th May. Many thanks, Helen Hagemann.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Indigo's Last Hurrah Saturday 5th March 2011


It was certainly a praiseworthy night at the launch of indigo's final volume #6. Our special thanks to Meredi Ortega for her excellent photos.

Monday, February 28, 2011

OOTA's Farewell Lunch for Donna Ward

Over thirty members attended Donna Ward's farewell on Friday, 25th February in the leafy (but warm) cafe courtyard at the Fremantle Arts Centre. Many writers have been published in indigo due to the efforts of Donna and they attended her luncheon to show their appreciation and support.
Bruce and Donna say au revoir
OOTA takes this opportunity to wish her well in a return trip to her hometown, Melbourne, and hopes that she has many more successes in her future endeavours be they personal, writing or publishing (at least some success with funding!)

CONGRATULATIONS! to
Liana Joy Christensen, Miranda Aitken, Julie Watts, Leanne Searle, Rosie Barter, Sally Clarke, Dick Alderson, Cecily Scutt, Sue Clennell, Josephine Clarke, Lucas North, Meredi Ortega, Roland Leach and Bruce Russell for getting published in the last hurrah of indigo #6.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

An OOTA Luncheon with Donna Ward

Donna Ward is leaving WA to live in Melbourne.

To wish her luck in her new life Over East, and to acknowledge all that she has done for OOTA and West Australian writers, OOTA invites all members to join us in an informal farewell lunch in the Fremantle Arts Centre Café at 12 noon, on Friday 25th of February.

We will order our lunch as per usual, but please RSVP by Monday, 21st February, to Josephine Clarke, j.sephine.c@gmail.com so that we can reserve you a seat.

Friday, February 4, 2011

New Series of Writing Workshops at the FAC

RELEASING THE WRITER WITHIN
Helen Hagemann introduces Releasing the Writer Within into her prose classes. Six workshops commencing 11th February – 6th May (fortnightly) will cover the teachings & philosophy of Natalie Goldberg - author of Writing Down the Bones & Wild Mind.
Workshop #111th February
An introduction into Natalie Goldberg’s Philosophy on Writing Practice/ Enlightenment/Releasing the Imagination/ Making that kamikaze leap.
Workshop #2 25th February
Dredging stuff from your mind, and being the judge of your own private knowledge.
Workshop #311th March
Some thoughts on Zen Meditation & how to discover original detail. Class looks at ways of tapping into ORIGINAL DETAIL/ releasing your wild mind.
Workshop #4 25th March
Introducing the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics.
Workshop #58th April
By-passing your internal editor.
NO CLASS 22nd April – Easter Good Friday
Workshop #6 6th May
Developing your craft. Writing beyond your comfort zone. Hemingway once wrote, “Write hard and clear about what hurts.”

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