Elyne Mitchell Writing Award

Details of the 2019 Elyne Mitchell Writing Award have been announced.

This year’s theme is new beginnings—in line with the usual theme this needs a strong flavour of the rural experience.

The organisers chose this theme “for its appealing familiarity”. New beginnings can be, of course, joyous memories or unwanted upheavals.

Inspired by Elyne Mitchell’s work, the Writing Award seeks to encourage writers to share their stories and to keep the art of storytelling alive. It gives rural life profile not only through country authors, but urban dwellers also, who write stories about their experiences and dreams about country life.

They accept both fiction and non-fiction short stories of up to 2500 words. Writers may enter as many stories as they wish.

This year also, the organisers are offering an open photo story competition. Entrants need to submit an image referencing an Australasian rural experience accompanied by approximately 100 words on what the photograph means to the writer.

Full details are at the competition web site Elyne Mitchell Writing Award.

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Thanks Brian

A great big thank you to Brian Haydon for being the MC for our Christmas meeting last Saturday.

Brian “Bob Dylan” Haydon.

With his usual aplomb Brian led us through a large number of contributions, a great many—wait for it—with a Christmas theme.

We had plays, poems and short stories from, in alphabetical order—Barb, Brian, Greg B, Greg T, Gwen, Jim, Kathryn, Ken, Margaret, Morag, Rose, Ruth, Sandie, Sylvia, Tony, Uta [you know who you are]!

To sum up, here is a comment, unsolicited, from one of our members:

I thought we all had a great morning today.

Plenty of fun; plenty of food; lots of talent; and lots of laughs.

Most of all lots of lovely people.

What more could we ask for?

Etymology exercise

The etymology exercise due to be discussed at the meeting of Saturday 9 February 2019 is now at the members’ only page Etymology exercise.

Also, for the record, old exercises and their answers are now at the members’ only page Etymology exercise archive.

Jugiong writers’ festival

The Jugiong writers’ festival [JWF] will be held next year on 23 and 24 March 2019.

Included are writing workshops and a short story competition.

The short story competition has the theme Dare to dream—down the track and has a prize of $50.00; entry fee is $5.00.

Condition include:

• All short stories must be author’s original and unpublished work.
• Entries must be submitted without names on entry, but with name and details on entry form so that short stories can be judged anonymously.
• Short story no longer than 1 000 words.
• Copyright remains with author however JWF reserves the right to have any entry published, reproduced or publicised for promotion purposes or as part of the JWF event.
• Winning entries will be announced and read on the 24 March 2019 as part of the festival.
• The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Closing date is 16 February 2019.

Memoir writing at Wombat Hollow

Members may be interested in this Wombat Hollow Forum event:

Entitled The art of memoir and creative writing it will be conducted by Lucy Palmer in The Shed at Wombat Hollow, Kangaloon, from 9.00am to 4.30pm Saturday 17 November 2018.

This is a one-day intensive masterclass, a beginner’s guide to memoir writing. It will teach you, according to the advance publicity, “… the basics of finding your own voice, silencing the inner critic, and releasing your innate creativity”.

Lunch is provided by the Lucinda Dazos from The Pantry, Robertson.

The all-inclusive cost is $260.

For enquiries contact lucy@lucypalmer.com.au or call 0406 661 244.

Thanks Joshua Hewitt

Convenor of Bundanoon’s Crash Test Drama, Josh Hewitt, talked to the Fellowship of Australian Writers Southern Highlands [FAWSH] branch at our last meeting.

Josh showed great experience, energy and enthusiasm in his presentation of acting techniques including those of space and rhythm.

His exercises were amusing, and he followed this with a useful and inspiring question and answer session on Crash Test Drama and on writing short plays.

Josh urged FAWSH members to write for the 2019 season of Crash Test Drama.

He will help workshop several new plays by members at FAWSH in early 2019.

Josh was thanked by acclamation.

Josh can be contacted through the Melting Pot Theatre website.

Wagga’s Ten x 10 Play Fest

The Wagga School of Arts Community Theatre is inviting submissions for its 2019 ten-minute play fest; this is its 160th anniversary year as a cultural organisation.

Two of our members have had plays performed in Wagga; they highly recommend the experience.

Invitation