Inside:
Elizabeth Gilbert event • Residential Mentorship • Harper Lee
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in this issue ... 02
Noticeboard
03
A Word From the Director
04 Upcoming events Tim Cope: On the Trail of Genghis Khan 05 06 07 08
Writers profile LOCATION Emma Ashmere Level 1 28 Jonson Street, Byron Bay POSTAL ADDRESS Elizabeth Gilbert & Rayya Elias PO Box 1846 Byron Bay NSW 2481 Anneli Knight PHONE 02 6685 5115 FAX 02 6685 5166 The two Harper Lees EMAIL info@nrwc.org.au WEB www.nrwc.org.au
Dr Lynda Hawryluk
Being a writer in residence
Jesse Blackadder 09
10
What publishers want
Annette Barlow Residential Mentorship
Penny Leonard 11
The history of Haiku
Quendryth Young 12
northerly is the bi-monthly magazine of the Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre. The Writers’ Centre is a resource and information base for writers and readers in the Northern Rivers region. We offer a year-round program of readings, workshops and writer visits as well as the annual production of the Byron Bay Writers Festival. The Centre is a non-profit, incorporated organisation receiving its core funding from Arts NSW.
Planned chaos
NRWC COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON Chris Hanley VICE CHAIRPERSON Lynda Dean SECRETARY Russell Eldridge TREASURER Cheryl Bourne MEMBERS Jesse Blackadder, Marele Day, Lynda Hawryluk, Anneli Knight, Adam van Kempen, Teresa Walters LIFE MEMBERS: Jean Bedford, Jeni Caffin, Gayle Cue, Robert Drewe, Jill Eddington, Chris Hanley, John Hertzberg, Fay Knight, Irene O’Brien, Jennifer Regan, Cherrie Sheldrick, Brenda Shero, Heather Wearne
Sarah Armstrong 14
The Blind Tattooist
Daphne Catchpoole
15
20 workshops
Polly Jude
15
kids’ page
15
from the reading chair
Sarah Armstrong
18
SCU Page
19
Book review
20
Workshops, Opportunities & Competitions
24
Writers’ Groups and Member Discounts
CONTACT EMAIL: northerly@nrwc.org.au PRINTING: Quality Plus Printers Ballina MAIL OUT DATES: Magazines are sent in JANUARY, MARCH, MAY, JULY, SEPTEMBER and NOVEMBER ADVERTISING: We welcome advertising by members and relevant organisations. A range of ad sizes are available. The ad booking deadline for each issue is the first week of the month prior. Email northerly@nrwc.org.au. The Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre presents northerly in good faith and accepts no responsibility for any misinformation or problems arising from any misinformation. The views expressed by contributors and advertisers are not necessarily the views of the management committee or staff. We reserve the right to edit articles with regard to length. Copyright of the contributed articles is maintained by the named author and northerly.
Cover artwork: - Elizabeth Gilbert & Rayya Elias event photos courtesy of Greg Saunders northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 3
Noticeboard Seeking contributors
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northerly is looking for readers and members who might be interested in writing for the magazine, providing features, book reviews, essays and more. Please write with an expression of interest, and samples if possible, to northerly@nrwc.org.au. The NRWC welcomes Barnaby Smith
The NRWC Writing Hour ... ...Has changed to a Tuesday and is held in the NRWC office, Level 1 - 28 Jonson St, Byron Bay (above Witchery). Please just turn up.
New Membership format
We’ve happy to say that we have moved with the times and updated the NRWC membership application. You will now be able to complete the process online (using TryBooking, our Festival ticketing agent) and print your own membership card. We are still able to process your membership over the phone or if you visit the office if you prefer. Please contact us if you are unable to print your documents. 4 - northerly magazine | march - april 2015
D
ear Members and Readers,
I am delighted to be assuming the editorial reins of northerly and working alongside the team at the Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre. This publication represents a unique opportunity to represent the literary interests and diversity of the Centres’ members, and ensure the magazine offers the full spectrum of literary ideas and new writing. I moved to the Northern Rivers from Sydney in early 2014 and since then have been on a fascinating learning curve as regards to the literary life of the region, and indeed enjoyed a hugely illuminating three days at the 2014 Byron Bay Writers Festival, which I covered for ABC Arts. I’ve worked in journalism and publishing for 11 years, specialising in the arts and literature.
My literary interests, I like to think anyway, are fairly eclectic, but I must confess to a quite preoccupying obsession with the works of Patrick White, and a profound curiosity about Australian poetry from the 1960s onwards. For me the best literature, and indeed art, offers an expression of unease and restlessness, rendered through either beauty or explosiveness. There is plenty of this in contemporary Australian writing. Finally, to make northerly as rich as possible, it is vital to publish a range of talented and knowledgeable voices. Therefore, I encourage anyone who is interested in contributing stories, articles, interviews, essays, reviews and more to get in touch with ideas, or simply a desire to be involved. Write to northerly@nrwc.org.au.
Barnaby Smith
A word (well several) from the Director
Dear members,
Long Perth Writers Festival wrapped up last week, and by all accounts it was one of the best yet. We were beneficiaries of their well curated guest list with Elizabeth Gilbert and Rayya Elias travelling from Perth to Byron Bay to inspire us with their generous and intimate conversation about their creative process. Liz and Rayya arrived in Byron a couple of days ahead of their talk and, like most of us who migrate here, found themselves in heaven. Liz told me, ‘when I walked over the hill to the beach I didn’t know whether to cry or bow down and give thanks’. Our board member Anneli Knight writes more about the event in this edition but here is a taste of some of the wisdom Liz shared on the night, in response to a question from the audience: Let me list for you a few things that your creative work doesn’t have to be: It doesn’t have to be particularly good. It doesn’t have to be remotely marketable. It doesn’t have to be world-changing. And it definitely doesn’t have to be original. Really, your creative work only needs to be one thing: DONE. Just do it.
Do your work because engaging with creativity changes you, shapes you, grows you, enlightens you, and frees you. (more detail on Liz Gilbert’s Facebook page)
considerable duties and in that time created truly wonderful reading for us all. Sarah decided it was time to pass the baton to someone else and put her energy into other NRWC projects - thank you Sarah!
Meanwhile, I’m on my way to Adelaide Writers Week, which has already had record home-town crowds for Julia Gillard, to soak up some festival atmosphere. It’s many years since I have had the pleasure of heading to Adelaide – their Festival, like ours, is also housed mainly in large marquees (well, theirs are more like sails floating above the audience) in a beautiful garden. What a luxury to be able to be part of the audience instead of orchestrating from behind the scenes. I can’t wait to see some old favourites and discover new writers and have their conversations repeat in my mind for weeks to follow...
If you are a budding writer, NRWC member and live in our catchment area, you should consider applying for our Residential Mentorship program - with Marele Day at the helm it is a proven path to publication and one of the flagship courses we run at the centre. Applications close on 25 March. Right, I’m off to catch my plane... and spend a few days under the sails in the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden. Until next time,
Edwina Johnson
Back at the Centre, we’d like to welcome Barnaby Smith to the fold – we are delighted that he will take up the role of northerly editor from the next edition and he will be joined by Finola Wennekes who will be responsible for the design and layout. I would particularly like to pay tribute to my talented colleague Sarah Ma who, for the past three years, added the role of northerly editor to her already
northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 5
Upcoming Events: Tim Cope On The Trail of Genghis Khan An Epic Journey through the Lands of the Nomads
T
he extraordinary adventure of one man’s journey through the land of the nomads. The relationship between man and horse on the Eurasian steppe gave rise to asuccession of rich nomadic cultures. Among them were the Mongols of the thirteenth century – a small tribe, which, under the charismatic leadership of Genghis Khan, created the largest contiguous land empire in history. Inspired by the extraordinary life nomads still lead today, Tim Cope embarked on a journey that hadn’t been successfully completed since those times: to travel on horseback across the entire length of the Eurasian steppe, from Karakorum, the ancient capital of Mongolia, through Kazakhstan, Russia, Crimea and the Ukraine to the Danube River in Hungary. From horse-riding novice to travelling three years and 10,000 kilometres on horseback, accompanied by his dog Tigon, Tim learnt to fend off wolves and would-be horse thieves, and grapple with the extremes of the steppe as he crossed sub-zero plateaux, the scorching
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deserts of Kazakhstan and the highmountain passes of the Carpathians. Along the way, he was taken in by people who taught him the traditional ways and told him their recent history: Stalin’s push for industrialisation brought calamity to the steep and forced collectivism that in Kazakhstan alone led to the loss of several million livestock and the starvation of more than a million nomads. Today Cope bears witness to how the traditional ways hang precariously in the balance in the post-Soviet world. BORN IN 1978, Tim Cope, F.R.G.S., is an award winning adventurer, author, and filmmaker with a special interest in the traditional cultures of Central Asia and Russia. He has studied as a wilderness guide in the Finnish and Russian subarctic, ridden a bicycle across Russia to China, and rowed a boat along the Yenisey River through Siberia to the Arctic Ocean. Tim’s most renowned journey was a three year, 6,000 mile journey by horse from Mongolia to Hungary on the trail of Genghis Khan - a quest to understand the horseback nomads of the great Eurasian steppe. Tim is the author of Off the Rails:
Moscow to Beijing on Recumbent Bikes (Penguin Books 2003), and On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey through the Lands of the Nomads (Bloomsbury). He is also the creator of several documentary films, including the award winning series The Trail of Genghis Khan, (commissioned by ABC Australia and ZDF/Arte in Europe). Tim lives in Victoria, and annually guides trekking journeys to remote western Mongolia for World Expeditions. www.timcopejourneys.com When: April 30 Where: Club Lennox, 10 Stewart Street, Lennox Head NSW 2478 Cost: $35, includes a 2 course dinner buy tickets at www.nrwc.org.au or call 02 6685 5115 Co-Presented with LAB
Writer Profile:
Emma Ashmere E
mma Ashmere’s short stories have appeared in various publications including The Age, Griffith Review, Sleepers Almanac, Etchings and Mud Map: Australian Women’s Experimental Writing. She has worked in kitchens, as a bookseller, in the arts and universities, and as a researcher on two Australian gardening history books. She moved to the Northern Rivers in 2007 after completing her PhD on the use of history in fiction at La Trobe University. In 2010 she participated in the NRWC Residential Mentorship Scheme. Her first novel The Floating Garden will be published by Spinifex Press in May. Why do you write? Because I can’t not. Do you have a routine for writing? Admittedly, it can be a bit of a moveable feast, as I tend to write in isolated bursts. If for some reason I can’t get to the keyboard, a few minutes of doing something towards the project helps keep me connected to it – even if it’s just looking up what hats were all the rage in 1920s Sydney, ordering a book from the library, deciding on a character’s name, or scribbling illegible midnight notes. How has writing your second novel been different to writing your first? It feels a bit like leaping into the void again - but a friendly void. I’m far less precious about what stays and what goes. Even if a sentence seems tight, it’s likely a thread will be pulled, all will unravel, and need to be knitted back together again. Do your novels change a lot between first draft and later drafts? Yes, thankfully. The story I initially wanted to write is still there in the final draft. But some of the themes, plot lines, points of view, and characters might have expanded, while others will have fallen by the wayside. There have been several instances when it’s been necessary to cut whole chunks either because they were dead ends, overwritten, obsolete, or suddenly belonged in another book. This was daunting at the time, but it instantly
opened up new space for fresh approaches and ideas. What are some common mistakes you see among emerging novel writers? Because the best learning about writing happens when you write, mistakes are a necessary part of the apprenticeship. Perhaps some people underestimate the time, patience, and resilience needed during the long and hilly path of writing, rewriting, and (hopefully) feeling your way through the publication process. I think it’s also very helpful and heartening to go to writing events, festivals, workshops, writing groups, book clubs and launches, so you can meet other writers and forge supportive connections with a wide range of people in the writing world.
history, poetry, theory, absurdity, tragedy, politics and dream into fiction. And also Elizabeth Harrower because her studies of seemingly ordinary people doing seemingly ordinary things arrive as sharply and stealthily as paper cuts. If there was one piece of advice you could give to someone about to embark on writing a novel, what would it be? Read widely and a lot. Emma Ashmere will be signing copies of her novel The Floating Garden at Mullumbimby Bookshop on Saturday 2 May at 11am-12 noon. All welcome. Find out more about Emma at http://emmaashmere.com/
What do you find rewarding about teaching writing? When I tutored Life Writing at an outer Melbourne university campus, the continual reward was hearing about other people’s lives, which was always surprising, sometimes shocking and often inspiring. My aim was to be encouraging but realistic, to encourage constructive feedback of other students’ writing and their own, while passing on techniques to help people articulate what they wanted to say as clearly as possible – and in their own way. The learning was very much a two way street. Who are some writers you admire? There are too many to mention here - but some perennial favourites are: Ali Smith, Janet Frame, Toni Morrison, Virginia Woolf, Patrick White, Hilary Mantel, Donna Tartt, Eleanor Dark and Deborah Levy because they somehow alchemise northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 7
Elizabeth Gilbert &Rayya Elias
by Anneli Knight Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre was very excited to host a stellar out-of-festivalseason event in February: a conversation between American memoir writers and best friends Elizabeth Gilbert and Rayya Elias.
huge force in encouraging Rayya to write her memoir, even inviting her friend to live rent-free at the converted church she owned for nine months on the condition that she write her memoir during that time.
Elizabeth Gilbert needs little introduction. Her memoir Eat, Pray, Love, which tracks her soul-searching adventures across Italy, India and Indonesia, was a phenomenal international success, selling more than 10 million copies. It was also adapted into a Hollywood film starring Julia Roberts.
Liz recounted the conversation they had at this time: ‘What’s the catch?’ Rayya demanded. ‘Writing your book. That is the catch.’ Liz nodded at the audience.
Rayya Elias is the author of Harley Loco: A Memoir Of Hard Living, Hair, And PostPunk From The Middle East To The Lower East Side- a book that tells all about her life doing all of those things in all of those places. It’s a heart-wrenching and adrenaline-fuelled memoir: on its face a book about the tortuous life of an addict,at its heart a story about displacement and the search for belonging. Liz, as she prefers to be called, introduced Rayya as her best friend, and explained that the two met when Liz’s friends made a ‘hair intervention’ and insisted she have it cut by Rayya, who at that time was three years sober. Liz – describing herself as a ‘story whore’ - told the sell-out crowd at the Byron Theatre that she was jawon-the-floor gob-smacked by Rayya’s life stories. It’s evident Liz has been a 8 - northerly magazine | march - april 2015
The pair talked about their friendship, about writing, about creativity, and about what they learn from each other and how they push each other to be their most authentic selves. Liz has been a mentor to and champion of Rayya’s writing – urging her to go deeper, to keep writing – well beyond the first draft that Rayya triumphantly declared to be finished at the end of her nine months living in the church. Rayya pushes Liz to be more honest, to face up to the personal conflicts in her life. ‘Truth has legs’ – Rayya told the audience; while Liz admitted she’d usually rather be kind than honest, and she’d rather move countries than have an emotional confrontation. There was little talk of Liz’s most recent book, the epic sweeping historical novel The Signature of All Things- except in reference to the remote seaside writing retreats that Rayya and Liz spent together while Rayya was working on her memoir and Liz completing the novel. The audience heard that Liz read excerpts to
Rayya from the work-in-progress story, which inspired Rayya to write a song about Alma Whittaker – the novel’s bold and bright protagonist. Rayya then collected her guitar, concluding the conversation by singing a powerful ode to Alma Whittaker. And, after so much talk about the importance of giving life to your creative desires, Liz pointed out there’s another reason why you need to create your art: because it inspires other people around you to create their art also. During question time, someone posed a concern about her work not being useful, and Liz’s answer bears a powerful reminder to all creators everywhere: “Your work does not need to be useful. It does not need to be beautiful, it does not need to be pleasing, it does not need to fill a hole. It just needs to be done.” It was a relaxed, engagingand inspiring event, with the audience wrapped in the warmth of these two women’s declarations of admiration and love for each other. Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre proudly hosted the night, made possible through an alliance between the Sydney Opera House, Perth Writers’ Festival and the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.
The
arper H Two Lees
by Dr Lynda Hawryluk
T
he news that Harper Lee has approved the release of Go Set a Watchman some 55 years after her first novel has taken the publishing world and readers by surprise. This article examines the secluded life and somewhat unwelcome fame of Harper Lee.
There are two Harper Lees. There’s the apparently reclusive author, who has remained largely silent in the years since the publication of her Pulitzer Prize winning first novel To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, and who has not published more than an essay or op-ed piece since. Then there’s Miss Nelle Lee, the elderly and frail Southern gentlewoman who divided her time between New York City and her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama until 2007, when she suffered a stroke which limited her independence. Both Harper Lees value independence, their privacy and respect for their work. When To Kill a Mockingbird was ‘challenged’ in 1966 for what one parent in Virginia believed was ‘immorality’, Harper Lee sent the school board there a small amount of money, stressing that it was to be used “to enroll the Hanover County School Board in any first grade of its choice”. This smart-mouth sass was the preferred stance of the author Harper Lee, who declared when asked about the success of her novel spoiling her: ‘She’s too old”. Miss Nelle Lee lived a quiet life away from the limelight, choosing to make unpublicised appearances only to local high schools and universities, and spending much of her life in the company of her sister, lawyer Alice Lee, who practiced law in the firm their father started until she was 100 years of age. She died in late 2014, and was seen as the sole protector of her author sister, a Presidential Medal of Freedom award winner who nevertheless has never quite found the idyll anonymity she sought. Granting her last full interview in 1964, Harper Lee has been the subject of unfortunate legal battles in recent years. Most of these legal troubles have been
to aid the protection of the legacy of Mockingbird, and to maintain Miss Nelle Lee’s fiercely valued privacy.
Where the two Harper Lees converge is in the imagination of the multitudes of fans of To Kill a Mockingbird. Eager to know more about this beloved American author, interest in Harper Lee has increased in recent years as her silence has continued. Even the prospect of an interview with Oprah Winfrey could not entice Miss Lee into the public eye. In the absence of interviews and further publications, the ‘delicious mystery’ surrounding Harper Lee, as one intimate of Lee calls it, has grown. This curiosity extends to would-be biographers, some of whom have taken less than ethical steps to understand the character of the woman behind one of the best-selling novels of all time. Harper Lee has been subjected to all manner of unscrupulous scrutiny for the purpose of unauthorised biography, most notably by authors Charles J Shields and Marja Mills. Shields openly acknowledged his methods of researching his biography of Lee included posing as a former university classmate in online discussion forums with her peers, and simply turning up to her door. Given Lee has been reported responding to interview requests with ‘Not just no, but hell no’, one can only imagine the reception he might have received. Miss Lee has been reportedly always unfailingly polite, would sign autographs willingly when she was more mobile, but absolutely will not be drawn into discussions about Mockingbird or any subsequent books. Despite this, attempts are regularly made to pierce this veneer of privacy. Marja Mills is a former journalist who moved next door to Harper Lee and her sister Alice, then transcribed their private conversations onto the page. The sisters Lee initially supported the publication of the book, then withdrew it. This backdown in support has been cited as an example of several unusual legal decisions made on behalf of Lee in the
last decade, leading some to consider the influence of a partner in the law firm to which Miss Alice Lee belonged, especially in light of the publication of Go Set a Watchman. Tonja B Carter has power of attorney over Miss Nelle Lee’s affairs, and is the sole source of information from Lee. The impending publication of Watchman was met with delight ameliorated with some suspicion and an almost palpable sense of dismay, given the adamant position Lee has always taken about publishing any further novels – a firm no, by all accounts. On the release and immediate success of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, Harper Lee described herself as ‘scared’ at the prospect of a second novel. Miss Nelle Lee, stifled under the twin burdens of fame and fortune thrust upon a 34year old from a small town in South, immediately retreated from public view and rarely emerged. The anxiety about releasing a follow-up to such an overwhelming success with a first novel would have been tremendous. Cut to 2015, and lawyer Tonja B Carter responded to questions about the timing of the new novel’s release so soon after Alice Lee’s death by describing Miss Lee as ‘happy as hell’ at the reception to Go Set a Watchman. It is hard to tell whether an 88 year old woman living in an assisted living facility, by most reports almost deaf and with limited eyesight, has genuinely approved this publication. It does appear to go against every statement Harper Lee ever made on the subject. One can almost see the two Harper Lees speak in unison in Lee’s most-quoted comment on the subject: “I said what I had to say and I will not say it again”. Regardless, fiercely independent and mindful of the longevity of Mockingbird, this may well be Harper Lee’s masterful second act as an author, 55 years in the making. The book will be released on July 14, 2015.
northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 9
Being a writer in residence by Jesse Blackadder
W
inter. I have two nights left in Alaska, as writer-in-residence at the Island Institute in Sitka, down in the (relatively warm) south east of the state. My second residency in Sitka, it’s a month that involved collecting tsunami debris off remote Alaskan beaches, talking to local kids about brumbies, guide dogs and koalas, banging rocks together in a creativity workshop, climbing a mountain and scampering over the snow-covered plateau at the top, learning how to fight off a charging bear with a pointed stick or a capsicum spray (luckily didn’t have to put it into practice), eating herring eggs and stir fried sea lion at a traditional Alaskan feast (I baulked at the raw beluga whale), and catching the northern lights. Oh, and writing a novel. Having the good fortune to live a flexible life, I apply for many writer’s residencies. Through residencies that have offered various levels of funding and support, I’ve spent writing time in Alaska, Antarctica, outback NSW, Wagga Wagga, Varuna, and a little guest house in the hills behind Byron Bay (that last one thanks to the NRWC Residential Mentorship).
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My current trip may sound like a junket, but for a profession that spends its time sitting in front of a screen, getting out into the world and into the heightened experience of a writer’s residency is precious. Success isn’t only measured in words on the page – though I’ve had exhilaratingly productive residencies and have come home with completed manuscripts. Residencies where you become part of a new community are a chance to share the creative process, be inspired by new landscapes and people, and fill up the creative well with experiences that will underpin your writing in the years to come. I’ve been working on a contemporary Australian novel about a family tragedy while in Alaska. Ostensibly the subject has no relationship to the place I find myself. However two things stand out – firstly, this is a joint residency. I’m here with my aunt and we have worked separately on our writing, and collaboratively on our offerings to the community (readings, performances, workshops). Having a
close family member and friend with me while I write a story that connects to my own childhood has been important in ways I can’t yet articulate. Secondly – my next novel will be about whales and the Pacific Ocean. I was planning to set it in Australia and Japan. But being here, in a culture that is so deeply connected to the sea and to the local creatures, I can feel Alaska creeping into the story. The sea otters, sea lions, whales, salmon, bald headed eagles and ravens of Sitka are going to make an appearance in my future work. There are lots of residencies open to writers of all levels, in Australia and around the world. If you can afford to cover your travel, and contribute to the cost of the residency, the options open up even more. In Australia, check out the Australia Council for funding possibilities, and Varuna’s residency program. For a comprehensive listing of overseas residencies try www.resartis.org/en/. Good luck!
What publishers want
by Annette Barlow
month and last year we published second and third novels from previously contracted Friday Pitch authors, but nothing from the 2014 Friday Pitch pile.
N
ever doubt that publishers want you to succeed. We are always looking for the manuscript that will become the next best book. It may not feel that way at times but we publishers are most definitely aware that without writers writing, publishers have nothing to publish!
But the news is good regarding your submission - you’ve had an email response asking for the whole manuscript. Let’s drill into that scenario. What’s going on behind the scenes when a publisher has expressed interest in your pages? Once I’ve read your manuscript and loved it, I start by asking myself some questions, some of which are about the number of sales I think we can expect;
Never doubt that publishers want you to succeed. We are always looking for the manuscript that will become the next best book.
So what am I looking for? You’ve attended the Byron Bay Writers Festival, and you’ve assiduously taken notes as publishers and literary agents pontificate on what they’re after in a manuscript. Yes, I’m also looking for interesting, multidimensional characters; yes, I’m looking for a narrative that holds together and draws me through the pages; and, yes, I would love to see a thoughtfully original way of telling a story that’s most probably been told and retold since Ovid’s time. Be it genre or literary fiction, I’m also hoping for that indefinable spark, that gorgeous moment when I open your first pages and feel, viscerally, that I’m safely in the hands of a talented storyteller. I want your manuscript to make me lean in, to care, and to keep my eager fingers turning the pages. I want to feel a need to find out what is happening to your characters, to rejoice in your clever plot twists and to cheer as you bring everyone and everything to their own absolutely right conclusions. I would also dearly like to believe that you have other ideas for books bubbling, perhaps another one on the go as you wait for word on this one. Ticking off all of the above, you’ve sent your chapter to Friday Pitch for Allen & Unwin’s consideration (fridaypitch@ allenandunwin.com). Friday Pitch receives around 800 submissions per
about the market – does it sit within a genre? can I see where it will sit in a bookshop?; about the publicity hooks; and about through which channels this kind of book will sell, eg independent bookshops, discount department stores, and/or chains. The answers to all of these questions are important as working out approximately how many copies and where a book will sell influences the level of advance the publishing house will offer to the author for publication. After I’ve thought about those things, I’ll walk down the corridor and discuss your manuscript with our trade publishing director who will want to read the manuscript about which I’m so enthusiastic. And he’ll have more questions – about publication month/ year and about the general shape of the list, eg if yours is a debut novel, we’ll look at how many first novels we already have signed for the year. All going well, I’ll have his support to take your book to
the next stage – the publishing meeting. Every fortnight, Allen & Unwin has a publishing meeting at which ongoing and new projects are discussed, sales are forecast and the first approval to make an offer is given (or sadly not). Previous to each meeting, the publishers fill in a New Book Proposal form that asks what it is about this book that makes us want to publish, who is the author and why are they the best person to write this book, it asks us who is the market, what are two comparison books with their sales, where we believe the book will sell, ie channels, and what recommended retail price (rrp) and format we are envisioning. This form and the manuscript is circulated to all who attend the meeting, ie our CEO, chairman, sales & marketing director, a senior sales person, and all of the publishing department. At Allen & Unwin this is an important meeting, one we don’t rush through. After all, what could be more vital to a publishing house than the books and authors in which it chooses to invest. Speaking of which, congratulations! Your manuscript made it through the publishing meeting with flying colours – everyone loved it and could see the market and is confident that we know how to reach the audience. We’re all excited to think that you may soon be joining us at Allen & Unwin. If you haven’t yet made it this far, please don’t give up. Read often, read widely and read critically – work out what you like and don’t like, see how another author is achieving depth of character, complex plotlines and/or an intriguing narrative and apply these lessons to your writing. Writing is a craft, you wouldn’t expect genius from your first efforts in any other creative endeavour, it takes practice and commitment. I really do wish you success.
northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 11
Residential Mentorship By Penny Leonard It’s that time of year again and we’re looking for submissions for our 2015 Residential Mentorship Program. If you are a member living in the NRWC catchment area, which is north to Tweed, south to Taree and west to Kyogle and have a well developed manuscript we’d love to hear from you. The mentorship is suitable for writers of fiction and creative nonfiction. The 2015 residential mentorship will be held 11-15 May. This is an outstanding opportunity to participate in a writing experience that has already proved to be a launch pad for regional writers. The program is fifteen years old this year and the roll call of past participants who are now published authors includes: Jesse Blackadder, Susanna Freymark, Daniel Ducrou, Sarah Armstrong, Jessie Cole, Leigh Redhead, Emma Hardman, Oren Siedler, Matt Webber and of course, Lisa Walker. The most recent success story is Claire Dunn, a 2012 mentorship participant. Two others – Russell Eldridge and Emma Ashmere – will be published this year. Marele Day has been the mentor for the program for the past thirteen years and will be taking this role again in 2015. Marele is the author of four crime novels – The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender; The Case of the Chinese Boxes; The Last Tango of Dolores Delgado and The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi as well as a collection of crime-comedy stories, Mavis Levack, PI. Other novels include the best-selling Lambs of God, which was published to international acclaim with film rights optioned by Twentieth Century Fox; Mrs Cook: The Real and Imagined Life of the Captain’s Wife; and most recently The Sea Bed. She is a highly experienced speaker, teacher and mentor, and has won several awards, including the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. The mentorship provides five days in a glorious Byron Bay location with accommodation and meals provided, one-on-one mentoring with Marele Day and the company of three other committed writers. It’s an experience that many have described as life-changing, a time to forge lasting friendships and discover what lies at the heart of your work.
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The History of Haiku by Quendryth Young
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aiku, that dynamic capturing of a compact poetic treasure, comes from a very long history. The origins of Japanese poetry go back to the 7th century, but it was in the 17th century, when word games were very prevalent in Japan, that Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) first lifted the three line form from a longer and more formal format, to create an entity which has been described as ‘elegant and immediate – a rare combination that creates an aura of mystery and artistry’. Haiku is now appreciated and written throughout the world, in many languages. It was in the 50s that the form took off in America, and the first Australian poet to study the genre lived right here in the Northern Rivers. Janice Bostok was a banana farmer at Murwillumbah, when, in the late 60s, she read and fell in love with haiku, and in conjunction with some American poets, explored the genre and flourished in her creativity. We are so fortunate to have been able to absorb her enthusiasm, as well as to be guided by her expertise, before she died in 2011. Since the 70s poets in the area continued to explore this new genre, but generally in isolation, until 2005, when NRWC member John Bird stepped in. He organised a ginko to which he invited Janice and other poets. There were thirteen of us that first summer at Torakina Park, Brunswick Heads, and the ‘Cloudcatchers’ group was formed. This name is the translation of the Aboriginal word ‘Wollumbin’, the mountain which does indeed gather clouds around its summit, and which Captain Cook later renamed Mount Warning. Somehow this name echoes our own experience of capturing present moments. A ginko is a haiku walk. These are conducted by the group once a season at a variety of venues: the beach, river mouth, rainforest, estuary, inland creek, mountain. After the initial greeting at 9.30 am, and with an acknowledgement of all those who have trodden this soil before us, each poet sets out, in silence, for a 50-minute wander, intensely aware of the environment and taking notes of images (using the five senses). Participants then gather around the picnic table for some serious pen-pushing, when notes are structured into something that reflects the ‘ahh’ of our observations and experiences. The writing aims to capture the essence of the moment, to find the extraordinary in the ordinary and to link nature to human nature. It is objective, devoid of poetic devices, presenting, without emotion, images that resonate, that may evoke a sensitive response by the reader.
Photo: Cristina Smith
The next is the best part: we read these first drafts aloud in turn. It can be awesome, always stimulating, often lively and sometimes hilarious. This is not a workshop – it is a sharing. To top it off, most of us have lunch together. And then we talk! There are currently thirty-one Cloudcatchers on the mailing list, with plus or minus ten attending each outing. After the ginko an email round-robin of some of the completed works is circulated, with comments and suggestions offered on each submitted haiku by the other participants. We look forward to our 37th (autumn) ginko in April, and welcome interested observers and/or participants. For more information please contact Quendryth Young at quendrythyoung@bigpond.com Haiku below previously published: The Heron’s Nest, USA, 2006; Presence, United Kingdom, 2007; Mainichi Haiku Contest, Japan, 2008; Haiku Revista de Interferente Culturale Romano, Romania, 2010.
northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 13
Planned Chaos
Local writer Sarah’s Armstrong’s second novel, His Other House, was published on 1 March by Pan Macmillan. Her first novel, Salt Rain, was shortlisted for several prizes including the Miles Franklin. As she works on her third novel, she reflects on how her approach to writing has changed over the years.
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here’s something exhilarating about writing a novel and having absolutely no idea where the story is going. Anything is possible and unexpected twists in the plot can pop up, seemingly out of nowhere. I once read someone describe writing a first draft as groping your way blindfolded through a strange room. I’ve heard many writers commend this approachto a first draft, most recently Jeanettte Winterson, who was the standout guest at last year’s Byron Bay Writers Festival. She encouraged writers to let their work be wayward and uncontrollable and spoke of the ‘necessary chaos.’ I’ve always urged my writing students to use freewriting* in their first drafts, worried that too much planning or thinking might prematurely constrain their writing, worried that they might miss one of those wonderful unexpected passages of writing that can emerge when you are really letting 14 - northerly magazine | march - april 2015
the writing flow and not worrying about what’s coming next. But I have to confess that my own approach is changing. I am doing rather less blindfolded groping than I once did, and rather more planning ahead. When I wrote Salt Rain I had no idea where the story was heading. The spark for that story was something that came up in a freewrite: an image of a girl sitting on a hill in the rainy dark, looking down at houses in the valley below. That was all I knew about the story and it wasn’t until about the fourth draft that the plot became clear to me. When I started writing His Other House, I had a situation in mind (which I won’t reveal as it’s a bit of a spoiler). While this situation contained all the necessary drama and tension, there was still plenty of work to do. You know, small(!) stuff like develop fully dimensional characters, figure out character arcs, decide on a structure and setting, get
clear on voice etc. But I had a clear narrative framework to hang it all on, which made writing it much more straightforward than my first novel. Now, I’m about halfway through my third novel and I’ve moved even further from the blindfolded groping approach. (In truth, there’s another novel I worked on after Salt Rain, one that my partner, Alan, and I tried to co-write but the less said about that the better.) With my current project – working title TTC – I had a dramatic situation in mind, but this time I also knew exactly where the story started and where it ended. I knew how the protagonist would change throughout the story. There’s still a lot of work to be done and there are still moments of surprise (eg. Oh! This character is a nudist!? Really? Okay) but I am not groping my way through the first draft. I am wandering forwards with a map in my hand. Sometimes I worry that this means
I have lost something. Some spontaneity, some free, wild writing that I’ll never, ever see if I write with that map in hand. But I tend to think – as someone who has been writing fiction steadily for more than fifteen years – that even as I write to my loose plan, I have learnt how to keep some essence of freewriting, some sense of being spontaneous and open to the unexpected. So perhaps it’s all about the stage of writing I am at. I wonder how my approach to writing will have changed in another fifteen years? One thing that hasn’t changed is the rewriting required. And it’s always more than I imagine. Even now as I work away on TTC – I’m mid way through the third draft – I notice myself thinking that this one won’t require as much rewriting as the others. Which is total delusion of course and just something I tell myself so I am not overwhelmed by the task at hand. When I sent His Other House to my agent about a year ago, I truly felt there was nothing more I could do to it. As you can read on page 17, I’d already got feedback from readers and made some tough rewriting decisions. I figured I was done with it. But, of course, once Pan Macmillan contracted me for the book (and the next one as well) and gave me some editorial feedback, I saw how much more there was to do on it. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen
these blindingly obvious things before, including a fairly significant rewrite of the ending. Then I was done with it. It was definitely as good as I could make it. A month or so later, I got the copyeditor’s suggestions, which as well as grammar and punctuation included a few questions on character and pacing. Yep. Suddenly I saw all the ways I could make it even better and so I worked away intensively for a couple of weeks. Then I was done with it etc etc. Luckily I only got one more (tiny) bite at the cherry when the proofs came through. I was overjoyed to hear it had gone to print, not least because it meant I could stop thinking about any possible ways I could make it better.
me where it’s heading. Sarah’s novel His Other House was published by Pan Macmillan on 1 March. Book club notes are available from Sarah’s website. www.sarah-armstrong.com * Freewriting involves writing quickly, without stopping to think or choose the perfect word. When you freewrite, you take the first thought that comes to you and you let the writing be chaotic and ungrammatical and rambling. It’s about distancing that inner writing critic which can so often limit writing.
Which brings its own particular disquiet. Because that’s it. It’s set in stone now. This stage of the process – as a book goes out into the world involves a letting go. People will like it or not and there’s nothing I can do about that. When the book is in a reader’s hands, they have their own individual relationship with the story. Each reader brings their own life and inner world to the book, and a unique reader-book relationship is formed. It’s almost – strangely – nothing to do with me now. Luckily, I have a wonderfully imperfect third draft to turn to, and a roughly drawn map in hand that tells
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World On Monday 13 April ADFAS Byron Bay presents The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, an illustrated talk by Alastair Blanshard, Chair of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland. For the ancient Greeks, to see the marvellous was to touch the divine. The Greeks loved stories about fabulous works of nature and feats of engineering. Guidebooks were popular among these ancient tourists, particularly in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. These guidebooks contained lists of “must see” monuments. In this talk Alastair will focus on the most famous of these catalogues of marvels, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.Alastair will describe these various monuments and why they were so important. He will also explore the mentality of the ancient tourist that came to visit them and the industry
that grew up to support their endeavour. Alastair Blanshard earned a Master of Arts from the University of Queensland in 1996 and a PhD from The University of Cambridge in 1999. He is recognised internationally as a leader in the field of classical tradition. He is a series editor for the Classics after Antiquity monograph series published by Cambridge University Press. In November 2013, Alastair was named as the inaugural Paul Eliadis Chair of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland. The Chair was established through a donation from University of Queensland graduate and arts patron Paul Eliadis. This presentation will be held in the A&I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow on Monday 13 April at 6.30pm. Doors open at 6.00pm for a welcome drink. 2015 memberships will be available ($130/ individual, $230/couple). Guests are most welcome - $25 per person. This includes a welcome drink and a light snack and drink after the presentation. northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 15
Bangalow Writers Group Anthology by Daphne Catchpoole A New Anthology from the Bangalow Writers Group - Cause for celebration The Bangalow Writers Group is about to launch its fourth anthology. It is a collection of stories and poetry, titled THE BLIND TATTOOIST and reflects the diversity of its contributors. Jean Ringland and Paula Williams began the group about sixteen years ago and the ideals and format that they established, of an environment that was safe and supportive, where members could read their work and receive creative encouragement, are still in place, and remain the basis for our success and longevity. The anthology is full of wondrous stories from far away and close to home, sad as well as joyous memories, and flights of the imagation. You will find tales of the travails of surfing, sudden and unexpected death, and close calls both real and imagined. You will be moved
by memories of losing loved ones old and new, and smile with the not-sosad widow contemplating her future freedom. There is wonderful poetry that will delight your imagination, and some that will make you angry with its beautiful telling of ugly truths. Aunty Iris brings home a new boyfriend and we visit a dangerous prison cell in Belfast. We follow the saga of the dirty underpants. We are encouraged to appreciate the benefits flowing from an aging population, and listen in to sisters keeping secrets. We see our own hinterland with cops and helicopters causing trouble and we go under the surface of a choir performance in India. Silicone implants are on display. We take a nostalgic look at the joys of postcards and venture into the underbelly of Sydney circa 1951. We shrink from the horrors caused by piranha fish in Paraguay. We find ourselves caught up in some strange revelations in The Elephant
Delivery Service. And our ‘Blind Tatooist’ of the title? Well this is a story with the lot. It could be every woman’s dream or maybe not. But it does make for very good reading. And there is lots more. It all lies waiting. Jessie Blackadder has written the preface and, fresh from her travels to the Arctic, will officially launch the anthology. The cover art work is by local artist Rodney Black. The printing is by Lismore City Printers.
THE BLIND TATTOOIST will be launched on Friday, 13th March, from 5.30 pm at the Bangalow Newsagency aka ‘Bookworms and Papermites’, that ‘awesome little book shop in the heart of Bangalow’. Copies will be on sale. Come and help us celebrate. See you there.
Standing, left to right: James Hudson, Dave Stirling, June Zenveld, Daphne Catchpoole, Ronald G Butler, Jenny Grinlington, Simone Hogan, Lesley Van Biljon. Sitting, left to right: Marie Hart, Paula Williams, Yvonne Harper, Brian Costin. 16 - northerly magazine | march - april 2015
20 Workshops- What they all have in common by Polly Jude
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ince joining the NRWC in 2010, I have been lucky enough to attend over twenty workshops. From the blush inducing Erotic Fiction by Krissy Kneen to the heart pumping Building Suspense by Katherine Howell… I’ve seen it and heard it all.
mentorships, amazing competitions, the BBWF and everything else the NRWC offers members, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?
Each workshop focuses on different aspects of the writing process with unique insights but at the heart of it, most presenters give emerging writers similar advice!
Killer first lines- We’ve all heard about them. We’ve read them, and been captivated by them. But having a killer first line can make the difference to that agent or publisher reading on. The best opening lines are those that leaving us with questions that compel us to read on.
So, here’s the scoop. The top five things they usually say: Know Your Story- It sounds so simple. But many writers struggled to answer that very question. So developing your elevator pitch, that one liner that sums up your whole story, is vital for when, not if, someone asks that question. Know Your Market- Who hasn’t stood for hours staring at the shelves of their local bookstore checking out the competition? Knowing exactly where your novel should sit on those shelves is vital marketing information, for you and those potential publishers. Establish a professional web presenceWhen your future publisher or agent Googles your name, what will they find? You can limit the humiliation by having the right kind of web presence. Developing a website or blogging can illustrate your professionalism while sharing your awesomeness. Get publishing experience- If only it was that easy! Ideally, you enter competitions, win and get published. Just like that. Entering a range of writing competitions including the BBWF Pitch Perfect and the NRWC’s Residential Mentorship give emerging writers opportunities to add to their growing writing C.V. Make the most of your writers’ centre! We all know how great the NRWC is. But when you hear it so often from such a range of presenters, it really starts to sink in. With such a diverse workshops,
And if you still want more… how about the top five things they usually say?
Make it tight- This is often the hardest part of the whole process for emerging writers. We are so proud of ourselves for finally finishing that manuscript that we often fail to see that even our most eloquent and beautiful words might actually be harming the narrative structure of our stories. If they don’t advance story or character, no matter how poetic or brilliant, you might have to ask yourself why are they there?? I used to hate the phrase ‘kill your darlings’. But now I get it. It can be soul destroying to cut five or ten thousand words from your manuscript but sometimes, you just need to roll up your sleeves, take a deep breath and hit delete! Why do you want to write? Many a presenter has asked their confused audience this question. Surely, the answer is, “Der, world domination.’ Sadly, this brief glory bubble lasts just seconds before they reveal the reality of writing. You write a 50,000-word novel. It takes you five years, numerous therapy sessions at your local and too many packets of salt and vinegar chips. Lets say it’s a perfect world, and that publisher you happen to meet in the elevator (because that’s what happens, right?) loves your book and they offer you a very reasonable $10,000. You’d be stoked. There’d be champagne, maybe even cocktails (why not, you’re loaded!).
You’re going to be rich and famous and you can finally tell that moron at your work where to stick it! Until it dawns on you. That’s $27.39 for the five, long years you worked on it. Hang on! 20 cents a word! Maybe you should hold off on telling the boss what you really think of her micromanagement skills! If you’re writing to get rich and famous… good luck! Writing probably wont get you either!! Do it because you love it not for the money. Write everyday- While presenters have different suggestions (stream of consciousness writing, free writing etc.) they all recommend finding whatever works for you. The point is, make writing a part of your daily life! Read submission guidelines- If they ask for size 12, times new roman… der! Pass the intelligence test, people! You wouldn’t believe how many people don’t follow the submission guidelines. That’s it. 20 workshops on one page. Now stop procrastinating and start writing! Polly Jude is a local, emerging writer and teacher. She was a Pitch Perfect finalist at the Byron Bay Writers Festival in 2013 and she was one of the Residential Mentees at the NWRC Residential Mentorship in 2014. Check out her website @ www.pollyjude/net.com
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• kid’s page • Extract for the Tristan Banck’s lateset book My Life and Other Mistakes
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• from the reading chair • Killing off a character: the sad tale by Sarah Armstrong
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hen I tell people about my recent experience of killing off a character I can’t help saying the words with an dramatic flourish. It does seem mythic or monumental. ‘I killed off a character.’ And it did feel big. You’ll know, if you write or read fiction, that characters become real to you. You see them in your mind’s eye; you care about them; they make you weep or fear for their safety. I really cared about this character; she was a vulnerable girl from an unhappy home, a girl seeking safety and comfort. And then… then… I knocked her off. Why? Because in the end she didn’t serve the story. She was interesting and showed up aspects of other main characters. But not sufficiently to justify her existence. Oh God, that sounds so brutal! I have to remind myself we are talking about a figment of my imagination. (Except that I reckon all my characters stem from some part of me, which is probably why it’s so hard.) It wasn’t an easy decision to come to. Actually I needed quite a bit of prodding. I received some feedback from a reader and while she didn’t say ‘Get rid of Lauren’, she pointed out the ways in which Lauren was not woven into the story. When I first read this piece of feedback, I thought, ‘NO WAY am I getting rid of Lauren.’ I loved that Lauren was such a wild card. I loved the way she threw more light on ideas of family and belonging. And – to be frank - I recoiled from the amount of work involved in removing her.
I kind of knew that she wasn’t quite working but figured I could work that out. Then, as my rewrite went on (and on and on) and as I re-read the sections where Lauren appeared, I just couldn’t see how to better resolve the Lauren subplot. I tried all sorts of plot contortions and laboured interactions. The more I tried, the more I thought that perhaps she had to go. I emailed my writing group who had read the earlier manuscript and asked them what they thought. I emailed Pippa, my agent. I talked to Al about it. And I killed Lauren off. If it’s sad killing off a beloved character, even more painful is the amount of work involved. It’s both big picture work (character and plot) as well as the small picture work of writing dialogue and setting and body language etc. I had to figure out how to fill the hole she’d left and I had to rewrite whole scenes where she’d appeared.
winkled her way into this novel. The cheek! I felt much better once I realised that. I’ll breathe life back into her down the track. Local writer Sarah’s Armstrong’s second novel, His Other House, was published on 1 March by Pan Macmillan. Her first novel, Salt Rain, was shortlisted for several awards including the Miles Franklin. She was a radio journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where she won a Walkley Award. Sarah lives in northern New South Wales with her partner, writer Alan Close, and their young daughter.
Once I got in there with my delete key I realised that two whole chapters revolved around her. They had to go; there was no possible way to keep them. And then I realised that the story was not poorer for losing those chapters. That was a relief. Next job was to elevate the importance of another character to fill the hole that Lauren had left and I realised that he worked much better and the whole story really did weave more tightly now. The fact that I could remove Lauren with so little impact on the story or the other characters was proof that she had to go. As I finished up removing all references to her, it occurred to me that she was a character from my next book who’d northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 19
• SCU page • A showcase of SCU student work, compiled by Dr Lynda Hawryluk Blurred Vision By Sandra Moon
Koonorigan
by Sara Khamkoed
My body of mountains and valleys curls beneath a patchwork of pastures, spotted with slumbering cows and striped with citrus trees. My breath rustles through eucalyptus leaves that twist like tangled hair as the forest hums a lullaby; a melody of cricket trills, pattering moth wings, snuffling echidnas, and the rhythmic drumming of frogs. A nightlight of stars dangle, they sparkle and spangle, reflected on the river that runs through my veins.
The Northern Rivers by Elspeth Findlay. In the Northern Rivers, shy spring emerges early, darting in a shower of flowers from under winter’s cool mantle, flouting official seasons, she brings out the Wattles in August, only to dance into summer’s hot arms by September’s end, evaporating like a scented cloud. Beautiful, rebellious, transient, the spring sprinter could be the spirit of this place, where steamy summer heat gives way to sudden deluge as great rivers swell and recede across flood plains or snake through the caldera of the ancient volcano Wollumbin. For some 12,000 years, the people of the Bundjalung nation marked many seasons by the bounty they produced, thus the beautiful waft of yellow Wattle evoked expectations of creamy fat grubs under bark, and as the heat intensified they knew that mullet and salmon would be flashing through the waves at Evan’s Head. They walked through rain forests pink with new cedar leaf and resonant with the calls of fat Wonga pidgins, perhaps the best hunting and fishing grounds in Australia. They surely knew paradise. Paradise is what we come for. Along the coast little towns swell with new estates and coffee shops, sucking up the summer tide of tourist dollars, quietening only in the brief ebb of winter. Luring sea changers, tree changers, backpackers, grey nomads, tourists, surfers, gurus, healers, dealers, the Rivers are Australia’s Alice’s Restaurant, they have everything to offer and do so with gay abandon. 20 - northerly magazine | march - april 2015
Shoeless cousins with floppy hair and shorts leap from banksia branches to sit on chequered blankets with aunts and uncles. Long necks of beer and thongs, squealing and fizzing ginger beer sloshes into melamine cups. Fingers with dirty nails divvy out fish and chips from butchers paper. I wait to collect the crunchy ones, warm and salty. Us kids lean on knees amidst headland grass, the smell of the summer ocean before the grevilleas and pandanus call us to play hidey go seek. Laughing in the sun as it descends like a sleepy child I’m dragged by hands holding mine, our bare feet crush sweet yellow flowers ‘We’re going now’. Cups clang, bottle necks clink and paper scrunches. Danny is the first to scurryback , to flicked and folded blankets, one eyeremains patched after his run in with a barbed wire fence. The same red eye I catch years later as he sits in his Datsun overlooking the beach with his frowning wife. A snapshot of two young but old lovers surprised. I hurry by through the blurry film of the sea spray thinking: Do married couples still do such romantic things? And: isn’t it sad how we don’t see each other anymore. Spangled Drongos are typical regulars: sleek black international travellers, they fly in from the Territory, or as far away as New Guinea, catching insects mid air, gossiping, arguing, making love, flickering possessively around our garden. Like curious tourists, they perch briefly outside my kitchen window, peering in with mad red currant eyes, smoothing the long black feathers of their fishtails, babbling in a language that sounds like the pluck of rusty piano wires. Maybe they’re tuning up for the next festival. Then there are the locals. Disguised in wooly silence, Koalas drowse in tree forks through warming days, then grumble and roar into the night, calling mates, challenging rivals, shinnying up the Grey Gum trunks. But they are fewer with the passing years, their tree corridors interrupted, felled for timber, felled for development, felled without a thought for the slow marsupials who scramble clumsily between distant leafy havens, only to be savaged by the tearing teeth of marauding dogs. Somehow, it’s a hard line for any tour guide to sell — ‘there was a bear in there, but it died’. Unlike the Koalas, we have no claim upon this land. Regretfully, we watch the re-sorts encroach, but accept the tourist dollars, curse the developers, but drive down their roads. Alternative lifestyles come flat-packed, faux hippies step out of SUVs. Soon there will be no more skinny dipping through clear waters under giant whispering trees, no falling asleep to the strangely comforting roars of Koalas. Beautiful, rebellious, transient, our springtime in paradise is becoming a Northern Rivers legend.
• Book Review •
Let Me Be Frank With You By Richard Ford Bloomsbury Review by Russell Eldridge As a newcomer to Richard Ford’s writing, I had no idea what to expect - and that about sums up the trajectory of the life of his four-novel hero, Frank Bascombe. Bascombe is a mostly passive participant and observer of his own life and that of his fellow Americans over the past three decades. But he is no victim and no pussy: He just seems to accept that, in the words of John Lennon, ‘...life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans’. Bascombe’s is a life interrupted. He’s on his way to do something when there’s a knock at the door; he’s minding his own business and the phone rings. The character has forged a career and enduring fame for Richard Ford, but apparently he got a bit sick of it after the not-so-successful third in the series, Lay of the Land. For whatever reason, Ford brought Bascombe back with Let Me Be Frank With You, and we the readers are richer for it. I read this latest novel on a friend’s recommendation, then went back and read The Sportswriter and Independence Day, which won a Pulitzer. If Ford has a fault it’s his tendency to over-write. It is the flip-side of his
wonderful ability to ruminate on life, to evoke deep human sensibilities with a passing sketch of a minor character. But in Let Me Be Frank With You, the writing is tighter, the ever-present humour is quicker. It is less of a novel than four novellas, as Frank, now in retirement, deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, an old secret in his own house, a dying friend, and a visit to his first (ex) wife. In clumsier hands, these stories might not work. Ford appears to be steering us towards cynicism, then it subtly morphs into a plausible viewpoint. His humour pulls the sting out of what might be sentimental scenarios. And just when you think Frank may be a bit of a loser, his enduring optimism and acceptance of life as it shines through. And at any point of the narrative, the next sentence may not be what you expect. This is a writer at his peak. Each sentence, each idea, is crafted but you can’t see the stitching. In the end it’s all about relationships, and that’s where Ford hits his truest note. There’s no mawkish sentimentality here, no clearcut good and bad. People who love each other say harsh or unpredictable things; a kind word follows a slight. We’re never quite sure what people are going to say next, and situations never resolve themselves completely satisfactorily. But in the end we keep on keeping on.
For Frank Bascombe (and maybe for Richard Ford) nothing is absolute or monolithic. Life is nuanced. Here’s Bascombe musing and trying to make sense of an awkward moment involving someone with whom he has a deep, vexed relationship: ‘Love isn’t a thing, after all, but an endless series of single acts.’ Russell Eldridge’s first novel, Harry Mac, will be published by Allen & Unwin in July. It will be launched at the Byron Bay Writers Festival.
A Little History: Nick Cave and Cohorts, 1981-2013 by Bleddyn Butcher Reviewed by Paula McDougall Allen & Unwin NME’s photographer Bleddyn Butcher was blown away when he first saw The Birthday Party perform back in 1981. Photographing Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave became a lifelong quest and Butcher catalogues Cave’s creative career from the post-punk early years of TBP to the maturity of the Bad Seeds and the calmer disquiet of Cave’s 2013 album Push The Sky Away. This is a collaborative book that documents the long history between Butcher and Cave and the many incarnations of Cave’s bands and music. Butcher mixes candid and uncanny images with the narrative of how their relationship developed and deepened over the years. Alongside interviews with some of Cave’s more notorious cohorts, this is an important book for Australian musical history.
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workshops • workshops • workshops YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP (AGES 14-19) Presenter: Jesse Blackadder When: Tuesday, 14 April, 10am-1pm Where: Byron Community College, 107 Jonson St, Byron Bay. East Point Arcade (Across the road from Palace Cinema) Cost: $35 non-members Family Members $30 – Please contact the Office to arrange discounted tickets 02 6685 5115 Have you dreamt of becoming a writer? Do words and stories fascinate you? Have you got ideas but don’t know where to start? Are you an established writer but need guidance to further develop your writing? This workshop can help you tap into your passion and excitement for writing, get rid of fears and blocks, and write from a deep and creative place. You’ll try out exercises and tips that you can take away to keep writing on your own. We will cover: • Basic principles of writing practice • Where ideas come from and how to develop them • Using your senses in writing • Feeling a character’s emotion and showing it in writing • What makes a great story. We’ll do hands-on exercises and activities and give each other helpful feedback. You’ll get handouts from some of the world’s greatest writing teachers to take home. Jesse Blackadder is fascinated by landscapes, adventurous women and very cold places. She has written three novels for adults and three for children, and has won awards in Australia and the USA. She has travelled to Antarctica, Alaska, outback Australia, Dubai, Scotland and Norway to research her books, and teach writing.
Co-Presented with SCU
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MAKE A MOVIE IN A DAY (AGES 10-14) Presenter: Tristan Bancks When: Wednesday 15 April, 10am - 1pm Where: TBA Cost: $45 non-members Family Members $35 – Please contact the Office to arrange discounted tickets 02 6685 5115 An ipad with iMovie loaded and enough space on the device to store the film. The iPad is not essential and the children can share if unable to arrange for an iPad for the day. At this lively and interactive day-long workshop, participants will develop their skills in script writing, editing and film making with the experienced author, actor and filmmaker Tristan Bancks. Working collaboratively in small groups, participants will develop their creative ideas into short scripts which will be woven into short film creations. Using readily available technology, participants will learn how they can extend their own script writing, story boarding and filmmaking whilst working in a fun, creative environment
THE ART & CARPENTRY OF FICTION Seminar Presenter: Kathryn Heyman When: Saturday 18 April, 10am - 1pm School Holidays Where: The Byron Theatre, 69 Jonson Street, Byron Bay Cost: $50 NRWC Members or $60 nonmembers The making of fiction requires the mysterious vision of art and the practical carpentry of craft. In this seminar for emerging fiction writers, acclaimed novelist Kathryn Heyman will lead you through the crucial elements for creating great fiction. You’ll leave this seminar knowing the right questions to ask of your novel, and with some tools to help you get through the moments of doubt and uncertainty. Exploring the need for chaos in the writing process, as well as giving tools for creating structure and order, this seminar will send you back to your writing with a new vigour.
THE JOURNEY OF BOOK WRITING Presenter: Tim Cope When: Saturday 2 May, 10am - 4pm Where: Byron Community College, 107 Jonson St, Byron Bay. East Point Arcade Cost: $90 NRWC Members or $110 nonmembers Work with award-winning travel writer and documentary maker Tim Cope to turn your journey into more than just a travel tale. Drawing on the challenges he faced in writing On The Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through The Land of the Nomads (winner, Grand Prize at Banff International Mountain Book Festival 2013, shortlisted in non-fiction at the ABIA awards 2014), and the making of the film series of the same title, Tim will teach you the importance of shaping your writing through theme, and weaving your personal narrative with the people and history you encounter. What you will learn: • Through Tim’s backstory, you will learn about what it takes to fulfil a book writing project from the embryo of the idea, to research, to the adventure, the drafting and editing process and eventual publication/broadcast. • Why strong story is always the key to engaging with an audience, no matter what format. • How to break out of chronology and take command of time structure, including the use of foreshadowing. • The importance of shaping according to theme: e.g. how to use historical, personal, geographical, and political themes to provide context, and to frame. • How to weave a series of parallel stories and themes together. Tim Cope is an award-winning adventurer, author and film-maker with a special interest in the traditional cultures of Central Asia and Russia. Tim is the author of Off the Rails: Moscow to Beijing on Recumbent Bikes (Penguin Books 2003), and On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Lands of the Nomads. He is also the creator of several documentary films, including the award winning series The Trail of Genghis Khan, (commissioned by ABC Australia and ZDF/Arte in Europe).
workshops • workshops • workshops HOW TO HOOK A READER TO THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE
A DOUBLE DIP INTO THE SURF WORLD CULTURE
Presenter: Jim Hearn When: Saturday 16 May, 10am - 4pm Where: Byron Community College, 107 Jonson St, Byron Bay. East Point Arcade Cost: $75 NRWC Members or $95 nonmembers
Presenters: Craig Parry & Tim Baker When: Saturday 13 June, 10am - 4pm Where: First Floor, Lennox Hotel, 17-19 Pacific Parade, Lennox Head Cost: $90 NRWC & Members or $110 nonmembers. This includes a buffet lunch of gourmet sandwiches, rolls & quiches. Vegetarian options included. Any other dietary requirements, please advise Penny on penny@nrwc.org.au by 8 June.
Sometimes it works best to think of the story of our life as a movie. In thinking about that, we need to ask what type of film would the story of my life be? Comparing memoir writing to script writing allows us to analyse our lived experience through the lens of genre. It also allows us to think carefully about what we are going to leave out of our memoir in order to focus on what is most important. Is the story of your life primarily a romance? An action, adventure story? Crime? A drama or comedy? Most of these stories have elements of each within their narrative, but by settling on a particular paradigm, as writers, we can concentrate on craft elements of our writing that keep a reader hooked to the story of our life. Jim Hearn is the author of High Season: a memoir of heroin and hospitality (Allen & Unwin, 2012). He has written five original feature length screenplays and worked on the script for Chopper (2000). He holds a PhD from UTS and teaches creative writing at Southern Cross University, Lismore.
Want to take great photos and write about the surf?’ Then this is your chance to spend the day with two surf culture legends and learn from their experience and gain practical tips to get into the industry. First Session with Craig Parry, 10am12.30pm • Surf and Water Photography basics • The best ways to market yourself as a photographer (social media / websites) • Your copyright and how to protect yourself • What camera will work best for you • Editing programs the difference between Photoshop and Lightroom • Insurance and protecting yourself as a pro photographer • Aerial Photography the revolution of Drones in Photography • Contracts for your services and their importance • Getting into the photography industry the do’s and don’ts • Printing Labs
Lunch: 12.30pm-1.15pm AN INTRODUCTION TO ROMANCE WRITING AND GETTING PUBLISHED Second Session with Tim Baker, 1.30pm 4pm Presenter: Jennifer St George • A brief history of surf writing and the When: Saturday 23 May, 10am - 4pm high points of the genre. Where: Byron Community College, 107 • Free writing exercises to warm up Jonson St, Byron Bay. East Point Arcade your writing muscles and teach you Cost: $75 NRWC Members or $95 nonto get out of the way of your own members writing. Think you could be the next EL James, • Life lessons to be learnt from surfing Nora Roberts or Jane Austen? Want to and the ocean. be a part of the global, billion-dollar • Why surfing makes such great subject romance writing industry? Romance matter for story-telling and how author Jennifer St George will introduce it parallels the archetypal “Hero’s you to the romance writing industry, the Journey”. essential concepts you need to know • Practical tips for interviewing, and the contacts you need to have.
• • •
observational reporting and travel writing. Pitching and submitting stories. How to evoke all the senses to engage your reader. Making a living from writing in the digital age
Co-Presented with LAB
NRWC Free Member Sessions: HOW TO CREATE & RUN A WRITING GROUP Ever wanted to know how to go about starting and running a Writing Group? Local authors Sarah Armstrong and Jesse Blackadder will take us through actual examples of how they give feedback and what they’ve learnt about creating a constructive atmosphere in the group. In addition they’ll provide practical steps for creating and running a group, and where a group might run into trouble. When: Thursday, 26 March, 6pm-7.30pm Where: NRWC Office, Level 1, 28 Jonson Street, Byron Bay Cost: NRWC Members free but please book to reserve your place. Non Members $10 HOW TO CREATE & RUN A BOOK GROUP Ever wanted to know how to go about starting and running a Book Group? Come and learn the tricks to keeping a group committed and interested from someone who has been running a successful group for years. Bring your favourite book along with you and network with other members who might be looking to start a group. When: Thursday, 18 June 6pm-7.30pm Where: NRWC Office, Cost: NRWC Members free but please book to reserve your place. Non Members $10
Workshop bookings can be made via our website www.nrwc.org.au Please note that TryBooking is our ticketing agent and this is what will appear on your credit card statement.
northerly magazine | march - april 2015- 23
opportunities • opportunities • competitions Submissions are now open for Griffith REVIEW’s The Novella Project III competition Winning novellas will share in a $25,000 prize pool and will be published in Griffith REVIEW 50: The Novella Project III (November 2015). See attached media release for more information. In 2012, Griffith REVIEW 38: The Novella Project played a major role in enabling Australian and New Zealand authors to gain a foothold in the English language revival of the novella underway internationally. It was a bestseller at independent bookshops and widely praised by reviewers. In 2014, Griffith REVIEW 46: Forgotten Stories – The Novella Project II published five novellas with an historical dimension in a confronting, moving and provocative collection. Print and digital editions and eSingles of the individual novellas are available at Griffith REVIEW’s online store. Both editions were supported by the Copyright Agency Limited’s Cultural Fund. Interest in novella-length fiction continues to grow. Ian McEwan recently wrote in The New Yorker: ‘I believe the novella is the perfect form of prose fiction. It is the beautiful daughter of a rambling, bloated ill-shaven giant (but a giant who’s a genius on his best days). And this child is the means by which many first know our greatest writers… I could go even further: the demands of economy push writers to polish their sentences to precision and clarity, to bring off their effects with unusual intensity, to remain focussed on the point of their creation and drive it forward with functional single-mindedness, and to end it with a mind to its unity.’ The Novella Project III will give Australian and New Zealand writers a chance to perfect this ‘form par excellence’. For more information: https://griffithreview.com/the-novellaproject-iii-competition/ Submissions close: 29 May
Shakespeare on the River Festival The Shakespeare on the River Festival is calling for entries of up to 2000 words for their annual Sheila Malady Short Story Competition. This year’s theme is ‘What’s done cannot be undone’. Open prize $300 Additional prizes for a writer residing in Gippsland. For more information, www.stratfordshakespeare.com.au Closes 23 March 2015. 2015 Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing From the furthest reaches of the universe to the microscopic world of our genes, science offers writers the kind of scope other subjects simply can’t match. Good writing about science can be moving, funny, exhilarating or poetic, but it will always be honest and rigorous about the research that underlies it. To recognise the best of the best, UNSW Press has established an annual prize for the best short non-fiction piece on science written for a general audience. The Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing is named in honour of Australia’s first Nobel Laureates William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg and is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. First prize is $7000. Two runners-up will each receive a prize of $1500. Winning entries will be included in NewSouth’s anthology, The Best Australian Science Writing. Other shortlisted entries may also be included at the discretion of the editor. http://www.newsouthpublishing.com/ scienceprize Entries close 31 March 2015 Henry Lawson Festival of Arts HLawson_FestivalThe 2015 Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Short Story and Verse writing competitions are now open. Judging: April – May (a big job) Announcement of winners: beginning of June Awards ceremony Saturday evening June 6th : https://mastersreview.com/submissions/ Entries close 31 March Fair Australia Prize This new Fair Australia Prize asks writers
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to create a piece of work that imagines a more equitable society for Australia. The Fair Australia Prize is actually four $5000 prizes: one for fiction (up to 3000 words), one for essays (up to 3000 words), one for poetry (up to 88 lines) and one for graphics or cartoons (180 mm wide by 255 mm high). The prize encourages artists and writers of fiction, poetry and essays to be part of setting a new agenda for Australia. The kinds of questions entries should engage with ◾How does insecure, casual, precarious work affect a person and their community? ◾What do you think a fair Australia looks like? ◾How can we change Australia together? Winning entries will be published in a special Fair Australia supplement in Overland 220, to be launched in Melbourne in August. Entry is free. More details can be found here: https://overland.org.au/2015/01/theoverland-nuw-fair-australia-prize/ Entries close April 1 2015 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing Awarded annually to the best manuscript written for young adults and children, the Text Prize has unearthed extraordinary, multi-award-winning novels and launched international publishing careers. The Text Prize will be awarded to the best manuscript written by an Australian or New Zealander for young adults or children of primary school age. Both published and unpublished writers of all ages are eligible to enter with works of fiction or non-fiction. The Prize is judged by a panel of editors from Text Publishing and the winner receives a publishing contract with Text as well as a $10,000 advance against royalties. The 2014 Text Prize was won by Brisbane writer David Burton for How to be Happy . https://www.textpublishing.com.au/ text-prize Submissions close: 2 April 2015 Field of Words Short Story Competition The Field of Words bi-annual short story competition is open to emerging
competitions • competitions • competitions Australian writers aged 18 & over, who have only been published on-line, or in very small print-based outlets. The Field of Words website will publish the works and names of all the finalists as the competition unfolds, while the works of winners and runners-up will be published on the website’s home page. Genre/Form: Short Story (1,000 – 2,500 words). Theme: Open. ntry Fee: $20 and we accept one entry per writer per bi-annual competition. Announcement: Winner and runner-up announced early June. Prize Pool: Winner receives $500; runnerup receives $100. Eligible Entrants: Emerging Australian writers aged 18 & over. www.fieldofwords.com.au Entries close 7 April 2015 Banjo Paterson Writing Awards Banjo Paterson was born on February 17, 1864 and to celebrate his birthday anniversary Central West Libraries announce the call for entries in the Banjo Paterson Writing Awards. It is important to note that entries into the Short Story, Open Poetry and Children’s Writing Awards categories of the competition do not have to be in the style of Banjo’s writing. There are four categories: Short Story, Open Poetry, Bush Poetry and ABC Central West Radio Children’s Writing Awards. First prize is $1,000, 2nd $400 and 3rd $200 for Short Story and Open Poetry categories. The third category is bush poetry with prizes of $500 for 1st, $200 for 2nd and $100 for third. Entry is $10. The competition closes on Friday 17 April and winners will be contacted by phone on Monday 22 June 2014. Entry forms are available from Central West Libraries www.cwl.nsw.gov.au Entries close 17 April The Golden Tale Local Stories Competition ‘The Golden Tale Local Stories Competition’ is designed to elicit stories of place and tales of country from our Brunswick Valley region. You do not need to be a local to enter, but the story must be set in the Brunswick Valley or
Byron Shire. Finalists need be available to tell your story at the evening finals evening concert Sunday, June 7. The teller can choose to tell a true story, a fictional story or a factional tale- i.e. a true story with threads of fiction woven through it. Please note that this is an oral story competition, NOT a literary story competition. Stories must work as a told story and be delivered by the author without notes. Story Length: 5-8 mins long Entry fee: $10 per story Copyright kept by teller. The Golden Tale Local Story Finals: Sunday, June 7, Time TBA (early evening) Family Concert, Memorial Hall, Brunswick Heads, Cost: $5 admission Prizes: Finalists will have their story recorded by Bay FM. Selected stories will be played on Bay FM 99.9 Community Radio. Other prizes to be announced. More details: http://www.storytree.com. au/golden-tale/ Entries closes 18 April 2015 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize Entries are now open for the 2015 ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize. The 2015 Jolley Prize is worth a total of $8,000, with a first prize of $5,000 and supplementary prizes of $2,000 and $1,000. The Jolley Prize will be judged by ABR Deputy Editor Amy Baillieu, poet and academic Sarah Holland-Batt, and author Paddy O’Reilly. Entries must be a single-authored short story of between 2000 and 5000 words, written in English. Stories must not have been previously published or be on offer to other prizes or publications for the duration of the Jolley Prize. Entry costs AU$15 for current ABR subscribers or AU$20 for nonsubscribers. Entrants who are not current ABR subscribers can choose to subscribe when submitting their story for the special combined rates listed below: Online entry + ABR Online subscription $50.00 Online entry + Print subscription (Australia) - $95.00 Online entry + Print subscription (NZ and Asia) - $140.00 Online entry + Print subscription (Rest of
World) - $155.00 ABR will publish the three shortlisted stories in the 2015 September Fiction Issue and announce the overall winner at a special event during the 2015 Brisbane Writers Festival. https://www.australianbookreview.com. au/prizes/elizabeth-jolley-story-prize/ jolley-prize-online-entry Entries close 1 May The Best of Times short story competition #19. For humorous short stories (any theme) up to 2500 words. First prize: $500, second prize: $100. Closes 31 May 2015. No entry form is required. Include a cover sheet with your name and address, story title and word count, and where you heard about the competition. Entry fee is $10 per story. Send a cheque or money order made out to Chris Broadribb or use Paypal to pay cabbook-19@yahoo.com.au Post your entry to PO Box 55, Blaxcell NSW 2142 (including a large SSAE if you want the story returned and a results sheet, or a small SSAE for results only) or email it to cabbook-19@yahoo.com.au Competition website: http://spiky_one. tripod.com/comp19.html Entries close 31 May The Questions Writing Prize 2015 recognises and rewards talented writers (18 to 30 Years) Submissions are now invited for the Questions Writing Prize (writing of 1,500 to 2,000 words). The writing can be fiction or non-fiction and on any topic. The prize for the best writing submitted is $2,000. (Where there is more than one winner the prize money will be shared.) The winner of the Questions Writing Prize will have their work published in a book and a forthcoming issue of Questions. Please send all submissions electronically in a word document by 1 July 2015 to: helen@futureleaders.com.au Entries close 1 July
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WRITERS’ GROUPS
Alstonville Plateau Writers Group Meets 2nd Friday of the Month. 10am to 12pm. All genres welcome. Contact Christine 66288364 or Kerry 66285662 Ballina/Byron U3A Creative Writing Meets at 12.00pm every second Wednesday, Fripp Oval Ballina. Contact Jan on 0404 007 586 or janmulchany@bigpond.com Ballina Creative Writers workshops meet 3rd Thursday of month at 10.00am 12.30pm @ Richmond Hill. Focus is on personal development and spirituality. Contact janmulcahy@bigpond.com Ph. 0404 007 586 Bangalow Writers Group Meets Thursday at 9:15am at the Bangalow Scout Hall. Contact Simone on 0407 749 288. Bellingen Writers Group Meets at Bellingen Golf Club on the 4th Monday of the month at 2:00pm. All welcome. Contact Joanne on 6655 9246 or email jothirsk@ restnet.com.au Casino Writers Group Meets 3rd Thursday of the month 4pm at the Casino Library. Contact Brian on 02 6628 2636 or email briancostin129@hotmail.com Cloudcatchers For haiku enthusiasts, a ginko (haiku walk) is undertaken according to group agreement. Contact Quendryth on 02 6628 3753 or email quendrythyoung@bigpond.com Coffs Harbour Writers Group Meets 1st and 3rd Thursday of month, 10:30am12pm. Contact Lorraine on 02 6653 3256, email lmproject@bigpond.com or visit www.coffsharbourwriters.com Coffs Harbour Memoir Writers Group Share your memoir writing for critiquing. Monthly meetings. Contact 0409 824 803 or email costalmermaid@gmail.com Cru3a River Poets Meets every Thursday at 10:30am, venue varies, mainly in Yamba. Contact Pauline on 02 6645 8715 or email kitesway@westnet.com.au Dangerously Poetic writing circle Meets 2nd Wednesday of month, 2pm-4pm. At the Brunswick Valley Community Centre. Contact on Laura, 6680 1976 or visit www.dangerouslypoetic.com Dorrigo Writers Group Meet every 2nd Wednesday from 10am-2pm. Contact Iris on 6657 5274 or email an_lomall@bigpond.com or contact Nell on 6657 4089. Dunoon Writers Group Writers on the Block. Meets 2nd Tuesday of month, 6:30pm-8pm, at the Dunoon Sports Club. Contact Helga on 02 6620 2994 (W) 0401 405 178 (M) or email heg.j@telstra.com Federal Writers Group Meets 3rd Saturday of month in Federal. Contact Vicki on 02 6684 0093 or email ganden1@gmail.com FAW Port Macquarie–Hastings Regional Meets 1pm on last Saturday of month, Maritime Museum, Port Macquarie. Contact Joie on 02 6584 3520 or email Bessie on befrank@tsn.cc Gold Coast Writers Association Meets 3rd Saturday of month, 1.30pm for a 2.00pm start, at Fradgley Hall, Burleigh Heads Library, Park Avenue, Burleigh Heads, Qld. Contact 0431 443 385 or email info@goldcoast-writers.org.au Kyogle Writers Group Meets 1st Tuesday of the month 10:30am at the Kyogle Bowling Club. Contact Brian 02 6624 2636 or email briancostin129@hotmail.com Memoir Writing Group Meets every month at Sunrise Beach, Byron Bay. Contact Diana on 02 6685 5387 and 0420 282938 or email diana.burstall@gmail.com Nambucca Valley Writers Group Meets 4th Saturday of month, 1.30pm, Nambucca. Contact 02 6568 9648, or nambuccawriters@gmail.com Poets and Writers on the Tweed Meet weekly in the Tweed Heads Library, Tuesdays 1.30pm to 3.00pm. Poets, novelists, playwrights, short story writers all welcome. Fun group meets for discussion, support and constructive criticism. Free membership. Phone Lorraine 07 55909395 Taree–Manning River Scribblers Meets 2nd Wednesday of month, 9.00am– 11.30am in Taree. Call first to check venue. Contact Bob Winston on 02 6553 2829 or email rrw1939@hotmail.com WordsFlow Writing Group Meets Fridays in school term, 12.30pm–3.00 pm, Pottsville Beach Neighbourhood Centre, 12a Elizabeth St, Pottsville Beach. Contact Cheryl on 0412 455 707 visit http://words-flowwriters.blogspot.com
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NORTHERN RIVERS WRITERS’ CENTRE 2015 MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS BOOK WAREHOUSE 107-109 Keen Street Lismore 02 6621 4204 BOOK WAREHOUSE 26 Harbour Drive Coffs Harbour 02 6651 9077 BOOK WAREHOUSE Shop 6 Ballina Fair Ballina 02 6686 0917 BOOK WAREHOUSE 70 Prince Street Grafton 02 6642 6355 BOOK WAREHOUSE Settlement City Port Macquarie 02 6584 9788 BOOK WAREHOUSE Yamba Fair, Treelands Drive Yamba 02 6646 8662 BYRON BAY LONGBOARDS 1/89 Jonson Street Byron Bay 02 6685 5244 CLIX COMPUTER CENTRE 3/3 Marvel Street Byron Bay 02 6680 9166 CO-OP BOOKSHOP Southern Cross University Lismore 02 6621 4484 CO-OP BOOKSHOP Coffs Harbour Education Campus, Hogbin Drive Coffs Harbour 02 6659 3225 DOLPHIN OFFICE CHOICE www.officechoice.com.au Cnr Fletcher & Marvel Streets Byron Bay 02 6685 7097 DRAGONWICK PUBLISHING www.dragonwick.com 02 6624 1933 EARTH CAR RENTALS 18 Fletcher Street Byron Bay 02 6685 7472 EBOOKS NEED EDITORS www.ebooksneededitors.com 15% discount to NRWC members Call 02 6689 5897 for further details HUMBLE PIES Pacific Highway Billinudgel 02 6680 1082 KEEN STREET COMMUNICATIONS www.keenstreet.com.au 50 Bulmers Rd Hogarth Range 02 6664 7361 MARY RYAN’S BOOKSTORE Shop 5, 21 -25 Fletcher Street Byron Bay 02 6685 8183 NORPA www.norpa.org.au PO Box 225 Lismore 02 6621 5600 PAGES BOOKSHOP Park Beach Plaza Coffs Harbour 02 6652 2588 THE BOOKSHOP MULLUMBIMBY 39 Burringbar Street Mullumbimby 02 6684 1413
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