What's
on ...
PROGRAM 2010
Thanks to a grant from Copyright Agency Ltd (CAL), our Youth Online program will be expanding this year.
For booking details go to the bottom of this page.
More events are being finalised and will be added to the program soon.
MARCH
Book Launch
A.J. Bennett will launch HEARTSCAPES by KAYE MILL. This is the third in the Matilda Poets series, published by Blue Tongue, Armidale, edited by Yve Louis.
DATE: Tuesday, 23 March, 6pm.
VENUE: ASCA House, cnr Markham and Barney Streets
ENTRY: free
LitLink Unpublished Manuscript Award
Writers are asked to submit prose manuscripts in any genre of fiction or narrative non-fiction at an advanced stage of development — manuscripts may be incomplete.
FIRST Prize is a two-week residency at Varuna, The Writers House in the Blue Mountains, with consultations with Varuna's creative team.
SECOND and THIRD Prizes will consist of reading, review and consultation with Varuna's creative team. The Varuna people will then recommend completed manuscripts to appropriate publisher. For further details go to: http://www.varuna.com.au.
CLOSING DATE: March 30
MAY
Getting Started — Making Stories, a creative writing workshop for beginners — WENDY JAMES
Knowing where to begin is often the hardest part of writing, but at the end of this class you’ll have characters, a plot, and plenty of inspiration. You’ll be ready to start making stories. Award-winning novelist, Wendy, has published novels and short stories. If you’re having trouble starting your first (novel, short story or any creative writing) this is the place to get going.
DATE: Saturday, 1 May, 10am to 4pm.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $60 non-members.
MARTIN LANGFORD
In partnership with Poetzinc, we are bringing poet, Martin Langford to Armidale for three (3) separate events:
Good Writing Workshop
At the start of the workshop, participants can introduce themselves with a piece of their work if they like. For the afternoon session, please bring along 10 copies of a piece of work you wish to have discussed — can be poetry or an extract from other work.
The morning session will be a presentation by Martin on "What Is Good Writing?" (and bad writing, and how you know when you’ve achieved what you set out to do).
Today, it is often said that there are as many criteria for good writing as there are readers, says Martin.
He will present the results of his own meditations on what makes some works stronger than others.
The workshop is focused on poetry, but writers of other forms are encouraged to attend, to learn more about what good writing is, regardless of genre.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $65 members / $75 non-members.
BOOKINGS: NEWC, see below
Seminar: Love, Land & Language – directions in contemporary Australian poetry
A talk by Martin Langford.
DATE: Monday, 3 May, 7.30pm.
VENUE: Jacaranda Room, Hughes House (rear of Kent House, Faulkner St).
COST: $5 at door, no need to book.
ENQUIRIES: Poetzinc tel. 6772 6767 or mobile 0405 290 499
Reading at pub: The Human Project
Martin Langford will read from his new collection of poetry.
DATE: Tuesday, 4 May, from 7.30pm.
VENUE: Railway Hotel, 222 Rusden Street.
COST: gold coin donation at the door, no need to book.
Write For Profit – one day workshop in freelance journalism — LESLEY SLY
Turn your interests/knowledge into profitable writing for newspapers and general and specialist magazines. Learn:
- interview/research/writing skills
- how to analyse publications/readership
- to write in a style suitable for general and specialist publications
- to pitch your story
- how to syndicate your work, and
- about running a profitable freelance writing business
DATE: Saturday 22 May, 10am to 4pm.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $60 non-members
JUNE
Retool & Remix : digital media workshop — DAVID REITER
This will take participants into the world of digital publishing — from creating blogs to using the internet to promote your work, and much more. Have you heard about people who dream in code and wonder what you're missing? Are you confused about the difference between HTML and XHTML? Uncertain whether you should have a website, blog or a podcast to promote your latest work? Are you itching to team up with other artists to produce multimedia work? Then this is the workshop for you!
Award-winning author and multimedia artist, David Reiter will provide an overview of digital projects that can be created from your desktop. He'll also cover the key issues involved with electronic publishing and distribution and demonstrate some of the channels available to text artists NOW for publication on the internet and on portable devices including laptops, media players and 3G phones. Get ready to create works for blogs, podcasts or CD/DVD distribution and learn the differences in audience expectations for screen-based channels.
Come with ideas for your own digital project. If participants in the "Retool & Remix" workshop want to go further down digital pathways, we’ll look at running a followup workshop on "Creating Digital Projects" later in the year.
DATE, Saturday 26 June, 10am to 4pm.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $55 members / $65 non-members
David will also be giving a talk about his work and issues in digital media at:
VENUE: Armidale Dumaresq Library
DATE: Friday 25 June, at 4pm.
COST: $5, pay at the door, no need to book.
JULY
A fiction writing workshop with LINDA JAIVIN.
Linda will also be giving a talk at the Library. More details of these events to follow soon. See also biographical note below.
AUGUST
The Exercise Pen — WENDY JAMES
A one-day workshop to stretch the imagination, learn techniques, and a lot more to help you to take a leap with your writing instead of reinventing wheels. Wendy will put you through your paces with challenging (and fun!) exercises that are guaranteed to help your writing 'break out'. Suitable for all offenders.
DATE: Saturday, 14 August, 10am to 4pm.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $60 non-members
SEPTEMBER
Creative Journal Workshop — KARLA MUIR
This is a writers' workshop with a difference. Karla explains:
Usually, the main purpose of writing is the product — here, it is the process which is at the centre of our attention. You can certainly use the techniques specifically to further your writing career, but the applications are potentially much broader than that. You can employ them for:
They can also help to uncover layers of your subconscious mind. I have chosen 6 processes that were particularly helpful to participants of previous workshops. In nearly 40 years of journalling, I have learnt, adapted and developed the techniques I'm going to share with you. Self-help books, my studies of linguistics and psychology and my NLP training have provided many ideas and inspirations. Journalling is a great tool, and anyone can do it – you don't need any literary talents for it.
DATE: Saturday, 4 September, 9.30am for 10am start, to 4pm.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $50 members / $60 non-members
NOVEMBER
Final Draft — WENDY JAMES
A workshop for refining your work, the last stage that can make or break your chances of getting an agent and/or publisher and, of course, an audience. Wendy will guide you on the long and sometimes arduous journey that begins with redrafting and ends in publication. Bring a piece to work on and be prepared to workshop and polish until you've got that elusive final draft. This workshop is not just for writers at an advanced stage, but also for writers who want to know what work they’ll need to do when they get to a more advanced stage.
DATE: Saturday, 20 November, 10am to 4pm.
VENUE: NEWC
COST: $55 members / $65 non-members
Fundraising Bookstall
This is being coordinated by Kaye Mill.
DATE: Sunday, 28 November.
VENUE: The Armidale Mall
DONATIONS: If you have books to donate to the stall, please contact NEWC tel. (02) 6772 7210 or email newc44@dodo.com.au.
ABOUT THE TUTORS
LINDA JAIVIN is the author of eight books, six fiction and two non-fiction, most of which have been published internationally, including the comic-erotic cult classic Eat Me and her most recent book, A Most Immoral Woman.
Linda is also a translator (from Chinese), essayist and writer on Chinese politics and culture, which she studied at university before spending nine years in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, studying Chinese and then working as a journalist.
She is currently working with the China National Peking Opera Company on a bilingual libretto for a new opera based on a story from a Ming Dynasty novel.
What critics have said of her work:
- A most engaging, clever and memorable romp. SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.
- Cleverly constructed, this is to bodice ripping what Harvard is to Play School. QANTAS: THE AUSTRALIAN WAY.
- Jaivin creates a fully realised, intensely lived-in past ... It might be her best work. THE AGE.
MARTIN LANGFORD is the author of six poetry books, including Sensual Horizon, and most recently, The Human Project.
Other publications include Microtexts, a book of aphorisms about poetics, and Harbour City Poems, an anthology of Sydney poems.
He has directed the Australian Poetry Festival three times, and was, until recently, the NSW Poetry Development Officer.
Reviewers have said of his work:
- One of Australia’s foremost poets – profoundly generous and important poetry (Andy Kissane)
- Here is a book ("The Human Project") with the courage of its convictions, and here is a poet who convinces us that poetry matters (Peter Kirkpatrick).
DAVID REITER is an award-winning author, multimedia artist and publisher with five digital works to his credit including his latest, the full-length DVD film Hemingway in Spain.
As director of IP, a Brisbane-based publisher, he set up IP Digital, an imprint at the cutting edge of digital publishing in Australia, and was a featured speaker at the Australia Council's Story of the Future seminar in Sydney.
LESLEY SLY has worked as an editor (newspapers/magazines), reporter for print and radio, senior sub-editor for the Sydney Morning Herald, Financial Review, columnist for Rolling Stone, travel writer for BBC Radio and various UK newspapers.
As a freelance her work has appeared in The Bulletin, Good Weekend, HQ, Limelight, and many other national and overseas magazines.
She also wrote a 400-page book, The Power & the Passion, a Guide to the Australian Music Industry, based on 150 interviews.
KARLA MUIR was born in Germany, migrated to Australia in 1980 at age 28. Spent two years travelling with camels and wagon in north-west NSW; had two children, studied philosophy, linguistics and psychology, achieved BA in 2002, and learnt a number of specific psychological techniques through additional courses. Currently she is employed as an aged carer for people with dementia, and as a computer trainer for CRS.
For BOOKINGS phone 02 6772 7210 or email newc44@dodo.com.au.
All workshops must be booked and paid in advance. If you wish to join NEWC at the time of booking, you can do the workshop for the member rate – see Membership page for details.
All events will be held at New England Writers Centre, in the Neighbourhood Centre, 129 Rusden St, Armidale (entrance via Cinders Lane carpark), unless otherwise stated.
Phone or email first, to making booking.
To pay for an event, call at office during opening hours (Tues 1-4pm, Wed 10am to noon, Thurs 1pm to 4pm) or send cheque to PO Box 1219, Armidale NSW 2350.