Language and literature - News and events

Events | Featured projects | Call for entries | Announcements

Events

• Canberra Writers' Festival (19–24 June 2009)
• Noosa Long Weekend 2007 (19–28 June 2009)
• Mildura Writers Festival (16–19 July 2009)
• Byron Bay Writers Festival (7–9 August 2009)
• Melbourne Writers Festival (21–30 August 2009)
• Brisbane Writers Festival (9–13 September 2009)

Young Writers' bootcamp - Brisbane

29 June 2009 – 3 July 2009

The Young Writers' bootcamp leads 13 to 17 year-old participants through a weeklong journey of writing discovery. Focusing on the short story, each participant will have the opportunity to write, edit and polish a new work as well as develop any works in progress during the week. They will also learn secrets to publication success and outline opportunities and avenues for young writers. Queensland Writers' Centre.

National Script Workshop - Sydney

27 June - 10 July 2009

A two-week residential studio programme of Playwriting Australia, the National Script Workshop provides writers with the resources to progress to the next stage of creative development, without the expectation of an immediate performance outcome or the need to produce a performance-ready draft. Scripts may be completed first drafts requiring further dramaturgy, or incomplete drafts needing to undergo further development.

Tips for Getting Published - Sunshine Coast, Queensland

15 July 2009

Tips for Getting Published workshop gives a brief introduction to the publishing industry and how to go about getting your book published. This 90-minute session is a must for any aspiring writer. Immanuel Lutheran College.

Byron Bay Writers Festival - Byron Bay, New South Wales

7–9 August 2009

The focus of the Byron Bay Writers Festival program is firmly on Australian writing, with recognition of our physical place in the world through the inclusion of Indonesian and Asian authors. Fundamentally, the festival provides a forum for intelligent discussion and guests are invited to address the issues that matter to them as writers and which necessarily concern us all. It is a celebration of the vitality of thought and creativity with a healthy emphasis on fun.

Aireys Festival of Words - Aireys Inlet, Victoria

14–16 August 2009

Now in its third year, the Aireys Festival of Words attracts internationally acclaimed writers and showcases the talents of local authors, illustrators, musicians and artists, who all take part in a weekend-long celebration of words, sounds and images. Various locations.

The Melbourne Writers Festival - Melbourne

21–30 August 2009

The Melbourne Writers Festival brings together 250 writers from overseas, nationally and locally, for a ten day feast of ideas, debate, readings, discussions and interviews. In its 24th year, the festival presents 250 unique sessions at venues in Federation Square and nearby, and provides an opportunity to relax and mingle with writers and other audience members in the Atrium—the festival hub. Various locations.

Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge - Victoria

2 February 2009 - 31 August 2009

The Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge aims to promote a love of reading. At the beginning of the school year, the Premier renews his invitation to Victorian students in Prep to Year 9 to take up the challenge of reading a specified number of books by 31 August 2009.

2009 IPEd National Editors Conference - Adelaide

8–10 October 2009

The Society of Editors (SA) announces that the 4th IPEd National Editors Conference will be held in Adelaide. The conference will take place at the Adelaide Festival Centre on the banks of the River Torrens, with associated events taking place in and around the city centre.

Featured projects

Beautiful Waste: Poems by David McComb, 2009

May 2009

Songwriter and lead singer of the Triffids, David McComb died in 1999 leaving behind a legacy of evocative music. Always more than a pop musician, McComb was a perceptive poet who explored and confronted addiction, pop culture, the colloquial and the metaphysical. Collected and published for the first time, Beautiful Waste is the poetry McComb wrote during his 20s and 30s when the Triffids' musical output was at its height. Introduced by renowned poet John Kinsella, the poems in this book will appeal to fans of popular music and contemporary poetry alike.

Aust-Nanjing Cultural Ambassador and the e-mentoring projects

May 2009

Newly appointed Nanjing-Australian Cultural Ambassador Aileen Hall's role is to help create links and friendship between Nanjing and Australia, to build lines of communication, promote cultural exchanges, cultural understanding, mutual learning and reflection, and the shared learning of Chinese and English. Mentored by author Hazel Edwards, primary students are creating illustrations and swapping lost school pet stories in Mandarin and in English.

IAD Press Indigenous language dictionaries

Ongoing

The Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD) press presents a list of dictionaries and language resources covering several Indigenous languages. Indigenous languages included are Alyawarr, Anmatyerr, Arrernte, Gamilaraay Yuwaalaraay, Kaytetye, Ngaanyatjarra & Ngaatjatjarra, Pintupi Luritja, Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, Warlpiri, and Warumungu.

Call for entries

Max Harris Poetry Award - national

Entries by 15 July 2009

The Max Harris Poetry Award 2009 is now open for entries. Offering $3,000 for the winning entry, the Max Harris Poetry Award aims to recognise the work and talent of Australian poets. The winning entry and two unpaid commended entries will receive University of South Australia Max Harris Poetry Award Certificates, which will be presented at an award ceremony in October 2009 and will be featured on the Poetry and Poetics Centre website.

Manuscript Development Program - national

Entries by 24 July 2009

The 2009 Queensland Writers Centre / Hachette Australia Manuscript Development Program for Fiction Writers is now open. This program has been created for emerging Australian authors of fiction who are either unpublished or have no more than one significant work commercially published. Up to 10 emerging fiction writers will work with publishers for Hachette Australia to develop high-quality fiction manuscripts.

Aireys Festival of Words - Aireys Inlet, Victoria

14–16 August 2009

Now in its third year, the Aireys Festival of Words attracts internationally acclaimed writers and showcases the talents of local authors, illustrators, musicians and artists, who all take part in a weekend-long celebration of words, sounds and images. Various locations.

Announcements

Miles Franklin Literary Award winner announced

18 June 2009

Tim Winton was announced as the 2009 winner for his novel Breath. Twenty-five years ago, Tim won his first Miles Franklin Literary Award for Shallows. This year's win means that he is the only writer ever to have won four times in his own right. The Miles Franklin Literary Award celebrates Australian character and creativity and nurtures the continuing life of literature about Australia. It is awarded for the novel of the year which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases.

Judges for Prime Minister's Literary Awards announced

28 May 2009

The judging panels for the Prime Minister's Literary Award will review the 93 fiction and 161 non-fiction eligible books entered into the 2009 awards. Author and academic Professor Peter Pierce will return as Chair of the fiction panel for the second year, together with Professor John Hay AC and Radio National's executive producer of Artworks Dr Lyn Gallacher. Broadcaster, writer and filmmaker Phillip Adams AO will chair the non-fiction panel and will be joined by author and editor of Australian Book Review Peter Rose, and historian Professor Joan Beaumont FASSA.

Alice Nelson wins award for best young Australian novelist

23 May 2009

Fremantle Press author Alice Nelson was presented with The Sydney Morning Herald best young Australian novelist award at the Sydney Writers Festival this week. The judges said that it was a rich and evocative novel, with Nelson moving her narrative easily between Perth and China, between the past and the future, juxtaposing the inner life of her protagonist, Maya Wise, with the political upheaval of the Hong Kong handover.

NSW Premier's Literary Awards winners announced

18 May 2009

NSW Premier's Literary Awards winners have been announced. The winners include Vietnamese-Australian Nam Le for his collection of short stories, The Boat. Chloe Hooper's The Tall Man: death and life on Palm Island, and The Good Parents by Joan London.

Key online resources

• Australian Poetry Resources Internet Library (APRIL)
• NSW Writers' Centre
• Tasmanian Writers' Centre
• Queensland Writers Centre
• Northern Rivers Writers' Centre
• Federation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages (FATSIL)
• Writing WA
• Fellowship of Australian Writers (VIC)
• Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA)
• Writers Now Online
• Australian Poetry Centre
• Gold Coast Writers' Association
• Aboriginal Languages of Australia
• Magabala Indigenous language books

Collection resources and online publications

• Jacket Magazine
• Red Room Company - poetry promotion and distribution
• The Complete Review
• Thylazine : The Australian Journal of Arts, Ethics & Literature

Institutions and government organisations

• Australian Libraries Gateway
• National Library of Australia

Peak bodies and associations

• Australian Society of Authors
• Copyright Agency Limited
• Australian Children's Book Council (CBC)

People

• Sleepers - advocates for writers
• The Angry Penguins
• Henry Lawson

Featured websites/projects

• Word Map
• Lightning Bug
• Project Gutenberg