With generous funding from the Copyright Agency and Arts SA, Writers SA will commission 6 Deaf* writers to create pieces of work to be published in our new literary journal – Splinter. Each writer will have a piece of up to 1,000 words published in English and recorded in Auslan, and will receive a $1,000 payment. The pieces must be new (not previously published by a third party) and can be original flash-fiction, memoir, poetry, criticism, reportage, or an excerpt from a longer work of fiction.

Splinter is a new literary journal that is interested in the gaps between perception and reality and what happens when we get stuck in those gaps. We’re looking for sharp writing that feels both relatable and insightful, and are particularly interested in work that crosses boundaries between forms. The writing will be published in a liftout in Splinter’s second edition early next year.

Each writer will also receive mentoring, group support and access to a self-editing session.

For this project, we will be prioritising South Australian writers currently living in the state, but we’d also like to hear from other interested creatives. We will have a group meetup and workshop session at the end of September.

*You must identify as Deaf or living with profound hearing loss to be considered but you don’t have to use Auslan if you’re happy for your piece to be recorded by another Deaf person, or an interpreter. Recorded pieces will be presented either via the Writers SA website, or the Splinter website, or both.

If you are not chosen for this initiative, you are still welcome to submit to Splinter as the call-outs are listed.

Please send an expression of interest, your chosen genre/form/style and bio to Bronwyn – [email protected] – by August 30 to be considered.