Book reviewing is a tricky business. As Kerryn Goldsworthy’s recent extended essay in Australian Book Review shows, knowing what a review’s purpose is (or should be), who it serves (or should serve), what its value is (or should be), are complicated and contested questions. I approach book reviewing with several anchoring principles, although these principles […]
By Donna Ward A poem is an epiphany in words, a journal note in the soul’s high adventure, a gem cut brillante so all life’s glory gleams through. In days filled with lists, and jobs, and deadlines we forget we are part of something intriguing and mysterious. Epiphanies remind us. Epiphanies occur when we are […]
By Victoria Purman Part of being a writer is talking about yourself and your writing. I know, I know, that idea scares the proverbial out of some people. If you write purely for yourself, to experience the joys and heartbreaks and deliciousness of assembling words on the page just because you like the writing, all […]
By Libby Parker I’m a huge fan of Astrid’s work and her workshops so it was an easy decision to make to book her Write with Spice workshop on Sunday 18 August at SA Writers’ Centre. Astrid has an aura about her. She is warm, disarming, engaging and a wealth of knowledge! She gives practical advice to writers of all […]
By Malcolm Walker Shakespeare asks, ‘What’s in a name?’ and answers by telling us roses smell sweet whatever they are called. But Tim Winton’s character Rose Pickles out of Cloudstreet is anything but sweet: her character comes fully armed with thorns for most of the story – even though she softens towards the end of […]
SAWC member, Diane Hester, was published in March this year by Random House. How did she get published? She pitched her story face to face to a publisher at a conference and was invited to submit her manuscript, which was then accepted for publication. ‘This approach seems to be growing more popular. If you register […]
By Malcolm Walker Believe it or not one of the books I find most useful is the Macquarie Dictionary. When looking for a spelling I’ll often come across a word I’ve never encountered before and that can begin the process of interrogating ideas and relationships I hadn’t thought about before. I usually just jot the […]
By Dorothy Shorne ‘How long had you known him?’ A common question I am asked after I have delivered a eulogy. In most cases I have not had the pleasure of meeting the deceased. What I have done is listened carefully to his nearest and dearest as they relate to me their memories and experiences. […]
By Vanessa Jones This year I really had no excuse not to go to the 10th Emerging Writers Festival at the end of May. I was invited to be part of a panel, my Adelaide and Melbourne writing buddies would be there and I could go to represent the SA Writers Centre. So far, this has been one […]
By Liz Harfull I have just returned from an extraordinary few weeks, travelling more than 6000 kilometres to meet some of the show cooks that will feature in a national version of the Blue Ribbon Cookbook, due out in March 2014. The wonderful conversations and cooking sessions that I shared with these talented men and women […]
By Danae Sinclair Great content never asks readers to work for what they want to know. Great content meets reader expectations, helps them toward their information-gathering goals and it gets your message across clearly. To break it down further, here are three things to be mindful of when creating web content: 1. Provide pathways to […]
by Kerryn Goldsworthy JOIN KERRYN FOR THE WORD FOR WORD WORKSHOP IN JANUARY. * Remember that ‘place’ is an elastic term: it could mean ‘Australia’ or ‘Adelaide’ or ‘the Beehive Corner’ or ‘the place I came off my bike when I was ten’. * When describing a place, try to emphasise the features that are […]
By Stephen Atkinson About a quarter of the way through his workshop on creative non-fiction, renowned writer and teacher of writing Robin Hemley revealed the six questions he gets all of his students to ask of their work: 1) What is it about? 2) What is it really about? 3) What is it about? 4) […]
By Jillian Schedneck Robin Hemley approached this masterclass by giving the nine experienced nonfiction writing students specific and applicable advice on their nonfiction projects. In various stages of conception and completion, each class member spoke in turn about their projects, from a family’s experience organic farming in Italy to an errant expatriate writing from but […]
Hi peeps, Cassandra Dean here, with a few hints and tips for online promotion and marketing as a writer! 1. Have a website. Make the design of it simple and easy to use. Update it regularly. 2. Blog. Blog regularly. Blog often. Blog about random shizz you’re convinced no one wants to read about – […]
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