MAY 2014 The KSP News E s t a b l i s h e d 1 9 8 5
Upcoming Event
The KSP Follow Your Dreams Festival
All tickets now discounted!!!
Meet marketing guru, motivational speaker
and book publisher
RACHAEL BERMINGHAM
Taking last minute bookings now
Upcoming
Workshops
Booking in advance is essential for all workshops and events.
Please see the KSP website for payment details.
9294 1872 / [email protected]
A STORY FROM
AN ANECDOTE
with Writer-in-Residence
PADDY O’REILLY
Saturday 12 July 1.00-4.00pm
All of us have anecdotes that
we tell or that we hear from
family and friends. However,
they can be the raw material
for great stories. In this
workshop you will take your
anecdotes and tear them up and
put them back together to see if
there is a story inside. There
usually is. If by some strange
chance there isn't, you'll make
one up from what you found.
Participants should come with
an idea of an anecdote.
MEMBER’S CHOICE
WORKSHOP
Saturday 15 November,
1.00pm-4.00pm
Based on your suggestions, we
have compiled the most popular
ideas for workshops. Thanks to
everyone who completed the
survey. Now it is time to vote!!!!
Click here to vote or post your vote
to: 11 Old York Rd, Greenmount
6056 / or email [email protected]
1) Romance Writing
2) Writing Fantasy
3) Building an Author Website
and Social Media Presence
4) Breaking Writer's Block /
Motivation to Write
5) Writing Children's Fiction
Banquet with Butterflies
written by Writer-in-Residence Bronwyn Lovell
It would be impossible for me to overstate what
coming to KSP as the emerging writer-in-residence
this past month has meant to me. I will return to
Melbourne with renewed enthusiasm for my writing
and work doubly hard towards achieving those
writing goals I too often lose sight of in the blur of
everyday busyness.
During my time at KSP, I commenced the
manuscript for my science fiction verse novel Migration, about the first human
settlement on Mars. I am absolutely delighted with the progress I have made
on this project. I arrived here with a vague idea and am leaving with a solid
suite of poems and many more notes and ideas that I can continue to build
upon. Migration has even had its first public reading at the Perth Poetry Club,
a lively weekly gig run by the amazing Elio Novello, who kindly invited me to
come along as a guest. Many people from the audience came up to me
afterwards to say how much they enjoyed hearing my Mars poems. It gives me
such a buzz to take that encouragement home with me. I am incredibly
grateful for the gift of time and space this residency has provided, without
which my shuttle to Mars may never have got off the ground.
Another highlight of my visit here was the literary dinner performance of
Chrysalis, a poetry suite exploring the life cycle of the butterfly. It was a
privilege to bring my butterfly poems to WA and to share some of the more
fascinating aspects of insect biology with such a jolly audience. I don’t think
I’ve ever enjoyed myself so much during a reading! And the food was so good
I even dreamt about it afterwards. I wish I could always sing for my supper in
such a delightful fashion.
Page 2 THE KSP NEWS
COMPETITIONS,
EVENTS &
OPPORTUNITIES
PCWC Advanced Writing
Course - register by 18 June
Details here
OOTA Prose Workshops with
Nandi Chinna & Shane McCauley
Every Friday - details here
ACU Prize for Literature
Closes 7 July 2014
Details here
Val Vallis Poetry Award
Closes 10 July 2014
Details here
WAPI Song Lyric Contest
Closes 13 July 2014
Details here
Henry Handel Richardson
Society Competition
Closes 31 July 2014
Details here
Yarram Writing Competition
Closes 21 July 2014
Details here
Write Sabah July Retreat
Details here
Best Australian Poems 2014
Closes 1 August 2014
Details here
Aesthetica Writing Comp
Closes 31 August 2014
Details here
Anthology of Loss
Call for submissions.
Closes 1 September 2014
Details here
Janice M Bostok Haiku Award
Closes 1 September 2014
Details here
Freefall Writing Retreat
October and November
Details here
Page 3
CONGRATS...
Congratulations to Tracy Farr, a past Writer-in-Residence, on her novel, ‘The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt’, reaching the Miles Franklin long list. The short list includes many of Australia’s literary giants, and it is a credit to Tracy’s literary skill that her work kept them company long enough for them to consider the possibility of a new author taking the prize. ‘The Life and Loves of Lena Gaunt’ is a stunningly poetic book begun during Tracy’s residency at KSP.
Congrats also...
to KSP-member Juliet Marillier, whose story 'By Bone-light' won the Best Young Adult Short Fiction category in the prestigious 2014 Aurealis Awards.
Member
Renewals
winner
Maureen Sexton
Maureen has won a
voucher for a standard
$30 KSP workshop
funded by DCA.
Congratulations
Maureen!!!
Banquet with Butterflies (continued)
written by Writer-in-Residence Bronwyn Lovell
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to KSP’s patron Glen Phillips,
chairperson Renee Hammond, coordinator Shannon Coyle, all the committee
members who have welcomed me so warmly, especially Mardi May, Andrew
Levett, Karen Treanor and Tabetha Beggs, and of course the many facilitators
and writers who have kindly allowed me to attend their groups and share in their
wonderful words. Special thanks also to Rose van Son, Melissa O’Shea, Shey
Marque, Anna Wright, Carolyn Wren, Tony Harding, Barbara Gurney, David
Kitson, Eris MacDonald and Chris Oakeley, who are just some of the many
people who went out of their way to make me smile.
What you have here at KSP is very special and I feel blessed to have been
able to share in it for a little while. I’ve made so many lovely friends in this
charming and talented writing community that it’s sad to have to leave, but
luckily for me, I’ve already been invited back! I will return for the KSP
Speculative Fiction Mini-con on 10 August and the WA Poetry Festival 14 to 17
August, then I’ll be performing at Voicebox in Fremantle on 25 August, running
a free workshop at Perth City Library as part of National Poetry Week on 1
September, and reading at a South Perth Library Words with Wine evening.
Please sign up to my mailing list or keep an eye on my website for more
information on these events (www.bronwynlovell.com).
So, until then, sweet-hearted people of KSP—thank you for everything, keep
writing and may your words be heard and better the world!
I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
With much appreciation and warmest wishes, Bronwyn Lovell xx
Saint Rosanne of Malta
written by Tabetha Beggs
When I signed up for Rosanne Dingli’s six week Author’s Course at the KSP Writers’ Centre, my
expectations were simple; to complete the course with a few wise words scribbled into my notebook and a
head full of information to set me on my way into the publishing world (well, once my manuscript is
completed for course!). The reality of what I took away from Rosanne’s lessons was all that, but oh so
much more.
With four novels, numerous short story collections, and a poetry book to boast of, Rosanne is well
qualified to share her experiences and give subjective advice on the merits of self-publishing versus
chasing an elusive publishing contract. She has succeeded in doing both. Rosanne’s course was
strategically targeted to those who have, or are close to finishing, their manuscript, with her key message
being that a marketing strategy for your work is just as important as what you write and should be artfully
weaved into the writing process. Rosanne happily shared her knowledge of the industry and offered some
handy tricks of the trade while supporting her teachings with real life examples.
What I also took from the course was a fascination of the myriad of topics on which the other members
of the class are working on. I look forward to reading some of the finished works as they come to fruition.
What a wonderful eclectic bunch of women, who I hope very much come through the centre’s various
courses and writers’ groups. I have no doubt Rosanne found her pupils equally as interesting as we did
her and know she would be the first to congratulate any one of our successes.
The wonderful Ms Dingli brought more than her expertise in self-publishing, marketing, and branding
to our classes; she also managed to lace our lessons with warmth, laughter, and conversation. She filled
our hearts with her inspiration, enthusiasm, and huge personality. I know I speak on behalf of the whole
class, whether they attended the full course or just part of it – it wasn’t just intellectual property we
gained, but a new friend.
It doesn’t take long after first
meeting Rosanne to know that if her
books are anything like she is as a
person, then you are in for a ride of
contagious energy and cultural
richness. And hidden among the
pages will be a little Maltese lady
collecting yellow crockery sets, a
swarthy young man on an academic
journey, a beautiful starlet changing
the world one feminist act at a time,
and a man named Hugo, who
everyone will fall in love with, one
page at a time.
Page 4 THE KSP NEWS
Page 5
Prior to the Rejection to Acceptance: Revising Poems for Publication workshop,
some of us had met Bronwyn Lovell, the poet. Today we met Bronwyn, the editor
and teacher. This workshop was never going to be ordinary, although the subject is
everyday fare to all writers. We had sent two or three poems to Bronwyn for
critiquing prior to the workshop, so we had expectations.
The clear, concise guidelines and practical example of revision and editing, are
all going to be helpful rules for our future poetry writing. The delight of the
afternoon was the personal mentoring component and the sharing and discussion of
the feedback amongst ourselves.
Under Bronwyn’s guidance, we stepped back from our poems and saw them for
the living evolving structures they are. Rather like the chrysalis that mutates into the
butterfly of Bronwyn’s book, this revising and editing process is necessary for the
splendid completeness of its maturity.
The guidelines we will take away and sit them by the computer for reference, but the valuable, personal
moments gifted to us by Bronwyn will stay somewhere closer to us; somewhere closer to our poetry.
These days the writing of a book seems like the easy part of the road to the bookshelf,
and standard publishing is unable to cope with the flood of authors seeking their
service. Online publication is an option gathering force, but for those who want to
hold a book in their hands, self-publishing is an attractive alternative.
In her workshop, Tineke Van der Eecken shared her experience of the process in
the publishing of her very successful memoir, Café d’Afrique. Here the actual
printing of the book seemed to be the easier part compared to the marketing necessary
for success. This ‘authorpreneurship’ is expected of authors today in an increasingly
competitive market. For this, the use of social media is a must. For a dinosaur like
myself, tweeting and twittering belong to the birds, and blogging and Facebook are
places in cyberspace I have not yet visited. Tineke revealed the mysteries of the media
and their marketing possibilities, and inspired us to follow her lead.
The days of living in a garret are gone, and today’s authors, self-published books
in hand, are selling not only their work to the world, but selling themselves as writers.
* * *
EXCITING NOTICE! Due to popular demand, Tineke will be returning to KSP later in 2014 to conduct a
workshop on ‘writing memoir’. So it you have an idea on hand, come along and brew it properly with Tineke,
then go home and work on producing 50 pages of text to then take it to the next level in Rachel Robertson’s
two-day Memoir Master Class (18 September, 20 October). Check the website soon for details.
Rejection to Acceptance
written by Mardi May
A Guide to Self-Publishing
written by Mardi May
Patron
Dr Glen Phillips
Public Fund
Chairperson KSP
Treasurer KSP
Clive Aldridge
Denis McLeod
Robert Perks
Literary Advisory Board
Dr Glen Phillips
David Caddy
Prof. Brian Dibble
Kathleen Dzubiel
Mardi May
Dr Melissa O’Shea
Karen Treanor
Dr Amanda Curtin
Juliet Marillier
Management Committee
Chairperson Renee Hammond
Secretary Andrew Levett
Treasurer Robert Perks
Newsletter Ed. Shannon Coyle
Committee Mardi May
Karen Treanor
Shannon Coyle
Guy Salvidge
Andrew Levett
Valerie Everett
Tabetha Beggs
Coordinator
Shannon Coyle
Competitions Secretary
Vacant—please apply
Write-a-Book-in-a-Day
Christopher Oakeley
KATHARINE SUSANNAH
PRICHARD WRITERS’ CENTRE
Regular Writing Groups
Open for Everyone to Join (Per class: $5 members/$10 nonmembers)
Poetry Writing Group (Poets@KSP) 2nd, 4th Mondays 1.00-3.00pm
Writers’ Circle Tuesdays 10.00-12.00pm
Writefree Women’s Writing Group Wednesdays 9.45-11.45am
Young Writers’ Group (8-16s) Thursdays during school term 4.00-6.00pm
Home Schoolers Group (9-16s) Thursdays during school term 10.00-11.30am
Thursday Night Group Thursdays 7.30-9.30pm
Romance Writers Group Fridays 9.30-11.30am
Marathon Writers Group Fridays 12.00-4.00pm
Non-Fiction Writers Monthly 1st Saturday 10.00-12.00pm
Past Tense (Social History) Monthly 2nd Saturday 10.00-12.00pm
Speculative Fiction/Fantasy Monthly 2nd Sunday 10.00-12.00pm
Avon Valley Writers Group Wednesdays 10.00am & Thursdays 7.00pm
NaNoWriMo Support Group Mondays during October and November only,
9.00am - 12.00pm
Katharine’s Place
11 Old York Road
Greenmount
WA 6056
AUSTRALIA
Phone: (08) 9294 1872
Fax: (08) 9294 1872
Email: [email protected]
Web: kspf.iinet.net.au