News

Staff from the Literature Board of the Australia Council will be available
on Wednesday, 7 March to discuss possible grant applications. Check
your eligibility at www.australiacouncil.gov.au/artforms/literature 
Please note: there has been a change to the eligibility criteria for
emerging writers ... anyone applying in this category must have had a book
or play published. To book an interview, please email the SA Writers' Centre
at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone 8223 7662.

Sean Williams became our third Life Member in 2011. Sean has been involved with the Centre for many years, both as a Board member and a supporter, and has encouraged countless South Australian writers to get out there and make a go of it. The news was sprung on the New York Times best-selling author at the St Lucy's Party in December. Somewhat suprised and, of course, delighted with the award his response was inclusive as always, saying he was 'completely honoured and gobsmacked' and that he 'couldn't have done it without Barbara ... and the Writers' Centre.' If you missed out on getting along that evening, the video can be viewed on YouTube.

NonfictioNow is one of the most significant gatherings of writers, teachers and readers of nonfiction from around the world. Three full days of panels, screenings and events will centre on the practice, thinking, communication and writing of nonfiction in all its forms to be hosted by RMIT University in November 2012. The Bedell NonfictioNow Conference seeks panels that showcase the diversity of the genre. For more information please go to our Conventions and Conferences page ...

 

With the assistance of the Copyright Agency Limited, NonfictioNow 2012 will be issuing a limited number of bursaries in order to enable independent Australian writers and journalists to participate in the NonfictioNow 2012 conference in Melbourne. Bursaries will be considered for all writers who apply, however those who are successful as panellists will be prioritised. For more information please go to our Conventions and Conferences page ...

BUZZCUTS ADELAIDE needs young arts reviewers! Since 1997 BUZZCUTS has been training young writers and broadcasters in critical arts reviewing at both the Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, along with the Fringe World Festival in Perth for the first time in 2012. Click here for more details.

From Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 March SPOKE Festival
will occupy The Shimmering West – the lawn area in front of
Adelaide College of the Arts (39 Light Square, Adelaide)
– and Higher Ground. A visual and spoken word smorgasbord ...

For more details go to our Festivals page. 

Flinders University graduate and first-time novelist Hannah Kent has been named the winner of the 2011 Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award for her novel 'Burial Rites'. She will receive a total prize package worth $12,000.

Hannah has the honour of being the Award's inaugural recipient and, while she is thrilled about the prize money, the highlight for her will be working with a mentor: "I'm incredibly excited about the prospect of working with a published Australian author who can look at my work with fresh eyes and give me feedback and advice based on their own experiences."

Next February will see a new conference coming to town. Literary Adelaide is a one-day conference that will examine all aspects of Adelaide as a literary city past and present. Presented by the University of Adelaide and the Association for the Study of Australian Literature it will be held on Friday 10 February, 2012. For more details click here.

The SA Writers' Centre, in collaboration with Helping Hand Aged Care, is currently running a Seniors Project at Helping Hand Aged Care, Parafield Gardens, where Patrick Allington, the Writer-in-Residence, works two days a week. The project encourages interested seniors, whether they are Helping Hand residents or members of the wider City of Salisbury community, to express themselves through writing. Patrick will soon begin a number of writing groups in the City of Salisbury, in collaboration with Helping Hand Centre. For more information, or for bookings, please email Patrick: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The project will run for nine months. The position is funded by Perpetual Trustee with grant money from the Estate [of the] Late James Simpson Love and the Enid Irwin Charitable Trust.

 

As part of the SA Writers' Festival's 'Great Debate: That Books Are So Yesterday' Peter Goers, Adelaide radio personality and debate emcee, burnt Sir John Kerr's autobiography, Matters for Judgement. You can watch Peter's 'inflammatory act' and to hear his humorous commentary here. Steve Evans, Stephanie Johnston and Ruth Starke debated the affirmative argument, while the negative team comprised Tracey Korsten, Greg Mackie OAM and Geoff Strempel.

Indigenous writer and Centre member Dylan Coleman has
won the Unpublished Indigenous Writer – Arts Queensland
David Unaipon Award for her manuscript 'Mazin' Grace,
the story of a young Aboriginal girl's quest to understand