In this week's issue of Pen & Pixel, we are delighted to publish November's winning Right Left Write entry for the genre prompt Memoir, Finding My Grandfather by Patricia Schluter. Read below!
Right Left Write will return in February, but for the next two months we have the annual GenreCon Short Story Competition. Whether you hook us with a thriller, seduce us with a romance, chill us with a horror or get creative and break the boundaries - just show us your best genre fiction on the conference theme of Forbidden Doors before entries close on 24 January.
Don't forget that applications to Adaptable 2022/23 remain open over the Summer break as well, so if you've got a bottom-drawer manuscript, poetry collection, short story, published novel, or one of the many other eligible entries, get ready to submit, and be in with a chance of pitching to screen industry professionals at Gold Coast Film Festival in 2023.
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Right Left Write's November winner (prompt: Memoir)
The first time I found my grandfather – Jack – I was 11 years old. My father hadn’t seen him since he was a toddler. That was maybe 35 years ago. My father never talked about him. I supposed he had no memories of him. Or perhaps those memories were not awfully pleasant. From a distant city, Jack had written a letter to my father and asked, humbly, if he could meet him and then his family. My father met him and decided Jack should meet us.
I found my grandfather at our long table; tall, old, unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar ... read more...
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Honourable mention to Jay McKenzie for This Is A Time When...
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New Year's pop-up event
When: Saturday 21 January
Cost: Free/pay-what-you-can donation
Find out what Queensland Writers Centre has in store for you and your writing journey in 2023, plus meet author Heather Taylor Johnson and hear a reading from her latest poetry collection.
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6-part online evening course
When: Tuesdays 5:30pm - 7:30pm, Jan-May
Join established editor Laurel Cohn as she guides you through a structural edit of your work-in-progress. Limited places remaining.
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Half-day hybrid seminar
When: 1:30pm, Sunday 2 April
Returning by popular demand (this course sold out twice over in 2019!) - beloved Brisbane author Nick Earls presents an overview of novella writing and publishing past and present.
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Check out our website for more workshops and courses.
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High Tea with Natasha Lester & Nalini Singh
When: 11:30am, Sunday 19 February
Where: Queensland Terrace, Level 2, State Library of Queensland, South Brisbane
Join us at GenreCon 2023 for a decadently delicious high tea in the company of historical fiction author Natasha Lester and paranormal romance author Nalini Singh.
Bookings now open to the general public - no need to hold a GenreCon 2023 General Admission.
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Pitch Sessions at GenreCon
When: 1:30pm, Sunday 19 February
Where: State Library of Queensland and online
GenreCon 2023: Forbidden Doors is proud to provide our writers with the opportunity to pitch their work to leading Australian publishers and agents, including Hachette Australia, Zeitgeist Agency, Riveted Press and more.
Free applications now open exclusively to GenreCon 2023 ticketholders.
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Entries close: 24 January 2023
Taking over December and January's Right Left Write - our annual GenreCon short story competition is back for 2023.
Accepting submissions of genre fiction up to 1,000 words on the theme Forbidden Doors. The winning story will be published online, and announced with a special presentation and reading at our Launch Night event. Submit now!
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Kylie Fennell's latest book in her YA fantasy series The Earth King's Heir, The Kyprian Prophecy Book 0: A Prequel will be published in December
Christine Hand has published two collections of short stories, From Colonial Ceylon to Down Under, and Life in All its Quirkiness.
Brittany Riley has won the Regional Prize of the Best Australian Yarn short story competition, for her entry, Chicken Salt.
The anthology Short & Sweet - Anthology of Food-Themed Short Stories, featuring contributions by Michelle Beesley, Kathlyn Harrison and Kelly Lyonns, is now available in eBook and print.
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Paquita Fadden has published her first children's book Chicky Chases: A Gentoo Penguin Tale of Finding Courage. The book uses the font OpenDyslexic which increases readability for those with dyslexia.
An anthology edited by Darryl Dymock, Offcuts 2: Sketches and Stories from the Shed, was recently published by Armour Press and launched in October by Brisbane City Councillor Nicole Johnston.
Hilary Roots' memoir and cautionary travel tale One Rose in Bali was recently published by ETT Imprint, Exile Bay, Sydney.
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Share your achievements with our community! Submit your Member Milestone using the submissions form.
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Competitions & opportunities
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Queensland Writers Centre - Adaptable 2022/23
Closes: 17 January 2023
Ever dreamt of seeing your writing brought to life on-screen? The Adaptable program has returned for a fifth year of forging creative connections between the literary and screen communities.
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Applications are open nationwide, accepting submissions of fiction, non-fiction and poetry manuscripts - published, indie-published or unpublished. Successful applicants pitch works with potential for screen adaptation to leading Australian producers, showrunners, and screenwriters.
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Boundless Indigenous Writer’s Mentorship
Closes: 12 December
The mentorship is awarded annually, pairing a senior Indigenous writer with an unpublished Indigenous writer working on a piece of fiction or non-fiction for a structured year-long mentorship, supporting the writer to develop their manuscript and to facilitate a pathway to publication. Presented by Writing NSW and Text Publishing.
Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award
Nominations close: 16 December
Published manuscript award recognising 'the best Australian book of the year that deals with any aspect of Australian life', with a prize of $30,000 in 2023. Books published from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 are eligible.
Griffith Review 80: Creation Stories - submissions
Submissions close: 13 January
Seeking non-fiction up to 4,000 words responding to the edition theme of Creation Stories, for publication in May 2023. A separate poetry call-out for the edition will open in January.
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Queensland Writers Centre - Fishbowl Residencies
Applications open: year-round
The Fishbowl Residency provides writing space, mentorship and assistance for writers to complete a draft of their work. Over a ten-week residency, writers work from our offices and share their progress with our members. Now seeking applications for early-mid 2023.
Black Inc. Growing Up Indian in Australia: submissions
Closes: 1 March 2023
A new edition in Black Inc.'s Growing Up In Australia print anthology series, seeking non-fiction pieces between 1,000-4,000 words that deal with any aspect of growing up Indian in Australia.
Sorrento Writers Festival Creative Writing Prize
Closes: 1 March 2023
National prize for unpublished writers accepting original creative writing between 2,000 - 3,000 words. Winner receives $5,000 and their writing will be featured at the 2023 Sorrento Writers Festival.
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Looking for support developing your work or submissions package for competitions and opportunities? Check out Queensland Writers Centre's various Writer's Services on our website.
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Thanks to Allen & Unwin, we have copies to giveaway of the new Miss Phryne Fisher mystery, Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood.
Accustomed to both murder and dalliance, Australia's favourite detective, the inimitable Miss Fisher, returns in a case that will test her courage and judgement to the full.
Fill in the entry form for your chance to win. Only winners will be notified.
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