Hologram Heads-Up

Just a quick heads-up! The good people at Express Media have just started up this HOLOGRAM publishing venture, and they’re looking for long-form manuscripts – ie 20-60,000 words. Even better, this opportunity is only open to writers under 30 years of age. I know everyone missed out on the Vogel this year, so don’t let this one pass you by.

I love Express Media – over the years, they’ve given me many opportunities. They’ve had me along for their workshop workshops (where we learned how to run workshops – meta!), writing workshops with some of my favourite writers ever, had me nominated for an award, and published a poem of mine. They’re a very active organization giving opportunities to young people in a business where it’s often confusing and difficult to know where to start.

I personally know more than one reader of this blog who has a manuscript lying dormant in their bottom drawer. Don’t let it just sit there – send it in!

The Only Weapon

Last night I got home to a gift from a friend: the pen pictured above.

I’ve been in a bit of an awful place lately… Sometimes small things make a huge difference, and this is one of them. It’s the only weapon I need – thanks for the reminder.

The Tools That Save My Life

I’m a busy person. I only manage to get everything done because of some very handy tools, and I thought I’d do a post to share those tools with you. Technology could easily get in the way – between Twitter and Facebook, YouTube and Candy Crush Saga, it would be easy to lose whole days without getting anything productive done. That’s why I have the following things in my artillery:

HootSuite: Hootsuite lets you put all your social media outlets in one place. I’ve currently got four different pages connected via Hootsuite – each page has a tab of its own, and I can write status updates or tweets, and chose which of those pages it will be published on. If I like, I can schedule the same post for both Twitter and Facebook, or only one of the two. I can schedule posts ahead of time, which means that even while I’m at work, I can be letting  people know what’s happening on the blog, or in my life.

Feedly: With the impending closure of Google Reader, I’ve had to start shopping around for a new RSS host. The first program I’m trying is Feedly and it seems to be doing the trick. RSS readers are basically an aggregate feed that pulls together all the websites that you want to follow, and any new content that goes up on those sites appears in the reader like a new email would appear in your inbox. Feedly allows me to organize blogs into groups, so that if I’m looking for a particular sort of news (or more likely, looking to SKIP a particular type of news), I can do it easily. I don’t have to visit sites individually anymore. Any the phone app syncs easily with the online service, allowing me to read my feed on public transport, too.

Flickr Creative Commons: There are things about blogging that you aren’t told when you start. For example, copyright – if you use a photograph, you need permission to do that. And even with permission, you most often have to say where the photo comes from. It’s not like you’ll get your pants sued off if you use unattributed photos without permission, but the potential is always there, and it’s just good form to find stuff elsewhere…
Enter: Creative Commons. ‘Creative Commons’ is the name for stuff you can use without paying any royalties or worrying about people getting pissed off about you using their work. Most of the pictures I use for this blog come from the Flickr Creative Commons resource. This means I usually end up with something pretty retro-looking, because a lot of it comes from library historical archives etc, but luckily this matches my own tastes. Without Creative Commons, I’d have a lot less pictures.

I hope you can start using these tools to make your life easier. I’d also love to hear about any tools you’ve got that make your life easier!

Review: Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent

I’ve just finished Hannah Kent’s much-anticipated debut novel, Burial Rites. I read the acknowledgements, and the author’s note; I even flick to the publication details to see if there’s anything else in there – the literary equivalent of licking the bowl. I wipe away the tears I shed during the final pages, and I sit still for a while, because this is a book that has moved me.

Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland, in 1829. After it is deemed too expensive to keep Agnes in a proper prison, she is sent to the valley in which she grew up, to be kept in the home of the District Officer until her execution date. She elects a young clergyman, Toti, to help her prepare to meet death, and it is through a combination of conversations with Toti, fragmented memories, and eventual conversation with Margret, the lady of the house, that we come to know Agnes’ story. 

This story is based on fact. As Kent discusses in her piece in the latest Kill Your Darlings, the facts available about Agnes Magnusdottir and her alleged crime were sparse, and the research required to create the skeleton of this book was quite arduous and demanding. The way that that skeleton has been fleshed out and fully clothed makes for an enjoyable and moving read. While I knew that the story had to end with Agnes’ execution, by the time I’d spent a few hundred pages with this character, I really felt wronged by her eventual arrival at the chopping block.

The writing is fantastic – right from the prologue, the chill of Iceland can be felt. The prose is pared right back, but this doesn’t make the story any less visceral. Kent also manages the distinguish between three different voices, right throughout the novel.

Hannah Kent’s project here is admirable, and it speaks to my own interests and priorities. There are gaps in histories, in legends and tales that get handed down through ages. As stated in Burial Rites’ author’s note, Agnes Magnusdottir was commonly seen “as ‘an inhumane witch, stirring up murder.’” Kent wrote Burial Rites “to supply a more ambiguous portrayal of this woman”, and I feel that she well and truly delivered in that aim. She has given a voice to a woman who has threatened to disappear in history as one-sided: bad. 

This book is currently in the Dymocks Top 10 Bestsellers, and I’ll certainly be making an effort to get it out to as many people as possible. It’s a page-turner, it’s literary and well written, and it does an important job: it reconsiders history, and gives a voice to the unheard.

Hannah Kent will also be appearing at Readings in Hawthorn on Monday night, in conversation with Angela Meyer.

Approaching Deadlines You Won’t Want to Miss!

As a baby-writer, I’ve noticed that sometimes there are HEAPS of opportunities that are perfect for me, and at other times there are heaps of opportunities that are perfect for everyone else: those people who have books published, or higher education qualifications I can only dream of… Right now is a time when there are heaps of opportunities around for emerging writers, and I’d hate them to fly under the radar for people in the same position, so here are some of the big exciting ones.

SOYA are a great initiative funded by Qantas. SOYA stands for “Spirit of Youth Awards”, and is a scheme that gives writers under 30 years old the opportunity to be mentored, and fly anywhere they want under the guise of research. This year’s mentor is none other than Lisa Dempster (most busy lady in the world). There’s only two days left to apply for this, so you might have to pull an all-nighter, but it’s not impossible.

Another not-to-be-sneezed-at chance comes from the good people at the Australian Book Review, who have the coolest internship (after EWF and MWF, of course!) going round. Most internships are unpaid, but ABR are looking for a part-time intern who will be paid a wage which includes super and leave entitlements. The job involves “digitising” ABR - from the job description, this seems to include a bit of everything. An awesome foot in the door at a great publication.

Finally, I had my attention called to this one a few days ago, and while it’s not quite right for my interests, I know a lot of people a bit cooler than me will swoon at this one. Meanjin are offering $3000 to early career and emerging arts critics, to write extended pieces about “new arts” – meaning all the very cool things that exist because of digitisation. This 3-4 months mentorship will also contribute to the forthcoming Meanjin podcasts. Meanjin is a publication that strikes a beautiful balance between intellect and fun, and is a fantastic place to get yourself heard. 

So don’t say that it’s hard to catch a break. People are throwing cash at us; go chase it.

Awards They Are A-Happenin’

We are well and truly in awards season, and it’s a fantastic place to be! I’m having my attention called to a heap of books that I probably wouldn’t otherwise pick up or consider. I’m swelling with pride and happiness for all the writers who are getting the recognition that they deserve.

In this “pride” category, I’m particularly thinking about yesterday’s Miles Franklin shortlist announcement. I’m proud because it’s made up entirely of women, and I’m proud because I feel like it represents a real breadth of writing – the Miles Franklin has been criticised in the past for over-representing rural, historical narratives. I’m proud because three of the women on this shortlist are debut novelists. Sometimes awards come round, and get given, and I think “NO! That doesn’t represent my feelings at all!”. This year’s Miles Franklin shortlist does represent my feelings. It’s in line with what I think is important, and the stories that I think should be appreciated. The winner of the 2013 Miles Franklin award will be announced on the 19th June.

In other award news, for the second time ever in history (ever), there is no winner for the 2013 Vogel Award. The Vogel Award is for an unpublished work by a writer under 35. It’s a brilliant prize, because it helps to foster promising young writers. The judges have said that they just couldn’t find anything among this year’s entries that deserved the prize. I’ve been thinking about what this decision (or lack of…) means for writers, and the state of the industry – what are the causes of being in this position?

Does no Vogel award mean that all the good books have been published? Does it mean that the really gutsy, complex stuff is being written by people over the age of 35? I suspect that the Vogel this year has simply suffered from what I like to call “The Scholarship Effect”. You know how schools offer scholarships (or any organization, really, and anything that appears to be hard to get), but you don’t bother applying for them, because you imagine all these other, far more worthy applicants waiting in the wings? And then you do apply, and you get it, because you were wrong. I think that might be what’s happened with the Vogel. Maybe there were people worthy of the award that just didn’t know about, or have the confidence to enter the Vogel Award this year.

Also, there are thin years and there are fat years. In keeping with Geordie Williamson’s comments on B+P, maybe it’s just a lean year.

Either way, just because the Vogel judges didn’t think anything contained the “special quality” they’re looking for, doesn’t mean there’s not still stacks of great books to read – as evidenced by all the amazing prizes recently awarded, and about to be awarded soon. There’s still time to read the whole Miles Franklin shortlist before the announcement in June – GO!

The Lifted Brow Mix Tapes

I love a good mix tape. I still have the mix tape that one of my oldest friends dropped off to me on my sixteenth birthday. He decorated the cover with stars, and wrote Descendents lyrics on it; the ones about making a mix tape and decorating it with stars. There’s something about the process of making a mix tape – especially in the nineties. Sitting down, and playing all your favourite songs, and pressing the play button. You’d have to sit with it for the whole duration of the tape. It’s a real-time act of love and dedication. And it tells you a lot about a person, and the relationship they have with whoever the music’s dedicated to.

Image courtesy of Sophia Bendz

In the lead up to the next issue of The Lifted Brow (The Music Issue), they’ve started a MixCloud space, where all these amazing writers have been making mix tapes. It’s a good idea, yeah, but it’s made a billion times better by all the rad people who’ve contributed. While the physical process of making a mix tape is different now, most of these tapes really speak volumes about the people who made them. Some seem to speak about their writing process, and others about the cheeky indulgences they hide from the world.

Here’s a few of my favourites:

Monica Dux outs her love of musical theatre, and I tell ya what, she’s a lady after my own heart. Into The Woods! West Side Story!

Sean M Whelan‘s given his mix tape the best theme ever: “Songs That Do Me In, In The Dead Of Night”. We all have those songs, and this mix is a doozy.

David Shields‘ mix tape is nothing like I would’ve expected, and that’s somehow endearing. I don’t know what I expected him to listen to… Something a bit more dad-ish, I guess.

Hannah Kent and I appear to share our music taste. I’ve spent some time writing to this one, and it’s perfect.

Tom Cho‘s tape is beautifully eclectic and broad, just like his writing.

And look! It’s Tang Time! Estelle Tang’s mix tape‘s themed “She’s Always Been Your Lover”. You can tell these tapes belong to writers. Nobody else would theme them so wonderfully.

Enjoy.

Update

There’s been a bit happening here, so I thought a general update post might be in order.

First, my good news: I’m a program intern at the Melbourne Writers Festival! I’m there one day a week, and while I’ve only been there for two weeks, I’m having a great time. So far it’s involved lots of research, looking at writers and their work so that the festival can sort out who should talk about what, and when, and with whom. It helps the festival, but it also helps me: I’ve got the down-low on all the guests, so I know who to swoon over when the festival comes ’round. (Confidentiality agreements have been signed, so sorry folks, but it’s all under wraps!) I’m really lucky to be working on such an amazing festival, and with such a great team. I’ll be with the festival until September, and I couldn’t be more chuffed.

Thanks, BookWorld!

A big thanks has to go out to BookWorld, who kindly awarded me a signed copy of Charlaine Harris’s Deadlocked - a Sookie Stackhouse novel. They gave this book away on Twitter, and I won just for RTing. The Sookie Stackhouse novels are a big indulgence for me, so I’m feeling pretty lucky right about now.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been gaining a ridiculous amount of new followers via WordPress – hello! Welcome to LGWABP, I hope we have a long and happy relationship. Your presence here is so very welcome, but something of a mystery – WordPress stats haven’t seemed to track the reason for the spike. If you have time and inclination to comment, I’d love to know how you found me!

In other, non-wordy news, I’m getting right back into training in preparation for Run Melbourne in July – mental health is something close to my heart, as I’m sure it is for many people, so if you’d like to donate to the cause and make me feel more guilty about training to run this 5km, please do!

Emerging Writers’ Festival Program Highlights

It’s here! Last Wednesday night the Wheeler Centre packed out for the launch of the 2013 Emerging Writers’ Festival. This is the festival’s 10th birthday, and its first year under the direction of Sam Twyford-Moore. The program is freakin’ huge, and I’m excited!

Of course, the EWF holds a special place in my heart, as they’ve been immensely supportive toward me, and I interned with them last year. Melbourne’s great for festivals, and EWF is one of the many fantastic literary events happening right through the year. For two weeks in June, the EWF runs panels, workshops, performance events and networking opportunities for emerging writers. It’s a unique opportunity for us baby writers to get a foot in the door, and to meet people fighting the same good fight.

I had to hold off on this post for a few days, just because the program really is so big. I needed to sit down with some tea and a marker, and highlight what I want to attend, and then identify any clashing events, and make tough decisions which might very well change a few times before the actual events.

At this stage, it looks like I’ll be out and about for most of the two weeks of the festival. I won’t go through my entire itinerary, but here’s the things I found particularly exciting, and that I think you shouldn’t miss:

Festival Hub: Thousand Pound Bend. This might sound silly, but since the beloved Rue Bebelons shut down, I was eager to find out where the new watering hole would be. I like the choice of Thousand Pound Bend – it’s cosy, with couches and dim lighting. It’s significantly larger than Rue’s, which probably works in its favour, with EWF crowds no doubt swelling this year as it has each consecutive year since its start. They’ll also be running Late Night Live With Literary Magazines, which could be a great way to discover stuff you didn’t know about before, but also a talking point, and a way to connect with other people (like, strangers, friends you haven’t met yet) at the Festival Hub.

Pop Up Page Parlour. Usually, Page Parlour has been a one-day event in the Atrium at Fed Square. If you miss that one day, you miss out. The pop up idea is great – not only does it give me more opportunities to check out the merch, it also gives those who are selling things there far more exposure. Win-win.

Town Hall Writers’ Conference. This is where writers get together to impart all their secrets. The timetabling gods have looked kindly on this weekend, and I’ve got something highlighted in most blocks, with no clashes. Particularly exciting: The Control Room with Melinda Harvey and Connor Tomas O’Brien; Cutting it Short on short stories; Writing The Personal; and Critical Conditions on the culture of criticism.

Emerging Q & A. An insane panel line-up and an awesome event, I can’t wait to Tweet my way through this bad boy.

And really, really exciting is this year’s addition of The Writers’ Retreat program at the very beautiful Abbotsford Convent. This beautiful setting will be overrun by writers for the weekend, and a lot of the program is free. I’m most excited about seeing Kate Richards on the panel for Symposium: Writing and Health on Sunday, and Saturday’s panel on Writing About Food, which will include the tiny and loveable Romy Ash – who at last week’s Erotic Fan Fiction night at Wheeler, shared a story about stuffing a food critic like a chicken.

The word is that tickets are already selling fast, as EWF seems to be very much on the radar of Melbourne’s cultural calendar. Happy Birthday EWF, happy first festival STM, and a massive congratulations to the whole dedicated and hardworking EWF team for putting together such a brilliant program!

Kill Your Darlings 13 Is Here

I’ve been poor, and skipped the last few issues of the beautiful Melbourne lit journal Kill Your Darlings. Last Thursday saw the annual KYD Trivia Night in Carlton, which launched issue 13, and I’m pretty excited to have purchased a copy. It’s an (*ahem*) killer issue, which ticks all the boxes for things that seem cool to me: Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites is chalked up as the Next Big Thing, and she’s written an article about her experience writing it. Game of Thrones has me, like most of the world, under its spell, and Brad Nguyen has contributed a pretty fantastic piece of criticism about it to KYD. And I’ve been admiring Jo Case’s work forever, and am totally chuffed that her book Boomer & Me has been doing so well since its recent publication – there’s an extract from the memoir in this KYD issue. I’m loving it.

And, of course, the trivia! This trivia night is one of my favourite nights of the year – there’s writer, critic, and bookseller spot-o, an opportunity to confirm or deny that I am exactly as bookish as I hope, money-raising for a great publication, and sweet prizes. Our Dream Team has been a winner and a second-placer, as well as a door-prize winner. Our luck continued this round, as we placed second to Team Croggers’ very respectable bookish smarts, and my raffle over-purchasing paid off with a door prize. Can I put KYD Triv accolades on my CV? As if any respectable employer wouldn’t swoon over that.

Thanks for a great night, KYD, we’ll be back for more next year!