Society of Women Writers Victoria

The issue of use of A.I. in family created stories online as a kind of privacy protection for young children's cyber safety, is an issue I haven't seen covered elsewhere. Might be worth reading this approach and why used here.

A.I. Creating Stories with Family: 'Go!Go! Gecko' by Hazel Edwards OAM Produced and Illustrated (AI) by Lisa Loh On their birthdays, as a gift of the imagination, I write a special story for each grandson. There is no commercial aim.

Playing with Form – the Art of Writing Flash Fiction
Date: Monday 11 November 2024
Time: 7:00 pm (AEDT) via Zoom
Price: $30.00

Join us for 90-minute online workshop on the art of writing flash fiction from Gaynor Jones.

The workshop will look at varying forms of prose and will include discussing and dissecting unusual pieces by women writers followed by exercises exploring form and structure and the boundaries between prose poetry and flash fiction.

Participants will be encouraged to go deeper into the craft of creating beautiful and powerful short works that stand out from the crowd.

Gaynor says flash fiction is widely published and easily accessible but has huge variety within it, and therefore it’s a perfect form to study for both emerging and established writers. It’s also a particularly popular form used by women writers internationally, and has proved a brilliant tool for establishing online connections and networks with other female authors.

There will be a follow up session on Tuesday 19th November at 7.00pm

Gaynor will talk about editing and tweaking language for getting flash-fiction work ready for publication.

Members can attend this event for free. Non-members are welcome to attend by purchasing a ticket for $30.00 via the button below. Or why not become a member?

https://www.swwvic.org.au/event/special-event/

About Gaynor Jones

We are delighted to be hosting Gaynor as our Virtual Writer in Residence, a UNECSO Cities of Literature initiative.

Gaynor is from Manchester in the UK where she is well known as an accomplished flash fiction writer. She is the recipient of a Northern Writer’s Award from New Writing North for her short story collection, Girls Who Get Taken, and an Arts Council England DYCP Award for her novel-in-progress. She has too many publications of flash fiction to list! She has also had a novella-in-flash published.

She has won first prize in a number of writing competitions, including the prestigious Bath Flash Fiction and the Mairtín Crawford Short Story Award, and has been placed or listed in others including the Bridport Prize and Aesthetica.

Gaynor says she often explores dark themes and loves stories that feature wayward teens, middle-aged women who’ve had enough, and the darker sides of suburban life.



SWWV would like to thank Melbourne City of Literature for their support in enabling us to host this workshop

This beautiful quilt has been handmade and donated by a generous member to be raffled to raise funds towards the publication of our forthcoming history of our society, Write On!

Tickets are $10 for one or $30 for 5 and may be purchased here:
https://www.swwvic.org.au/announcement/special-quilt-raffle/

The draw will take place on 21st February 2025 at the launch of Write On!

The 2024 issue of Sparx is now available to purchase through the website. At $22 it makes an ideal present.

https://www.swwvic.org.au/product/sparx-issue-9/

This is the Society of Women Writers ninth anthology of Sparx comprising of short stories, flash fiction, memoir and poems from our members. This edition also contains the four winning stories from the 2024 Margaret Hazzard Short Story Award.

Thanks to Jen Scanlan for her 'Wasted?' Good Reads review. 5 stars. Made my day. When a book takes a year to research and write, it's so reassuring to find readers think it worthwhile.

'Wasted?' is a unique, divergent approach to refugees and environmental issues. It is set in a new state, the garbage patch, and is backed by research into oceans, calcification, diatoms and much more. I learnt so much from it, but it’s not a book of facts, it’s a story. A teenage boy, clever scientists, refugees looking for a place to belong, and a cat, with a possible murder to solve. The book gives hope for a different future for refugees, as their gifts come together in a mind-blowing way. The author doesn’t provide answers; the point is that we can work together in new ways to find solutions.
Recommended for readers of 11+, who like thinking differently and learning about the world., and teachers who want to pick up some of these themes.

Exploring Songwriting with Louise Hopewell

'Write Lyrics that Sing'

Date: Thursday 24 October 2024
Time: 7:00 pm AEDT
Price: $15.00 for no-members'

Ever dreamed about writing a song but not sure where to start?

In this fun, hands-on introduction to writing song lyrics, we’ll explore:

Getting song ideas
Song structure: What’s a verse? What’s a chorus?
What makes lyrics powerful and memorable?
Bringing your lyrics to life through rhyme, repetition, metaphor and a killer hook.
Along the way, we’ll have lots of fun trying out practical techniques to tap into your inner lyricist.

While the focus is on writing lyrics, there’ll also be some tips for how non-musicians can set their words to music.

Members free, non-members are welcome to attend by purchasing a ticket https://www.swwvic.org.au/event/exploring-songwriting-with-louise-hopewell/

Speaker: About Louise

Louise Hopewell is a poet, playwright and songwriter. Louise loves creating lyrical hooks that people go home singing … and keep on singing, long after they want to.

Exploring Songwriting with Louise Hopewell - Society of Women Writers Victoria Ever dreamed about writing a song but not sure where to start? In this fun, hands-on introduction to writing song lyrics, we’ll explore: Getting song…

We are delighted to be hosting Gaynor Jones and are very appreciative of this opportunity from Melbourne City of Literature

Introducing our Virtual Writers in Residence for 2024

Our virtual writers’ residency program is back! City of Literature writers from across the world will connect with Melbourne-based organisations to create residency outcomes, meet other writers and discover Melbourne as the vibrant and rich City of Literature it is.

This year’s residents will deliver a variety of work, spanning from workshops to writing commissions to social media takeovers. Without any further ado, here they are!

Boroondara Library Service is hosting Nottingham City of Literature writer Andrew Tucker. He is a freelance writer from Nottingham and editor of the Literature section of LeftLion magazine.

The F Project is hosting Durban Unesco City of Literature writer Sana-Bella Ebrahim. She is a Senior Research Studies Lecturer at AFDA Durban. She is also the founder of ArtScribes Global, and Artscribes Global Publishing.

Kingston Libraries is hosting Durban Unesco City of Literature poet and writer Lethokuhle Msimang. She is also the author of The Frightened, published by Karavan Press.

Melbourne Writers Theatre is hosting City of Literature Dunedin, New Zealand writer Emily Duncan. She is also a dramaturg and a theatre director specialising in monologues and historical dramatization. She is also the winner of the 2020 Bruce Mason Award, the 2021 Adam NZ Play Award, as well as the Best Play by a Woman, and the McNaughton South Island Play Award categories for & Sons.

Moorabool Libraries is hosting Nottingham City of Literature writer Alison Moore, a novelist and short story writer from the UK. Her first novel, The Lighthouse, was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Awards, winning the McKitterick Prize. She teaches English and creative writing and is an honorary lecturer in the School of English at the University of Nottingham.

Myli - My Community Library is hosting Edinburgh City of Literature writer Lucy Goodwill. She is a writer, artist and educator based in Scotland. Lucy teaches creative writing to children, young people and adults across Edinburgh with organisations such as Write Like a Grrrl, Super Power Agency and the Edinburgh Crisis Centre.

Society of Women Writers Victoria is hosting MCRCityofLit writer Gaynor Jones. She is the recipient of a 2020 Northern Writer’s Award from New Writing North for her short story collection, Girls Who Get Taken.

Whitehorse Manningham Libraries is hosting Barcelona Ciutat de la Literatura writer Brett Hetherington, who is the author of the non-fiction books ‘Slow Travels in Unsung Spain’ and ‘The Remade Parent’ (currently out of print). He is a regular commentator on Spain’s social and cultural life for Australia’s ABC Radio and a columnist for Catalonia Today magazine.

Using Scientific Experts For Researching ‘Wasted?’ Climate Fiction by Hazel Edwards OAM https://hazeledwards.com/book/wasted/ If you’re writing fiction, your facts must be right.

Delighted to see the appointment of hard working and practical marine scientist Professor Emma Johnston as the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, the first female in this role.

Why Write a Young Adult Novel Called ‘Wasted? I care about certain political and social issues. But I don’t march in protests.

https://www.alcs.co.uk/about-alcs/ This Authors Licensing and Collecting Society works like the Australian copyright agency which gathers fees for the use of your published work. You need to list your published titles. It's free. But also gives you an indication where and how your work is being used . Take you 10 minutes to fill in.

About us This is information about ALCS.

Of interest to those trying to balance their work and family lives, longterm.

Episode 30 - Crafting a Family Legacy: The Art of Writing Non-Boring Family Histories / Hazel Edwards by The True Wealth Project Have you ever wished to capture the essence of your family's history in a way that truly engages future generations? Writing a family history that isn’t just a collection of dates and facts, but a living narrative full of the vibrant personalities and rich experiences that shaped your ancestors, i...

Yesterday, at the writing workshop at PROV, a 'Hippo' fan Kerry Trawn gave me a photo from the Dromkeen Float of illustrator Kevin Burgemeestre and I in pyjamas ( mine had the organiser's requested hippos) for 'Reading in Bed' hauling the float. We were part of a procession of floats. Kevin's job was to keep it off the tram lines. He was brilliant at inventing unusual solutions to problems and making things happen. Apparently Kerry's son Matthew, now 34 was one of the Dromkeen Dragons on the float and it's still his favourite book .

Must have been in late 1990s. I remember we were televised on 7 and 9 news. Later, Kevin and I did the 'Antarctic Dad' picture book together and he even made models of the Antarctic vehicles and choppers. 'Antarctic Dad' is still in print, in a second edition.

I found the hippo PJs in my back bedroom (Pyjamas fit as I'm thinner now) and Kerry gave me this photo. One of the joys of being a children's author is readers who have gained from your books and you didn't even know. Maybe there are other children out there, now adult who remember being part of the Dromkeen float.

Bookpod publisher Sylvie Blair dropped in the print copies of 'Wasted?' and took a photo. Started writing this on January 1st 2023. To be launched in a fortnight at 'Write Around the Murray.' where I'll autograph copies. Very grateful to all my scientific 'experts' and early readers for this YA novel .The setting is the Garbage Patches mid ocean and it pays credit to innovative Asylum seekers who convert bio fuel to trade and form a new state.

Friday 20th September at 11.00am
Ross House, Flinders Lane, Melbourne.

Join us to hear from two authors; Guest speaker Kristine Philipp and SWWV member Evelyn Cronk talking about their debut books. Memoir and novel respectively we’ll learn about the books and their authors’ paths to publication.

Members are free, non members are welcome to attend by buying a ticket below for $15.
https://www.swwvic.org.au/event/september-monthly-meeting-in-person-2/

Girl Friday: An Extraordinarily Ordinary Working Life is the hilarious and moving memoir about women at work, pay inequality and the alienating nature of the 21st century workforce. This is a story about resilience and reinvention, and it is also a story about how we are not human resources, we are human beings.

Kristine was 15 when she lied to get a junior office job as a Girl Friday in 1975 – she took the job because she thought she only had to go to work on Fridays. She went on to experience the full gamut of working life, from joblessness, self-employment, mind-numbing office roles, toxic workplaces, and out-of-control workloads. Miraculously, Kristine clocked up forty years of admin work, and then in her fifties she became unemployable and ready to tell all.

Wisecracking, frank and completely relatable, Kristine Philipp’s Girl Friday offers stirring insights into the personal and political contexts of working women’s lives, the lengths older women must go to keep a job, the trials of walking the poverty line in later life and the power of friendships and camaraderie in the workplace.

Kristine Philipp began life in Melbourne in 1960. In 1975 she started office work, on and off for forty years, in the university sector, small business, the public service and community organisations. In 1984, she was the subject of a half-hour episode for Faces of Change, an ABC TV documentary series and book about women in Australia, and was remembered by Anne Deveson in her 2003 book Resilience. Kristine inspired and helped to develop the lead character in Mary Callaghan’s 1988 feature film Tender Hooks. She won a scholarship and graduated with BA Hons in cinema-media studies in 2000. Kristine has written and performed stand-up comedy shows at Fringe Festivals, and writes articles for Friends of the Earth. Kristine’s creative non-fiction short stories are published in a local literary journal, on ABC online and are produced as audio stories. Kristine is an unemployable, old punk, and this is her working life memoir Girl Friday.

SWWV member Evelyn Cronk will present her debut novel Without Question.

Prior to writing it, she enjoyed a productive career in the Australian film industry as a film editor and post-production supervisor. Evelyn moved from actively editing to become manager of a specialist post-production house, Roar Digital, a subsidiary of film production company, White Hot Productions. She read and discussed many of the scripts submitted to White Hot Productions for consideration.

Evelyn proffered her story synopsis, thinking that the script supervisor might like to take her outline and turn it into a film script. The supervisor and producers loved it. They encouraged Evelyn to develop the story as a novel. Without Question was published on January 25th 2024. There is a proposed limited episode TV series based on the novel to follow.

About Without Question

Isabella Clemens was born in Britain during the chaos of World War II. After the death of her mother, her father, distinguished war correspondent Howard, brings Isabella, to his home in Yarra Glen, Australia, to be brought up by her aunt Fiona. Howard remains a loving, if distant and authoritative, figure in her life.

Isabella meets the man who will have a huge impact on her life. Eli, an Israeli structural engineer, has experienced a life so different from her own, it is as if they are from two different planets. She is devastated when Eli leaves on a regular business trip and never returns. Her loss is incalculable. She also has to face the possibility that Eli was someone other than the man she believed him to be.

When her father dies, two small photographs found in his wallet throw every belief she holds about her own life, and his, into disarray. These faded pictures unlock a web of secrets that change Isabella's life forever.

A sneak preview of Joh Fitzpatrick's apt cover of my YA novel 'Wasted?' (Bookpod) which will be launched at the 'Write Around the Murray' Festival on Sept 15/15th
‘Wasted? explores a mid-ocean Garbage Patch state where innovative asylum seekers recycle bio fuel for visas, led by 16 y.o Head of Government known as The GG.
https://hazeledwards.com/book/wasted/ will be updated regularly.

Shirley Fung, one of my earlier Hazelnuts published her 'Second Chinese Daughter' with a Malaysian publishing house. Well reviewed, and now re-issued by Shirley as an e-book. Significant book which tells compassionately the story of three generations of strong Asian women in difficult times.
Amazon Australia
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D4C5PBW1
Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D4C5PBW1
Amazon US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4C5PBW1
Kobo
https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/second-chinese-daughter
Apple iBooks
https://books.apple.com/.../second.../id6502797785...
Barnes & Noble Nook
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../second.../1145609659...

Second Chinese Daughter ebook by Shirley Fung - Rakuten Kobo Read "Second Chinese Daughter" by Shirley Fung available from Rakuten Kobo. Second Chinese Daughter delves into the evolving status and roles of women in society as depicted through the experience...