With thanks to the British Council, we are once again excited to be playing host to an International Writer in Residence during the 2012 Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne.

Anita Sethi is an award-winning British writer, journalist and broadcaster who has written for national and international newspapers and magazines. We are very excited to be hosting Anita, and as you can see from her introductory video above, she is equally stoked to be visiting Melbourne for our festival!

Anita will be appearing in many events, including Stories that Matter, Town Hall Writers’ Conference, Emerging Critics, Lunchbox/Soapbox and Fright Night! So there will be plenty of opportunities to chat to Anita and learn from her wealth of writing experience.

Be sure to say hi when you see Anita at the fest – or follow her on Twitter @anitasethi to get to touch base before she lands!

Melbourne Spoken Word is very excited about this year’s upcoming Emerging Writers’ Festival taking place this May, especially because spoken word and spoken word artists feature in the fantastic program. It is definitely worth checking out for both writers and lovers of words. Melbourne Spoken Word is also excited because we have sponsored a writer [...] Continue reading →

Me (left) and festival Director, Lisa Dempster

In typical fashion I’ve sat down to write out a post, quickly whipped up a title, stared at it, done the math and thought to myself, ‘Hang on, that’s not right.’

For it’s not been two months since I started here at the Emerging Writers’ Festival, but two-and-a-half. Or you can round it up and call it three. Either way, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, things are pretty frenetic around here.

I’ve been busy with spreadsheets, filing and collecting artist information, biographical details, travel itineraries, party RSVPs and a lot of other data besides, which in previous years I’ve been lucky enough to send in as a participating artist. From this end, if you stand back and get a sense of the scale, there are so many artists, so much talent, that it’s hard not to be excited. Since the program was launched online last week it’s been wonderful to witness what infectious enthusiasm the extended social media community – literally, Australia wide and internationally – gives back and keeps giving back. It makes the effort all worthwhile and I can assure you it’s appreciated!

On a personal note, I can say a lot of blogging chums (I’m a proud blogger) are thinking of coming to the festival for the first time – or are coming back for another year – and I can’t help but see a connection between how this festival is becoming entrenched in the writing community and is seen as a welcoming and accessible place where one might be able to crossover from, or experiment in, one form or medium to another. I love that sense of possibility.

And it’s only going to get bigger and better!

Source: miscmum

Has everyone checked out the Emerging Writers’ Festival program? I honestly can’t narrow down my choices as the entire program looks fantastic. In partilcuar, I’d like to highlight my own session details Here’s the blurb for the writers residency: Words … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You have a project you’re working on. Perhaps it’s going swimmingly, or perhaps it needs a bit of a kick in the bum. You’ve just spent the last eight days soaking up all the wit and wisdom that’s been on offer at the Emerging Writers’ Festival. The next step is to jump in with all that inspiration and really get your hands dirty!

An exciting new addition to the festival this year, the Rabbit Hole puts twenty writers together in a room for three days and sets each the goal of writing 30,000 words. Write in a creative, friendly environment in the company of likeminded writers! It’s a writing space, it’s fun, it’s got prizes and inspiration and a damn charismatic host, Jason Nahrung – who will be writing also! If you’ve got the mettle, this could very well be the most productive weekend of your life.

And it’s not just in Melbourne. With competing teams running in Brisbane (hosted by the Queensland Writers’ Centre’s Peter Ball) and Hobart (hosted by Island magazine’s Rachel Edwards), if we hit our collective goals, the world will be 24,000,00 words richer come 8pm on June 3rd.

If you can’t get to Melbourne, Brisbane or Hobart, the online team is for you! Hosted by Patrick O’Duffy, you can tackle the challenge with a virtual team to help you – but from the comfort of your own writing desk.

The four teams will all connect online, through a Facebook group and #rabbithole hashtag. Expect word count updates, encouragement and potentially a bit of smack talking. Which group will hit their word count first?!

Registrations for the Rabbit Hole will open on Monday 30th April. We expect this free event to book out quickly, so get your clicking fingers ready!

Find out how to register!

Source: themaninblue

May is nearly upon us, and that means the Emerging Writers’ Festival is again on the horizon! And once again I’m involved not just as a punter but as a contributor. This time around it’s a really exciting role – I’ll be one of the hosts of the Rabbit Hole event. This is an orchestrated [...] Continue reading →

As we prepare to launch our re-branded writers’ publication, The Emerging Writer, we are looking for an emerging editor to come on board to begin work on the next issue.

The Emerging Writer is a writing resource; a practical and engaging product structured to deliver information about the art and craft of writing, different forms of writing, the business of being a writer and the broader writing community. Contributors will reveal valuable information of what gets them writing, makes better writing, what they wish they’d known, and the reality of being a writer. The product is delivered in both a print and electronic format and is launched at the Festival.

The editor is responsible for shaping the content of the product which responds to the publishing brief, but which also creatively links back to their own writing manifesto. For example, the 2012 The Emerging Writer was themed around ‘maps’ and ‘how to reach your destination and was subtitled ‘An Insider’s Guide to your Writing Journey’.

The Emerging Writer Editor is a position for an emerging editor who will gain valuable skills and experience in a supported environment. The role includes commissioning and editorial, scheduling and project management, design and production, sales and promotion, and administration. It is a contract position that pays $3000, and the editor will be credited as the commissioning editor of the book and will write the editorial.

Previous editors are Karen Pickering (2012), Aden Rolfe (2010) and Dion Kagan (2009).

Download the job pack for more  information, including  how to apply. 

Applications should be sent to Lisa Dempster, Director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival, at [email protected] no later than COB on Thursday 10 May. Late applications will not be accepted.

Volunteer extraordinaire Jordi!

Care to learn more about how a writers’ festival operates?
Do you love the festival as much as we do and want to help make it spectacular?

Volunteer!

We’re looking for keen and motivated team to help us make the festival as great a success as ever.

Duties will include assisting festival staff in ushering & checking tickets. Please note that all volunteers must be able to commit to half a day on the Town Hall Writers’ Conference plus one other festival event. There will also be a brief festival briefing (and t shirt pickup!) the week before the festival.

Volunteers will be given access to all events (except masterclasses) and a festival t shirt. Plus our undying love!

Please email Karen to register your interest with the following information:
• Your contact details (name, phone number, email etc).
• Your availability for the festival.
• Why you want to participate, plus any relevant skills or experience you might have.
Expressions of interest close at 5pm on Monday 7th May.

You asked for it, we delivered… this year for the first time at EWF we are excited to be presenting an open mic.

Our EWF Open Mic will be presented at Future Bookshop as part our much-loved Page Parlour indie press fair. Writers of all crafts are invited to share their work. EWF Open Mic is open to anyone, so come along and register, or sit back and enjoy the lyrical stylings of your fellow writers. More info here!

In other exciting news, we still have a few spaces available at our Page Parlour event!

If you are an independent publisher of any description and looking for a way to connect your books and works with a wide audience, then Page Parlour is the event for you. Page Parlour stallholders will also be invited to our exclusive Small Press Social networking event!

To register your interest and receive a registration form, please email Alex Schleibs at [email protected].

From 24 May to 3 June the Emerging Writers’ Festival is on in Melbourne. The full program has just been released. It consists of workshops, panels, performances, networking events and the always stimulating Town Hall writers’ conference over the weekend … Continue reading → Continue reading →