Nambucca Valley Writers Group

Byron Bay Writers Festival 09

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:27:00 +0000

It's been 4 months since I last updated the blog. Oh my, I have been a bad blogger. My personal blog is also in a state of neglect. Instead I have been updating and delegating over at the Romance Writers of Australia blog, in my new role of Social Media Manager. And contributing weekly to the We Love YA blog, which is a bunch of down under Teen Writers.

So what's been happening at NVWG?

We did our usual trip to the Byron Bay Writers Festival, and had a fantastic time as usual though we were less enamoured of the new venue.

Sue and I attended the Nuts & Bolts seminar about the publishing industry which included publishers and agents as guest speakers, representatives of the Australian Writers Guild, Copyright Agency, Australian Society of Authors, Varuna, Australian Writers Marketplace online...the list just went on and on. By the end of the day, our heads were exploding with information and we were feeling very inspired. An excellent start to the Festival.

That evening, we went to the opening night party of the Festival. With wall to wall people, my bat wings were not appropriate attire, and the free-flowing of alcohol and little food before Geoffrey Robertson's opening address meant that many of us were nodding off during his speech. I remember he said something about the Cold War and I realised that he was only up to the fifites and my head and stomach were in big trouble.

But the Festival did get better from there.

Sam Cutler, former tour manager with the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead was hilarious, and I could have listened to his accent forever. He said "It's really good to have a hectic mad life until you're fifty or sixty...and then write!" and "There's certain things that decency commands that you don't put in your book. Even though I've lived a debauched life, I believe in decorum."

Don Walker said that his publisher suggested he give punctuation a try. (Hehe...maybe he was emulating e e cummings) while Carl Cleves talked about writing songs as being a distillation process. I could have walked away from the 'I'm with the Band' panel and easily bought all three books but I was on a strict budget for the trip.

Actually, I only bought one book for this Festival (which in 7 years of festival-going is unheard of but that was just the situation this time). So knowing I could only purchase one book, I had to select very carefully, and there were so many temptations, so much I wanted to read. I bought 'The True History of Butterfish' by Nick Earls, and had it signed. Haven't read it yet - book-reading has gone along the way of blog updating but it's towards the top of the To Be Read mountain.

Another highlight for me was Mandy Nolan taking over from Bettina Arndt for the Women and Sex talk, and she opened the panel with a reading from a Judith Krantz novel. The audience was roaring with laughter. Linda Jaivin described some of the more unusual gifts she'd been sent including 'knitted sperm' and chastity belts.

Another favourite panel was Humour on the Page - a session in which I managed to write absolutely nothing down because I was too busy laughing myself silly. Tom Gleeson and Densie Scott were the definite stand-outs of the panel, and Denise's observations of the lady knitting in the audience (I wonder if she was knitting sperm?) were hysterical, along with her story of the 'smoking vagina'. If you missed this session, you well and truly missed out.

In between the days at the Festival, we banqueted at the Curry House. (we have dibs on that top room now). We managed to squeeze 16 people into the top room, and instead of a Lazy Susan in the middle, there was a Lazy Diane. I'd spin around and hand the platters to the other side. Members of the Bellingen Writers Group joined us for the feast.

On the Saturday evening, we went to the Beach Hotel and Roby's publisher shouted us drinks. And then Sunday morning came around way too fast and too soon, it was time to go home.

Apparently the latest trip to Byron Bay has rejuvenated writing mojo in many (just not my blogging mojo) -- and as writers, that's what's it all about.

More NVWG news coming soon.

And the winner is...

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:54:00 +0000

It's been a busy couple of months for the Nambucca Valley Writers Group.

The group took over the publication of the Bowraville Arts Council newsletter under the helm of Editor in Chief, the extremely talented Jennifer Gordon. The newsletter is now in A5 book format and is called BAC CHAT with the first edition (Winter 2009) out now.

An afternoon of radio plays was held Sunday 21 June at the Bowraville Theatre with plays contributed by members of our group. Alas, I was hampered by the rain yet again, so did not manage to see the plays myself or take photos. Our featured playwrights were Carrolline Rhodes, Noel Robertson, Robbie Baer and Karly Blackmore-Mowle. It was a full house, with great support from the writers group, and Prez Caz said she was proud to be a member of our group. Word is that Bowraville is still talking about it, and the afternoon was recorded so some of the plays may feature on community radio.

Our AGM was postponed from May to June due to the floods.

Yesterday, we began the day with a workshop on Dreams and Writing, conducted by one of our newer members Jennifer Albertson.

"A dream is a theatre in which the dreamer is...the scene, the player, the prompter, the producer, the author, the public and the critic."

C.G. Jung (CW, 8, Para 509)

In the workshop Jennifer read us a dream and each of us expanded on it in writing, using random prompts drawn from a hat. Excellent workshop.

Then it was on to the Prize Presentation for the hotly contested Performance Writing competition. Who would take home the coveted Foundation President Trophy this year?

3rd prize was won by our treasured Treasurer, Sue McKinley with a screenplay, Bruno.

Then oh my God, they called out my name for second prize so I had to give camera duties to someone else.

2nd Prize - Diane Curran for Member's Only

1st Prize went to Noel Robertson (the second time he has taken home the coveted trophy) for Boy's Bench.

Here I capture him, moments after the announcement:

And here he is again with Anne Holgate presenting his goodies.

Woohoo, congratulations everybody!

Next year's competition returns to the genre of poetry.

But to my surprise, that wasn't the last of the awards. Turns out some of them had been discussing me behind my back while I was stranded by the last lot of floods.

And decided to give me a gift for being 'the world's greatest secretary' and for my fabulous work online.

Mmm, chocolates. And these ones are truly decadent.

Later, we held the AGM with the following results.

President Carrolline Rhodes
President of Vice Roby Aiken
Secretary Diane Curran
Treasurer Sue McKinley

Well, no surprises there. The old guard take up their positions again.

But we have added several new members to the committee (and I am so pleased with their enthusiasm).

Editor of BAC Chat Jennifer Gordon

& 3 general committee members

Nancy Corbett
Gill Chapman
& newest of the new members Christine Norman

Welcome abroad girls, we're going to have a lot of fun.

As part of the AGM, we also voted for a couple of motions.

Firstly membership is now capped at those who have paid up by the AGM (28 members & 3 Associate members) and entry to membership will not be re-opened until the number of ordinary members falls below 25.

We now have two levels of membership: Ordinary Members & Associate Members (for those who live too far away to attend meetings.) **Waving at Marilyn**

Huge meeting, and we look forward to another huge year.

Next month is our in-group trash and treasure.

The Welleez Book Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sun, 31 May 2009 08:44:00 +0000

What do you need to launch a kid's book called The Welleez?

You need a pair of welleez, preferably in a bright colour, that will stand out amongst the crowd.

You need a friend selling books located close to the door where no-one can escape:

It's a children's book, so you need lots of your target audience:

and some more:

and more:

You need the parents of your target audience to buy your book:

You need finger food, champagne, orange juice, apple juice and lots of fairy bread:

You need a very talented young man to read an excerpt from The Welleez:

You need a Nambucca Valley Writers Group president to officially launch your book when your planned special guest can't be there. (Carrolline Rhodes read Nancy Corbett's launch speech in her unavoidable absence.)

You need a fabulous chair for your reader to sit in:

You need a granddaughter to sit on your lap while you read from your book:

You need a good pen to autograph books:

You need people to line up for your autograph once they've purchased your book:

You need your star reader to have a quick rehearsal while Dad listens before show time:

You need a supportive writers group to cheer you on and toast your launch:

The Welleez by L Arthur was launched at Bellingen Library on Sunday 17 May (despite the date in the photos)

The book was officially launched by president of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group, Carrolline Rhodes, and excerpts were read by Reece Rhodes and the author Elizabeth Arthur.

Coming soon: A member spotlight featuring Elizabeth.

AGM postponed

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:16:00 +0000

Due to the flooding of the Mid North Coast, the AGM of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group has been postponed from May 23 to June 27. Membership fees will now be due at the June meeting

An ordinary meeting will still be held on Saturday May 23 at 1. 30pm for those members who are able to attend. (Lunch preceding at the RSL at 12 noon).

The meeting on June 27 will start at 10 am with the workshop 'Writing and Dreams' given by Jennifer Albertson, followed by lunch, the AGM and the awarding of prizes for the 2009 Nambucca Valley Writers Group Writing Competition.

Please note that all future meetings commence at 1.30pm, unless a workshop is to be held earlier.

Member Spotlight: Maggie Veness

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:22:00 +0000

Our first Member Spotlight features Maggie Veness, who joined NVWG just over two years ago. Maggie has taken to writing like a natural and has discovered a true talent for short fiction and erotica. Though it has only taken two years to amass these amazing credits, Maggie has worked very hard at learning the craft, honing the craft, editing and submitting.

I submitted a few questions of my own to Maggie for this Spotlight feature.

What brought you to the Nambucca Valley Writers Group?

You'd have to call this fate. It began with a decision to attend one of Carrolline Rhodes' 'Writing your Life Story' workshops held in Coffs Harbour a little over 2 years ago. Although I had absolutely no interest in writing my life story, I was unable to find any course for for beginner writers. On the final day of the course Carrolline invited myself and others to consider joining the NVWG. I joined the group in early 2007.

Why do you keep coming back?

That's easy. Besides camaraderie, members generoulsy provide each-other with inspiration, encouragement, support, wisdom, and so much more. I feel like I finally fit somewhere, which I assure you is a very new experience for me.

You have found your writing voice in the short short story. Tell us about your writer's journey that led you to this discovery.

Perhaps I was naturally drawn to writing short fiction due to my desire for the excitement and stimulation that comes with constant change. I suspect my short attention span plus a strong Gemini influence are also factors here. I recall an early writing exercise which showed how almost any piece of writing could be improved simply by cutting superfluous words from the work. That made a huge impression on me. Very short/flash fiction is like cordial before you add water. Strong and bitey. I've come to enjoy the challenge of writing a satisfyingly complete story within the constraints of say, a 500 word limit.

Tell us about your first writing success.

My first writing success came around a year after I began to write, when I won second prize in a competition. It was an incredible buzz. I'd been working so hard at learning the craft. With my fourth (and youngest child) leaving home only last year at age 20, plus having been encouraged by my loving husband to quit work (YAY) I now have the luxury of time to devote to my first ever hobby. And ok, I'm addicted. There. I've said it.

What advice would you offer aspiring writers?

If you're passionate about writing and want your work to improve, you must practise. Every day is best. Ask around within the group 'til you find a more experienced writer who has time to mentor/critique some of your work. Draft and draft each piece 'til you think you might go mad, then begin entering every competition you can find. You'll be pushing yourself to polish each entry to the limit of your current ability, and even though that hoped-for prize might be still a while off, I guarantee your work will continue to improve. This is your reward.

What's next in your writer's journey?

I intend to continue to learn the craft and will keep working hard to improve. For now, considering the occasional competition success I've been enjoying, plus the satisfaction of now seeing my work published in Australia, NZ, the US, Canada, and the UK, I only pray that what's next for me is more of the same. So, can I see my name on a short-story collection? When you've fallen in love with words, anything seems possible.

MAGGIE'S WRITING CREDITS

**click on the links for the emags, and you can read some of Maggie's stories.

Publications

**Neat White Scar - Canadian emag 'The Maynard' - Dec '08 issue

**Letter Under Her Door - Canadian emag 'InMyBed'

**Foursome Parachute - emag The Australian Reader

The Right Notes - Litro (UK Print Mag) - Issue 83

Frozen Tits with Hot Butts - Skive Magazine - Dec '08 issue (buy or download)

On Durham Street - Slice (US Literary Print Mag)

He-She on the Train - Bravado (NZ Literary Print Mag)

The Thing about Waiting - The Erotic Woman E-mag

Competitions

Complimentary with Surveillance - 1st place, FAW Jennifer Burbidge Short Story Award

Pilgrimage -Commended, FAW Jennifer Burbidge Short Story Award

Cocky and the Virgin Space - Highly Commended, Sminks Books Humorous Story comp

One Grape - 1st place, Positive Words end of year Comp

Chattles - Shortlisted, Positive Words end of year Comp

Alcohol with Slugs - 2nd place, FAW Nth Shore Comp

Just Read the Signs - Commended, FAW Nth Shore Comp

Runs for the Phone - Highly Commended, 2008 Scribblers Writing Competition

Blow the Snowbird - short-listed,2008 E J Brady short story comp

The Jump - Highly Commended,R Carson Gold Writing Competition

Chooser - 2nd prize,Victorian Eastern Writers Group

Another chapter....

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:11:00 +0000

Another chapter in the life of Nambucca Valley Writers Group.

Photo constructed on Photofunia

Expect the Unexpected - says Maggie

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Jennifer and Maggie

What can you expect when such an eclectic, creative, exceptional, and bloody gorgeous group of women gather?

You can expect to learn a lot, and you learn to expect the unexpected.

Maggie Veness

Photos and words on the retreat from Nancy Corbett

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Inspiring, delicious, brilliant, fun, enthusiastic, harmonious, exciting,
rewarding, surprising, satisfying, female.

Nancy Corbett

Some words on the Retreat from our members

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Elizabeth Arthur (pictured left)

A smorgasbord of beauty, delicious food, words, discussions, imaginings, truths, laughter, sharing, writing, reading...

Lyn Thiry

Delighted at the professionalism by all the presenters of workshops.
I learnt a lot by listening to everyone reading out their work. It helped me to get the rhythms in my mind. For someone like me all the little hints, about poetry, character and erotica have been absorbed.
The cooks deserve a great big clap. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I had a great time.

Writing Retreat - the Exotica Feast

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:11:00 +0000

Before I share stories from the recent 2009 Smoky Cape Writers' Retreat, Lisa has agreed to share her fabulous recipes with the group, and decided that the best medium is through our blog.

Our feasts are always a highly anticipated part of the retreat, and Lisa's culinary skills never fail to impress (below, left)

Baba Ghanoush

2-3 medium sized eggplants
1½ tbsp tahini
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp paprika
Parsley, finely chopped
Tomato, finely diced

Grill the whole eggplant over a gas flame, turning with tongs until the skin is evenly toasted. Soak in cold water for about 10 min to cool. When cool, completely peel the eggplants and drain for 15-20 min. Place into a food processor with tahini, lemon, garlic and salt and process again until well combined and creamy. Place the mixture in a serving bowl and make a well in the centre just deep enough for the oil to be poured in. Sprinkle paprika, parsley and tomato on top.

Hommous

500g dried chickpeas
2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tbsp tahini
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp paprika
Place chickpeas in a large saucepan. Add enough hot water to cover by at least 10cm (they will absorb the water and increase in size). Add bicarbonate soda and leave to soak overnight. After soaking, rinse chickpeas, return to saucepan and cover with hot water. Bring to the boil and cook for approximately 1 – 2 hours (or until their skins peel off). When chickpeas are soft and the skins are loose, drain and allow them to cool.

Place the chickpeas in a food processor and blend until soft and creamy. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt and blend again until the mixture is well combined and smooth.

Place the mixture into a serving bowl and make a well in the centre, deep enough for the oil to be poured in. Sprinkle paprika and chopped parsley on top.
Felafel
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying

Place dried chickpeas in a bowl, covering with cold water. Allow to soak overnight. Drain chickpeas, and place in pan with fresh water, and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then let simmer on low for about an hour. Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.
Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste. Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Slightly flatten. Bake, or fry, until golden brown.

Feta and Ricotta Dip

500g Feta cheese
500g ricotta cheese
6 tbl softened butter
1 x clove garlic, crushed
1 tbl dill, chopped
2 tbl parsley, chopped;
2-3 cups walnuts, chopped

Process feta until finely crumbled. Add herbs and garlic and process. Add ricotta and butter. Blend until smooth. Add walnuts.

TABOULI

2 bunches fresh parsley, finely shredded
Handful of fresh mint leaves, finely shredded
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
2 tbsp fine burghul
3-4 medium tomatoes, diced
4 green shallots, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Squeeze lemon over burghul and leave to soften for 30 minutes. You may need to add a little water Combine parsley, mint, tomato, shallot and softened burghul. Season with salt and pepper and mix in olive oil. The best way to mix is to use your hands.

Fattoush

Dressing
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp salt
3 tsp sweet paprika
4 tsp sumac
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lemon juice

Salad
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Handful of yellow tomatoes
Handful of finely sliced radish
Handful of lettuce leaves or other greens
2 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced
½ red capsicum, sliced
½ yellow capsicum, sliced
½ red cabbage
½ cup of mint
½ cup flat leaf parsley chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
1 toasted Lebanese bread

Crush the crushed garlic and mix the salt, paprika, sumac, olive oil and lemon juice in a small bowl. To a large mixing bowl add the vegetables and fresh herbs. Add the bread, torn into small, rough pieces. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.

Kibbeh bil sanieh

Filling
800 grams lamb mince
4 large brown onions finely chopped
1 tsp baharat (seven spice mix)
½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp finely ground black pepper
3 tbsp roasted pine nuts
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter

Kibbeh
1½ cup fine cracked wheat (burghul)
800 grams fat free beef mince
2 tsp salt
3 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp baharat spice mix
2 large brown onions, grated
1 tbsp olive oil

FILLING: (inner layer)
Place oil and mince into a large frying pan over a low heat. Break it up constantly until it is well separated and loose and the moisture is starting to evaporate. Add the spices, seasoning and chopped onion and keep stirring. In a small pan melt the butter, add the pine nuts and roast lightly. When the pine nuts are starting to brown in the butter, add to the meat mixture. Keep mixing until the onion becomes soft. Set aside in the fridge to cool.

KIBBEH: (outer layers)
Soak the burghul in a large mixing bowl with 1 cup of water for at least 5 mins or overnight if possible. Drain well. Add salt, pepper, baharat, grated onion, and mince and mix well by hand till it forms into a paste. You may need a little water to keep the mixture soft. Set aside in the fridge to cool.

To assemble the dish, use a flattish tray with 2cm sides. Grease the tray well. Dampen hands and layer the tray with the kibbeh by forming small balls in your hand then flattening them evenly in the tray. Add the cool filling evenly across the kibbeh, pressing it down a little to keep the layers tight.

Sandwich with the top layer of kibbeh the same way. Flatten evenly and cut into slices or servings before baking. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and bake for 25 minutes in a pre-heated moderate oven. Serve with yoghurt and salad.

Tomato Rice with Lentils and Beans

3cups rice
1 tbs salt
2 tins of brown lentils, drained and washed
2 large onions, sliced finely
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon turmeric
400ml vegetable stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup warm water
2 cans tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
500g green beans, cut into small pieces, about ¼ inch in length
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 dried limes

Bring a large saucepan of water to a rolling boil; add the rice and salt. Boil for 10 minutes, until only about half-cooked – just like al dente pasta. Drain in a colander; rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process, and set aside to drain really well.

In another big saucepan, sauté the onions in 4 tablespoons of the butter until golden brown. It’s important to let them go really very dark, for the taste. Stir in the turmeric. Add the green beans, vegetable stock, tomato paste (diluted in the warm water), tomatoes, salt, pepper, soy sauce, cinnamon, dried limes, and lemon juice. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender (about 25-30 minutes).

Now you’ve got the parboiled rice, and the bean stew. It’s time to put them together. Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan, pour in 1/3 of the rice, then 1/3 of the meat mixture. Alternate layers of rice and meat until the ingredients have all been used up. Cover the saucepan with a lid wrapped in a cloth, to catch the steam, and steam over a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Don’t lift the lid at all until at least 30 minutes – you should be able to smell when the rice is cooked. This dish, when inverted onto a serving platter, will be quite red; it is very decorative as well as delicious.

Thankyou, Lisa. And perhaps Roby will share her recipes from Monday evening.

Now, what are you waiting for? Get cooking!

More 20th Anniversary Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:47:00 +0000

As promised, here are some more photos from our 20th anniversary party and anthology launch. The first five photos are from Maggie.

Musicians brought to us by Lisa Milner.

Please note second from the right, legs and high heels: a very rare sight.

See Sue, we did get a photo of you and your cleavage.

What a great party!

NVWG celebrates 20 years

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:33:00 +0000

On November 15, Nambucca Valley Writers Group had a party at the Bowraville Theatre. This was no ordinary party. This was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group and to launch the group's third anthology 'The Fourth Saturday'.

All good parties need alcohol, so Jennifer greeted guests in the foyer of the theatre with a glass of sparkly.

Inside the theatre, there was more alcohol flowing with Roby, Michelle and Elizabeth making sophisticated and gorgeous barmaids.

There was also musical entertainment:

Noel looked all dapper in his white tuxedo and Marilyn had flown all the way from Adelaide for the launch.

Maggie, Gill, Roby and Robbie claim their seats in the front row, waiting for the launch to begin.

Noel & Caz before the launch:

The night included readings from the anthology, and film screenings from Verandah Post Films, a fellow sub-committee of the Bowraville Arts Council. These included Sue McKinley's scripted Dear Old Dad, Carrolline Rhode's scripted Outsided the Square, and a history of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group 'The Fourth Saturday' produced and edited by Lisa Milner.

Noel escorts Robbie down the stairs following the reading of one of her stories from the anthology.

Gill looks as if she's sent a message to the Enterprise asking them to "Beam me up Scotty!" Was the reading that terrifying?

All the members of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group are invited on stage for a special announcement:

And our wonderful President Carrolline Rhodes (Prez Caz) is honoured with a Life Membership.

Gillian Helfgott launches 'The Fourth Saturday'

and is presented with a thank you present from Caz's cute grandson Reece.

Diane in glamorous check-out chick mode, flogging the anthology.

Gill in famous author mode, signing the anthology, watched by Robbie, and a 'fan'.

That's not it all, folks. I have more shots on my camera (hopefully not featuring any more attempted abductions by aliens) and I have some shots taken by Maggie. So stay tuned....

Anthology and filming update

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:47:00 +0000

The submissions for The Fourth Saturday - The Nambucca Valley Writers' Group Anthology -have closed, the layout has been done by our wonderful Prez, Carrolline Rhodes, and the pages are now in the hands of our proofreaders.

The Anthology, celebrating the group's 20th year, will be launched at the Bowraville Theatre on Saturday 15 November.

Lisa Milner (below) has been directing and filming (with Tony above) a documentary about the Nambucca Valley Writers Group and we took the opportunity of ex-Prez, Jennifer Gordon's prescence in Nambucca to film a few final scenes.

Sue McKinley (right) interviewed Jennifer (left) for the documentary about her experiences with the group.

The documentary will be screened as part of the launch proceedings.

In other news, my short story Beyond Happily Ever After is now available in the latest edition of Wet Ink magazine. To find out what happened to Cinderella after she married her Prince 'Charming', you can buy a copy of the magazine from Borders or from the Wet Ink website.

Byron Bay Writers Festival Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:57:00 +0000

Day 2 and we were relieved to wake up to blue sky and sunshine.

I began the day by dropping into the Kids Tent and watched Danny Katz and Mitch Vane in action. Danny read from their new book 'The Little Lunch Games' while Mitch illustrated the story on butcher paper. Kids in the audience were then invited to draw their own characters.

Next I noticed the line-up for a fix, as the caffeine addicts stood patiently waiting to get their morning hit. (I'm a reformed caffeine addict although my poison was Coca-Cola)

I attended a session called First Writes: the Path to Publication. In this session Annette Hughes said 'the hardest thing about memoir is there's no end, you're not dead yet' which is how I felt when I was writing the pizza delivery girl tales - trying to work out where it should end! (these publicaion sessions always get me in because I'm still on that first path).

Afterwards I talked to Lollie Barr, who wrote the young adult novel The Mag Hags. and whose by-line I see every week in the paper.

And I couldn't resist asking Aussie Idol Damien Leith for a photo opportunity as I'm a sucker for an Irish accent.
Morris Gleitzman always draws a crowd and the queue in the background of this photo are his young fans eager for an autograph. Perhaps you don't have to be an Aussie Idol after all?

Next session I attended was 'Talking the Talk: Getting the dialogue right' with Max Barry, Virginia Duigan, Michael Gow and Judy Nunn. Max said 'You are writing a story that is taking place in the mind of the readers' summing up that we need to give our readers space to bring their own experiences to the story.

I bought Max's book Company following the session and told him I was nominated him for Foxy Author of the Week on my friend Natalie's blog. So - of course, had to get a photo with Foxy Max!

Next, I dropped by the kids tents again to see the talented and very young William Kostakis exercising excellent crowd control on the youngsters.

It seems that William has been writing about the same character (Courtney) since 6th grade. That's a long long obsession. You can read the results in his young adult novel Loathing Lola.

The next session was We'll Always Have Paris: celebrity versus literary publishing with the heads of Penguin Australia, Pan MacMillan along with the editor of Wet Ink magazine. I introduced myself to Phillip Edmunds as my story Beyond Happily Ever After will be published in Wet Ink next month.

Back at the cabin after a long and full day, we debated a mystery. How did our cabin key end up on our doormat? Well, it seems that the bush turkey was the culprit.

Saturday night dinner options were difficult and after much searching we ended up with two tables at opposite ends of the balcony at Hogs Breath Cafe. After a group near one vacated, we managed to make it one large table and ended up having an interesting conversation about men. But mostly we were exhausted...ready to retire and prepare for another exciting day at the Byron Bay Writers Festival.

Byron Bay Writers Festival pt 1

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:51:00 +0000

We set off on our annual pilgrimage to Byron Bay Writers Festival on Thursday at noon. I didn't envy Roby's task of driving through the relentless rain, but we stayed optimistic that the weather would be on our side and the sky would clear.

It was not to be...

We burrowed in the cabin for the rest of the afternoon, and as soon as we stepped out of the car in the main drag of Byron, the rain poured down once more. So we stepped into the nearest eatery Fresh and were pleased with our dining experience.

Jen and I tackled the collage poetry on our first evening in the cabin, and we all tried to chase the rain away with the power of our minds.

Not powerful enough...

The next morning after we'd showered and breakfasted and filled ourselves with caffeine, Lyn turned up on the doorstep as we were about to leave the cabin and walk over to the Festival site and told us that the Festival had been cancelled. We reacted with despair and gloom. How dare the gods be so unkind!

Roby and Caz drove over to the site to assess the damage and check out the water-logging, while Jen and I stayed in the cabin to wallow in collage.

When the troops returned, we debated what we were going to do to fill in the day. We rejected the possibility of getting cabin fever while surrouned by pouring rain, and opted for a quick lunch, followed by op-shopping and a trip to the cinema to see Mama Mia.

In town, we almost walked past Vinnies before we realised that it was Vinnies. As Jen had infected me with the collage bug again, I was itching to get my hands on more magazines and more glossy raw words to recycle and transform. The magazine shelf held the usual suspects - the Who Weeklys, the New Weeklys: all the glossy gossip garbage. New Scientist attracts my eye but there is no decent size text, and I finally settle on a couple of New Women magazines and a 'Real Living' magazine.

I scanned the bookshelf - I cannot resist checking out second hand books. The typical tired and wretched paberbacks toppled over each other but nestled amongst them was a copy of Gregory Maguire's 'Mirror Mirror' (the retelling of Snow White). Score! I grabbed it - it's meant to be mine.

The second op shop is too tiny to have a book section but I buy a purple scarf to keep my neck warm for the rest of the weekend.

It seems that many of the misplaced festival attendees have decided to spend the rainy afternoon at Mama Mia -- the foyer is filled with patrons waiting for the cinema to open. This is my second time seeing the musical after seeing it on Cheap Tuesday in Coffs Harbour with a group of work colleagues. The second time is different - perhaps they're more reverential in Byron Bay. The Coffs audience was in hysterics every time James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) opened his mouth to sing but Byron Bay accepts his singing without a titter.

We decide to eat at the Curry House that evening, and are given the room upstairs, all to ourselves except the couple who are stuck in the room next door (it seems more like a store room than an eating area). Thrilled by the tiny enclave to ourselves we dance and talk and chat and feast.

And hope that the rain will go away....

Alice Pung Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:58:00 +0000

What? You want words too?

Haven't you heard the cliche? - ' A picture paints a thousand words.'

At the moment I'm doing 50ks in 30 days and words on this blog or any other don't count towards the 50k goal.

But today, following the workshop, I wrote 5898 words so I guess that sums up how inspiring it was.

And the winners are.....

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:20:00 +0000

After much anticipation, the results of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group Short Story competition were announced today following the AGM.

The results had been in for quite a while from our honorary judge, Peter Matheson, and the AGM was well attended by the writers hoping to hear their names called out by our Life Member and Founding President Anne Holgate.

Well, it was almost well attended. Except the winner of the 6th Prize somehow slipped through the net and is currently in Greece. Rosemary Nisted won 6th Prize with her short story, 'The Dancer'. Mmm, Greece or Nambucca Entertainment Centre? I know which option I would be choosing.

Thankfully the photo opportunities got better from there.

Our soon-t0-be-famous fantasy author, Robyn Aiken, took out 5th prize with a short story called 'The Final Entry'

4th Prize was taken out by a very surprised Christeen Kaluaat with a short story called 'Bridie Turns Eighteen'. Christeen is our international member from Vanuatu. (Mmm, Nambucca Heads or Vanuatu? - now that's a tough one!)

Our judge had a dilemma when awarding third prize and ended up awarding two equal 3rd prizes.

Michelle Worley was one of the 3rd prize winners with her short story 'Till Death do us Part'.

And Marilyn Pearson also scored 3rd prize with her story 'Another New Beginning'. Incidentally, Marilyn is soon off to her own new beginning when she moves to Adelaide, and we will miss her.

By this stage, anticipation was running very high. Our treasurer Sue McKinley took out 2nd prize with her story 'Remember Joe'.

And finally first prize went to our Prez, Carrolline Rhodes for the short story trophies.

Here Carrolline shows off her certificate....

and is the very proud (and deserving) keeper of the trophy for the next year.

Congratulations to everyone! Now I've got some reading to do.

Ironically, after this wonderful celebration of good writing, we went on to read our homework exercise of bad writing. Some of the readings had the room laughing very loudly (amazing what a well-turned cliche can do) and will definitely appear in our anthology.

Lights! Camera! Action!

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 11:31:00 +0000

Under Lisa Milner's direction, filming has begun on the NVWG documentary, which will trace the history of the writers' group.

Sue McKinley has the honour of being the interviewer and Roby Aiken was first in the hotseat prior to our March meeting.

And then it was my turn in the hot seat. Aargh! I'm not used to being interviewed. Hope I sounded sane.

Tony, the camera man, then filmed segments of our meeting, and the reunion of the writers and cast of Making Allowances was filmed the next day.

The documentary will be shown at our 20th birthday celebrations in November at the Bowraville Theatre when we launch our anthology.

Stay tuned!

Falls Forest Writing Retreat

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:22:00 +0000

Well, I thought that Newee Creek was paradise but apparently Falls Forest Retreat is even more so.

A weekend surrounded by nature in all its beauty, with like-minded writerly types.

What more could a writer want?

I didn't go to the retreat but by all reports, it was great, relaxing, inspiring and Caz even stepped in as tutor on the Saturday morning when Claire Scobie was ill.

Here is a link to Falls Forest Retreat

February round-up

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:38:00 +0000

We had our first 'official' meeting in 2008, and yet again, it seems that the group is bursting at the seams. Three new members, and a very enthusiastic discussion at to what group members wanted from the group this year. (Winning Lotto is not in the writers' group control but perhaps a group syndicate ticket might be the way to go.)

Our 'program' is summarised in the right-hand column of the blog and we're covering everything from openings (oh no, I can hear Julie Andrews singing in the far corners of my mind...'Let's start at the very beginning...') to that famous oft-repeated phrase 'Show Don't Tell' which can be the bane of the beginning writer's life, to 'grammar and tense', to editing. Phew! It's going to be a big year.

For the first time in three years, we had a deadline for a competition which was NOT extended. Maybe we've learned our lesson from the last couple of times not to make a deadline for January. It seems that the competition was hotly contested with many of our members thrusting freshly-printed manuscripts and entry fees to the receiving officer. The competing short stories have been sent to the judge, and the winners will be announced at the AGM in May. I'm sure that many of the entries will find their way into our 20th Anniversary anthology which will be launched on November 15 at Bowraville Theatre.

Our members are not content just sitting back and waiting for the annual NVWG writing competition to roll around. They are sending out entries to other competitions and collecting prizes! I've started a section on the blog 'Members' Accolades' to celebrate their success. Woo hoo!

Due to the timing of the full moon and - more importantly - Easter, next month, our next meeting has been postponed to the 5th Saturday of the month, March 29th. Same time, same bat channel. Until then.....

Writing in Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:29:00 +0000

All writing workshops should take place in paradise. Not in a stuffy classroom, on those hard orange plastic chairs, where fearful repressed memories of school are evoked. Writing workshops should be held somewhere beautiful and inspiring such as Noel's place. Noel is kind enough to offer the hospitality of his house for our workshops and the views are stunning.

The workshop was run by Peter Matheson on storytelling and we did a lot of work on character development.

Creating characters from thin air, from photos, from the ether. Determining what the character would do in unusual situations.

As usual we enjoyed each other's company and obtained many new writing tools for our writer's toolkits.

One of the exercises included interviewing each other's characters, which- going in cold - was much harder than it sounded.

Caz did an excellent job of the catering and we have a running booking for all of our workshops to be held at Noel's place.

2008 is a huge year for Nambucca Valley Writers Group as it is the 20th anniversary of the group. We will celebrate this event by producing another anthology comprising our members' writing in all its forms: poetry, non-fiction, short stories. This will be launched in November.

But first its the annual NVWG Foundation President Writing Competition. This year the category is short story and I can guarantee that it will be hotly contested. Each of us will be trying to wrest that beautiful trophy back from Noel. The deadline is the next meeting, February 22nd with no exceptions, so everyone better start scribbling.

The results of the competition will be announced at our AGM in May.

Many of our members will be travelling to Johns River for a writing retreat at Falls Forest Lodge for the first week of March. This workshop is being hosted by Arts Mid North Coast and will be tutored by Claire Scobie.

All photos (except for Peter's) have been taken during the Storytelling workshop on January 27th & 28th.

Next meeting on February 22nd at 2pm at the small hall behind the Nambucca Entertainment Centre (for a change) or find us on the balcony of the RSL for lunch at 12.30 pm.

Trivia Night

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 05:50:00 +0000

Last night was the Nambucca Valley Writers Group first Trivia Night, held at the Nambucca Surf Club.

As the waves rolled in on the sand, groups of trivia professionals and newbies gathered around their tables to strategise, trick the enemy and trawl the vaults of their memories for the correct answers.

To kick off the proceedings, a couple of 'brains' were auctioned off to join the tables.

Fred was the MC for the evening, firing the questions sometimes at gunshot speed and dropping acerbic comments about the participants.

There was a big turn-out from the Writers Group themselves, eager to demonstrate their own trivial prowess.
Organiser Marilyn and one of the question writers Sue watch the ensuing chaos.

Many of the tables adopted a theme for the night - this was the Gangsters and Molls table, which later won the prize for Best Themed Table.

Another table adopted a fairy and butterfly theme, but were a bit shy of the camera.

This was the Blue Bloopers table.

And the Wacky Racers.

Caz showed the teams the scoreboard between rounds, heightening the tension and the competitive edge in the room.

But it was the Damsels and Devils who proved their combined store of trivia to be the biggest in the room, scoring a wad of cash for the table.

It was a fantastic, entertaining night and we all learned just another bit of trivia. Another round perhaps?

Byron Bay Writers Festival - Diane's report

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:32:00 +0000

Members of the Nambucca Valley Writers Group made their annual pilgrimage to the Byron Bay Writers Festival on July 26 to rub shoulders with the literati, absorb their wisdom and inspiration, and replenish our writing mojo. Interest in this year’s excursion necessitated two cabins instead of one. Still! Eleven women sharing two bathrooms? Somehow we made it work.

Along with the usual suspects, we had several Festival virgins amongst us, and through the filter of their inexperience, the old-handers could experience the Festival with a new wonder.
Although we had no thrilling moments to outdo last year’s discovery that Pan Macmillan were seriously interested in Roby’s fantasy novel(s), there were still potential moments when Caz spoke to a publisher about her work in progress, I thanked Eva Sallis who taught me novel writing in Adelaide 9 years ago for setting me on the path, and we all discovered new talent, new writers and yet more books to add to our growing ‘To Be Read’ piles.

We were also joined by two writers from South West Rocks, and a writer from Grafton, all of whom are threatening to join the group on a permanent basis. With a recent member joining from Taree, the NVWG is extending it reach far beyond the Nambucca Valley to encompass all of the Mid North Coast.

This year’s Festival was a great weekend. Not only were the sessions informative and entertaining, but the company, as always, was superb. Usually I end up creeping back to the cabin some time during the day to make use of the private amenities and to have lunch. This year the Festival was so jam-packed full of stuff I wanted to see, I had to make friends with the portaloos (at least this year they were the Kenny-installed-foot-pedal-flushing-style) and buy lunch at the site. And the weather was mild and sunny – so I had even less reason to want to go and hide back in the cabin.

Next year’s Festival should be even better as we hope that our very own Roby will be a featured author – with the first of her fantasy trilogy due to be released around the time of the Festival.

If our little group and the pilgrimage to Byron continue to grow at this rate, we will need to hire a bus next year. And yes, we may be looking for a couple more Festival virgins to sacrifice.

Following are reports from others in the group:

Byron Bay Writers Festival - Caz's Report

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:19:00 +0000

It was probably the best Festival I have attended. The presenters seemed to be wholly engaged with the audience and there were lively and impassioned discussions. It was wonderful to have so many of us there together, and it was great that Michelle from Grafton was able to join us for a day, compliments of Sue Nicholls. The theatre sports that Diane, Gil and Carrolline attended was so very Byron Bay - streakers with saggy bits wouldn't dream of being seen like that anywhere else.The Festival was fun, stimulating, and I wouldn't have missed it for quids.

-Caz

Byron Bay Writers Festival - Lyn's report

noreply@blogger.com (Diane) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:11:00 +0000

2 Things stood out for me.

One workshop covering research for fiction convinced me that's the way to go. Intense research. Next day hearing Richard Flanagan's making it up as you go along theory pulled me the other way. (RF's - is how I live my day to day life anyway- great contrast for me to uncover.)

Secondly in Adult Themes, Kate Crawford/Eliz.Farrelly - discussing Y/X gen.Spoke about lack of public housing etc keeping people home longer etc.Kate had read in Hansard in 1955 - Robert Menzies then PM - said we will sell public housing to the "people" so they won't turn to Communism.. I remember at that time the big propaganda threat was Red/Peril. This was the deliberate beginning of the sliding of public housing in Aust. and totally new info for me.

Best wishes, Lyn T.