Dear writers,
We trust you have been staying warm and enjoying our recent sunny winter days. Hopefully you have been able to take up some of the opportunities presented so far in 2024.
It has been a busy time at the writers’ houses.
The Emerging Writers’ Program
FAWWA is thrilled to share the news that three of our members have been selected for the Emerging Writers’ Program 2024/2025.
Congratulations to Soraya Acosta, Emily McGuiness and Vanessa Karas.
Soraya is working on a fantasy novel, Emily is drafting an urban fantasy and writes young adult fiction, and Vanessa is a poet.
FAWWA is delighted to offer the emerging writers free use of our studio spaces, and free access to events at Mattie Furphy House and Tom Collins House in the coming year.
The program is managed by Writing WA with FAWWA as a co-host and partner, to help emerging writers develop a debut manuscript-in-progress. For more information please click here.
McCusker Foundation Intern
FAWWA is delighted to announce that UWA student Sophie Eppette has commenced working at FAWWA as an intern through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship to assist with ongoing projects.
Sophie is currently in her second year as an undergraduate at the University of Western Australia, majoring in fine arts and history of art with electives across English literature and social sciences.
Sophie will be working across projects with FAWWA Secretary Susan Cullen, assisting in digitising and archiving important items in the Tom Collins House museum and library, curating grant applications for future projects that will widen community outreach, and researching the cultural significance of the indigenous lands the heritage houses sit on, among other projects as they become relevant.
Sophie will be interning with FAWWA until the end of October. For more information about the McCusker Centre for Citizenship internships please click here.
Celebrate our patron John Kinsella
John Kinsella, internationally acclaimed poet, playwright, novelist and FAWWA patron, will make a special appearance at the City of Perth Library on August 17 from 5pm to 6.30pm.
The event is to explore his Collected Poems spanning 1980 to 2023, pay tribute to his significant contribution to the WA Poetry community, and his recent induction into the WA Writers’ Hall of Fame. Enjoy performances by local poets and copies of John’s Collected Poems will be available for purchase.
The event is free but bookings are required. Please click here.
The Writer’s Studio at Tom Collins House
Are you in need of a quiet space to write? The writer’s studio at Tom Collins House is open for daytime bookings, seven days a week.
Write, read, edit, or mark up your manuscript amid the peaceful surrounds of natural bushland a short walk from the train, beach, and Kirkwood Deli.
The studio is available for hire on a daily rate. For more information please visit Space to Co by clicking here or email us at fellowshipaustralianwriterswa@gmail.com
Write prose with Bruce Russell
The Out of the Asylum writers’ group is offering prose writing classes at Mattie Furphy House through 2024, taught by Dr Bruce Russell. The classes are to help writers build confidence in creating a short story (1,000 – 3000 words), essay or literary non-fiction. Classes are the first Friday of each month, September 6, October 4, November 1. For details please visit www.ootawriters.com
The 2025 Stella Prize
Entries of books published between January and December 2024 are now being accepted for the 2025 Stella Prize. The winner of the Stella Prize will be awarded $60,000. Shortlisted authors will each receive $4,000 and longlisted authors will each receive $1,000.
A discounted early-bird entry fee of $73 applies at present until Monday, August 26. General entries open on Monday 26 August 2024. The entry fee for general entries is $94.
Closing date: Sunday, October 6. For details please click here.
The Double-Take Novelette
The Double-Take Novelette is described as the first award of its kind. The novelette (between 7,500 and 17,500 words) is shorter than a novella but longer than a short story, long enough to require narrative but short enough to demand pace, structure and precision of language.
Two WA authors will be awarded $2,500 and a publishing contract with Night Parrot Press.
Submissions are open now and close 10 November. For more information please click here.
The Sisters in Crime Stiletto Award
Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto Awards for Australian women writers is offering $13,400 in prizes this year. First prize is $2000. The shortlist will be announced in October, with the awards being presented in Melbourne in November.
A new award – the Cate Kennedy Award for Best Story Inspired by a Forensic Clue ($500) – is being offered this year. Closing date August 31, 2024. Maximum length is 5000 words.
For details please click here.
Travel grants for professional development for writers
The Travel Fund supports emerging, midcareer, and established Australian writers and literary sector workers to pursue professional development opportunities.
This includes writers, editors, agents, publishers, librarians, booksellers, employees and associates of literary organisations and journals, and other literary professionals who live in Australia. Applicants can apply for grants between $2,000 and $10,000. These grants support professional development through travel.
Travel activities should take place between 1 November 2024 and 11 November 2025 inclusive. Submissions close on Sunday, September 15. For details please click here.
Happy writing,
The Committee
Fellowship Australian Writers WA
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