Paige Turner - May

May seems that it should be a slowing month, one where we wend our ways a little closer to the fire, stay a little longer in our beds. It’s busy though, in the world of stories, of books and writing in Tasmania, who has time for hibernation? – well, maybe just in bed for one more chapter, one more chapter.

May 3 sees the launch of the debut novel from Robbie Arnott, a surreal novel about the intricacy of family, fissures running through Tasmania and a novel very distinctly of this island, with our shores and innards pulsing through the pages. It will be launched by Richard Flanagan at Fullers on May 3, 5.30pm. Mark my words, Robbie will be heralded as the new Flanagan.

You can read an extract of Flames in the latest Island magazine (which is a ripper edition by the way) – and you can also show your tax deductible support for the long running Tasmanian literary magazine by making a donation (which will be doubled by Creative Partnerships Australia. Participate in their survey, too, and go in the running for some good prizes.

The Australian Book Review’s State of Poetry, Tasmania is back again. Edited by Sarah Day it features work from poets including Ben Walter, Gina Mercer, Anne Kellas and Jim Everett-puralia meenamatta. It’s free and available on the ABR website.

The Story Island Project are running free storytelling workshops for young people of all abilities, aged around 6-11 starting on Tuesday, May 15 at the West Moonah Community House. They will run these afterschool workshops between 3.30-5pm over the next 6 weeks. Come for one, come for all!

The Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History is a new book prize delivered by UTAS that recognises works that have made contributions to understanding Tasmanian history. The inaugural shortlist includes Alison Alexander’s Beneath the Mountain, Tony Fenton’s wonderful Fleeting Hopes, a history of Port Davey – and the winner of the Tasmanian Book Prize Into the Heart of Tasmania, by Rebe Taylor which I have recently had the informative pleasure to read. The winner will be announced in June.

The Tasmanian Writers Centre, with less than two months worth of operating costs and a new board, elected after all former incumbents announced they were not renominating at an AGM late last month are still running Seasonal Poets - and I would definitely be heading along if it weren't for my wisdom teeth removal earlier that day-  as this is a valuable event on our poetry scene. Seasonal Poets for Autumn will include readings from Susan Austin, Ben Walter and Gina Mercer. $15 waged, $10 members and unwaged. Hadleys Hotel, May 21, 6-8pm

I'm super delighted to hear that a new SLAM night is starting down South, maybe we can rival the wickedness of Launceston's Slamduggery.
LINC Tasmania are hosting a SpecialStorytime with Victoria Ryle on May 16, to celebrate National Families Week. Discover how to transform a simple piece of paper into a book! This is a seriously excellent thing to do – and I’m speaking from experience. Take your kids along and they will walk away with books of their very own making. 

Speaking of All That We Are, you have until this Sunday, May 6 to get your EoI in to ArTELIER: Artists in Tasmania: Ecology of Learning, Intergenerational Exchange and Reflection, a new project that invests in Tasmanian young people by empowering the artists who work with them. ArTELIER will build the capacity of the Tasmanian arts ecology of artists, creative activists and educators who currently work, or wish to work, with children and families.
For more information click here.

The shortlists for the 2018Norma K Hemming Award have been announced. This award is presented by the Australian Science Fiction Foundation for a work of speculative fiction published in 2016-17 in Australia or written by an Australian citizen that explores the themes of race, gender, sexuality, class or disability – and for the first time, this year’s award has categories for both long works and short fiction. For the first time, this year’s Norma K Hemming Award comprises two categories: long works and short fiction and included in the short fiction category is Did We Break the End of the World’ (Tansy Rayner Roberts, Defying Doomsday, Twelfth Planet Press). The winners will be announced in June. 

The Society of Women Writers Tasmania Short Story Competition 2018 is now open for entries (closing August 31^st but don’t put it off until then). They are seeking entries of short stories of 1200- 1500 words on the theme ‘Life Changing’. Word Count. Prizes of $200, $50, HC and C certificates are up for literary grabs in this competition which is open to all. For furtherinformation visit this link.

The recently announced Vogel Prize (awarded to Emily O’Grady for The Yellow House) has seen Tasmanian writer Kate Gordon commended by the judges for her manuscript The Light Between the Trees. I think that this wonderful writer, author of my favourite YA, Vulpi and Thyla has also been brewing a children’s book. Prolific!

                                   

The TamarValley Writers’ Festival, which is coming up in the middle of September (mark your diaries), The Star Cinema and Foot And Playsted are hosting The Sydney Writers Festival Live and Local at the Star Cinema in Invermay May 4-6. Authors who will be live broadcast are Jane Harper, bestselling crime writer, author of The Dry and Force of Nature, Peter Greste, Australian journalist and author of The First Casualty and Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage. 

Sustainable Living Tasmania has a graphic animator, Pan, doing an internship. He’s creating a video to inspire people about Tasmania’s role in securing a stable global climate. The concept is great and now they need a writer to volunteer their time and words to write a 2-3 minute script. Contact Todd Houstein at Sustainable Living Tasmania for more information.

If you have any book or writing related news drop me a line racheledwards488@gmail.com