Poets Union e-news for Poets at Dec 3

Dear Poets Union Members and Friends,

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Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Newcastle Poetry Prize:

OPEN SECTION
Patricia Sykes (winner)
BR Dionysius (Highly Commended)
Tracy Ryan (Commended)
John Mateer (Commended)

LOCAL AWARD
Andrew Slattery (winner)

NEW MEDIA
Rob and Ben Walker (winners)
Carolyn McKay and Nick Creecy (Runners-Up)

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Congratulations to Robert Gray –

His memoirs, The Land I Came Through Last, has just won The Nib: CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature

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Poetry events, festivals and readings all over Australia:
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In Southern Highlands, NSW “ POETRY ON A PLATE” Friday 4th Dec
with guest poet Robert Gray

After the success of the first two Poetry on a Plate series hosted by acclaimed poets Mark Tredinnick and Judith Beveridge, and the wonderful third in the series with Anthony Lawrence, we are proud to announce Robert Gray is the next guest poet in the series scheduled for Friday 4th December 2009.

The atmosphere is casual and friendly and there is the opportunity for discussion afterwards with Robert, along with Mark Treddinick who mediates the luncheon.

A little bit about Robert Gray..
Robert Gray grew up in Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast and trained there as a journalist. He then worked in Sydney as an editor, advertising copywriter, reviewer and buyer for bookshops and his first book of poems, Creekwater Journal, was published in 1973.
Gray was a writer-in-residence at Meiji University in Tokyo and at several universities throughout Australia. He has also won many writing and poetry awards including:
- The Adelaide Arts Festival
- The New South Wales Premiers' Awards
- The Victorian Premiers' Awards
- The Patrick White Award

With Geoffrey Lehmann, Robert Gray edited two anthologies, The Younger Australian Poets and Australian Poetry in the Twentieth Century. He edited Selected Poems by Shaw Neilson and Drawn from Life, the journals of painter John Olsen.
After Images is his latest collection of poetry and his much anticipated memoirs, The Land I Came Through Last has just won The Nib: CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature

Event: Poetry on a Plate
Venue: Bluemetal Vineyard and Café
Address: 112 Compton Park Road,
Berrima, NSW
Cost: is $40.00 per person and places are limited and filling fast.
Bookings are essential on (02) 4877 1877 or email to cellar@bluemetalvineyard.com
Tel. Ph: (02) 4877 1877

Venue - Bluemetal Vineyard and Cafe
Address - 112 Compton Park Road,
Berrima, NSW
Ph: (02) 4877 1877

Media Contact: Louise Horsley
Ph: 0438 377727
wine@bluemetalvineyard.com
www.bluemetalvineyard.com

Bluemetal Vineyard is located on the beautiful NSW Southern Highlands region and produces premium single estate, award winning wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Fumé Blanc, Sangiovese Rosé, Petit Verdot, and The Cabernets.
The Cellar Door is open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5pm. Bluemetal Café is open from Fridays until Mondays until Xmas. The vineyard will then be closed from 21 December 2009 until 2 January 2010.
Bluemetal Vineyard and Cafe - 112 Compton Park Rd, Berrima, NSW Ph: (02) 4877 1877
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In Sydney at 6.00 pm on 4th December a launch of short stories from the Company of Writers Stories ‘Secret Cows’

An invitation from Poets Union members Jenni Nixon, Louise Wakeling et.al. to the launch of a new collection of short stories ‘Secret Cows’

Date: 4th December, 2009
Time: 6.00 pm
Venue : NSW Writers Centre,
Callan Park
Rozelle NSW 2039

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In Melbourne 2,30 pm Dec 5th
launch of MOK 5 - magazine 40th anniversary edition
Mok: a magazine of contemporary ink & paper
The influential poetry/art magazine Mok issue 5, first published in Spring
1969, is being re-issued in a limited edition to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
Mok will launched in Melbourne.
A poetry reading and discussion including Kris Hemensley, Richard Tipping, John Jenkins, Rob Tillett (TBC) and a tribute to Vicki Viidikas.

Event: Mok 5 anniversary 40th re-issue
Time: 2.30pm
Date: Saturday 5th December

Venue: Collected Works bookshop
Address: Level 1 Nicholas Building
37 Swanston Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9654 8873

Enquiries: Richard Tipping phone 0415 292 939
Mok was the first of what became a wave of alternative magazines in the late
1960s, introducing new ideas of what poetry could be. The fifth issue was
national in reach, with the co-editors in Adelaide (Rob Tillett) and Sydney
(Richard Tipping) attracting contributions from across the country. This was
“when Adelaide / Melbourne / Sydney took a formal step towards the New
Australian Poetry we felt in our bones!”, as Kris Hemensley has written.

The re-issue is 100 laserprinted , numbered copies. Scanning and design have been supervised by Warren Taylor at The Narrows, collaborating as co-publishers with Richard Tipping’s Artpoem press.

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In Perth on Sunday 6 December
CONTEMPORARY POETRY WORKSHOP
'EXPAND YOUR BOUNDARIES'
With
JANET JACKSON
published poet
author of 'Coracle'
poetry and creative writing tutor
editor
guest of the 2009 Queensland Poetry Festival

Date: Sunday 6 December
Time: 2-5pm,
Venue: Mt Lawley Neighbourhood Learning Centre
Address: 715 Beaufort Street,
Mt Lawley
Afternoon tea will be provided.

Cost: Participants will be asked to contribute according to their means. The suggested amount is $30, but please pay what you can afford or feel the workshop is worth.

Limited places: book now.
lostpoetjj@gmail.com
0406 624 578

Expand the boundaries of your poetry by writing and reading.

Workshop includes:
• Writing experiments: write in ways you may not have previously tried.
• How poetry works in English: how form can create feeling.
• Critiquing: bring a poem if you have one.

Visit www.mtlawleylearning.org.au
Read Janet's poems and CV at Proximity: www.proximitypoetry.com.
ABN 55 007 875 680
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In Canberra – 8 December - Poetry at the Gods
with guest poets Judith Beveridge and Stephen Edgar

In Canberra - Tues 8 December - Poetry at The Gods is the monthly reading at the Gods Café/ Bar and Restaurant at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.

The guest poets for the Tues Nov 10 will be Judith Beveridge (Sydney) and Stephen Edgar (Sydney).

Event : Poetry at The Gods
Venue: The Gods Café/Bar at the Australian National University
Address: ANU Arts Centre. ANU, Canberra
across the quadrangle from the Student Union near Sullivans Creek.

Dinner: Light meals are available from 6pm.
Please book at The Gods on 6248 5538.
Patrons intending to eat are asked to arrive by 6.30 to ensure that the readings can begin at 8pm.

Poetry: reading from 8.00 pm. Entry fee: $5.
Seating is limited to 80 people.
To be sure of hearing a particular poet it is advisable to eat at the venue beforehand but ‘listening only’ 'non-eating' seats can also be booked.

Organiser Geoff Page
- book directly by phoning the Gods Café/Bar Tel.6248 5538
— or email Geoff if you want to join one of his tables at gpage40@bigpond.net.au

Sponsors: Aldo Giurgola, Collaery Lawyers, Daltons Books, z4 Wines, artsACT

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In Melbourne – Tues 8 Dec. Christmas Reading from Melbourne Poets Union
*/MPU: A public voice and opportunities for all poets!

POETS@WATSONIA. Poets@Watsonia (Branch of Melbourne Poets Union)

Date: Tuesday December 8th
Event : Christmas Reading and celebration
+ open readers and music
Cost: $4 Light Refreshments.
Contact: Wendy 9467 8249 Christina 9432 7484

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In Sydney – Poets Dinner – Tues 8th December
Theme: Christmas Cheer

Time: 6.00 – 8.00 pm
Venue: Club Swans, (100 metres from Kings Cross Station)
Address: 28 Darlinghurst Road,
Kings Cross
Cost: $15 pp covers finger food and a glass of vino
Payment: in person, cash only and before 4th December
$15 in cash to
Macleay Bookshop,
103 Macleay Street,
Potts Point NSW

The Poets Dinner was initiated by Narelle Ryan with some help from her friends – all those interested in poetry are welcome to read their own or others’ work.
There is a different theme and voluntary convenor for each dinner.

Newcomers to the Potts Point, Elizabeth Bay and Kings Cross area and those new to the suburb of Poetry are especially welcome.

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Ekphrasis In Sydney on Sunday 13th December – DiVerse poets reading specially written poetry on the artworks of Nora Heysen

Venue: The SH Ervin Gallery – National Trust of Australia
Address: Watson Road,
Observatory Hill,
The Rocks, NSW 2000

Date: Sunday the 13th of December
Time: 3.00pm
Cost $7 general admission, $5 seniors & concession card holders
$4 national trust members
Enquiries Phone: (02) 9258 0123 Contact: Leah Haynes

DiVerse will perform their specially written poetry on the artworks of Nora Heysen, from her exhibition Light and Life. Receive a free booklet of the DiVerse poetry and images.

Poetry transcribed from painting and drawings, known as an Ekphrasis has a long tradition, going back to the ancient Greeks. Think of Homer’s writings, Keats and his Ode on a Grecian Urn.
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In Hobart – Tuesday 15th December
LITERARY LARK – The Tasmanian Writers' Centre End-of-Year Literary Lark! You are all welcome for free drinks and refreshments, to hear works from the fabulous Tasmanian writers who launched new books during 2009. Celebrate the strength of Tasmanian writing with the official launch of the Writers' Centre Summer Reading broadsheet. (By the way, it's not too late to include your 2009 book in our broadsheet! Just email bravo@tasmanianwriters.org.)
Date: Tuesday 15 December,
Time: 6pm - 8.30pm –
The Tasmanian Writers' Centre End-of-Year Literary Lark
Venue: the Lark Distillery,
Address : 14 Davey Street,
Hobart.
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In Hobart on 16th December at 6 pm Salamanca Collection Gallery
Poetic responses from Lyn Reeves and Liz McQuilkin

Venue: Salamanca Collection Gallery
Address: 91 Salamanca Place,
Hobart
Tel: 03 6224 0029
Email: admin@tasmanianwriters.org

Hear poets Lyn Reeves and Liz McQuilkin responding to an exhibition by Katherine Cooper at Salamanca Collection gallery. Celebrate the last reading for the year in this exciting partnership between the Tasmanian Writers¹ Centre and Salamanca Collection curated by Karen Knight. Enjoy a glass of
wine, hot chocolate and pre-dinner delectables.

Free event!
All welcome.
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In Adelaide - 26th January 2010 with Friendly Street Poets - poetry relevant & responsive to John Brack’s work
Friendly Street Poets at the Art Gallery of South Australia
Iconic, Australian artist John Brack’s major retrospective exhibition is showing at the Art Gallery of SA until January 31st 2010. It covers all the eras of Brack’s amazing working life. Friendly Street Poets are presenting poetry relevant & responsive to Brack’s work. The final reading is on:

Date: Tuesday 26th January 2010
Time: 2– 2.30 pm
Venue: at the Art Gallery of SA,
Address: North Terrace
Adelaide (in the City).

Please come along & see the work of this brilliant artist and hear Friendly Street Poets perform poetry directly related to paintings & the times when they were created.
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In Sydney – Sunday 28 February will be the first reading of 2010 at the Brett Whiteley Studio in Surry Hills - held on the 4th Sunday of every month.

The Poets Union monthly poetry reading at the Brett Whiteley Studio

Event: Poets Union monthly reading with guest poets : Harbour City Poets
Date: Sunday 28 February.
Venue: Brett Whiteley Studio
Address: Raper Street, (off Devonshire Street and Esther Lane)
Surry Hills
Date: 2010 first reading guest poets will be Harbour City Poets- 4th Sunday of the month -
Time 2.00 – 3.30 pm

Convenor: Angela Stretch for Poets Union Inc.
Enquiries for 2010 : 0438 898 578

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Competitions and due dates for submissions:
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Applications due 7th December – Australia Council: $30,000 for artistic residencies
Connections Residency Program
Artists creating links with business and industry
The Australia Council for the Arts invites writers and illustrators to propose innovative residencies with business and industry for the Connections initiative.

The Connections Residency Program provides seed-funding of $30,000 for artistic residencies with non-arts businesses and industries. The program aims to foster new creative connections, sustainable relationships and mutual benefits for artists and business partners.

Writers and illustrators are invited to propose a residency with a non-arts business or industry partner of their choice. Residency placements should last at least 6 months, and residency hosts must bring significant cash or in-kind support, as well as access to suitable expertise and resources.

If you would like assistance in seeking a non-arts residency host, the Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF) is offering to facilitate artist/business partnerships as part of the Connections Residency Program. For more information about this service please contact your nearest AbaF representative.

Applications
For Connections guidelines, selection criteria and applications, and to find out about current residency projects, visit our website. Applications are due 7 December 2009.

Before applying, you should discuss your proposal with Australia Council staff:
• Kathryn Gray, Inter-Arts Office, ph 02 9215 9077 or email k.gray@australiacouncil.gov.au
• Thom Scire, Community Partnerships, ph 02 9215 9141 or email t.scire@australiacouncil.gov.au
• Kate Major, Visual Arts, 02 9215 9135 or email k.major@australiacouncil.gov.au

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Submissions invited from new and emerging poets – due 7 December, 2009
Due 7 December, 2009 OVERLAND JUDITH WRIGHT POETRY PRIZE
FOR NEW AND EMERGING POETS
Judith Wright, one of Australia’s greatest poets, had a long and fruitful connection with Overland, and her last published poem (which appeared in Overland in 1999), was entitled ‘To Younger Poets’.
Overland and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation have joined forces to create the Overland Magazine Judith Wright Prize for New and Emerging Poets.
Eligibility: Poets are eligible if they have not yet had a collection of their work commercially published.
Poems: A maximum of three unpublished poems is allowed per entry.
Two copies of each poem must be submitted.
The poet’s name must not appear on the manuscript, as all poems will be considered
anonymously.
Entry fee: The entry is to be accompanied by a $9.90 ($5.50 for Overland subscribers) administration
fee.
Prize: In 2009 the prize money is $3000, with two minor prizes of $500 each.
Judging: The poems will be judged by Overland’s poetry editor Keri Glastonbury, and the winning poems will be published in the magazine.
Publication: All submissions will be considered for publication in Overland.
Entry form: The entry form and guidelines are available at: www.overland.org.au

Mail to: Entries should be sent to:
‘Overland Judith Wright Poetry Competition’
VU–Footscray Park Campus
PO Box 14428
MELBOURNE VIC 8001
Entries due by 7 December 2009.
Winners will be announced at the 2010 Melbourne Emerging Writers’ Festival.
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Submissions invited and due 18 December for an anthology of poetic responses to the ‘settlement’ and exploration of Australia
Opportunity…
Puncher & Wattmann and the Poets Union are planning an anthology of poetic responses to the ‘settlement’ and exploration of Australia (tentatively entitled Antipodes).
Indigenous responses especially welcome.

Please send hard copy (up to 3 poems) to Margaret Bradstock .
Margaret Bradstock
Address: 2/302 Alison Road,
COOGEE NSW 2034

Due date for submissions: 18th December for consideration.
Enclose an SSAE for the outcome, contact details (including email) and a brief biography (5 lines).
Pre-published work may be submitted with a short acknowledgement of previous name and date of publication.

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Submissions invited for 2010 UNSW Literary Fellowship



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Submissions invited for 2010 Mary Gilmore Poetry Prize

Mary Gilmore Poetry Prize Entries are invited for the 2010 Mary Gilmore Poetry Prize.
The Prize is awarded every two years by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) for the best first book of poetry published by an Australian in the preceding two years – in this case the calendar years 2008 and 2009.
This is a prestigious poetry prize which has helped the careers of many now well-known poets, including Jan Owen, Judith Beveridge, Alison Croggon, Lucy Dougan, and David McCooey; the prize also draws attention to their publishers. ASAL will meet the cost of the winning poet attending and providing a reading of his or her work at its conference to be held in early July 2010.

Eligible publishers or poets are asked to submit three copies of each eligible book to:
Dennis Haskell
English & Cultural Studies (M202)
University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
CRAWLEY WA 6009

Any queries about the prize can be sent to Dennis Haskell at the above address or dhaskell@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
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Submissions invited - Mascara has expanded…
Call for submissions for Mascara Literary Review

Mascara Poetry has recently expanded into Mascara Literary Review and is now accepting submissions of short fiction and essays (as well as poetry).

We also have a new website: www.mascarareview.com.
Mascara Literary Review is an online literary journal particularly interested in the work of contemporary Asian (as well as Australian and Indigenous) writers.

We are able to pay: $75 for two or more poems, $50 for reviews and essays.
For full submission details visit: www.mascarareview.com/submissions.html.
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Submissions invited for Goolwa Festival in South Australia next April 23-26, 2010
Message from the Australian Poetry Centre seeking submissions and ideas for the Goolwa Festival
Dear Members/Subscribers,
As you may be aware, we are holding a National Poetry Festival in Goolwa, South Australia next year (April 23-26).
We are currently finalising the program, which includes a number of international and local poets (from all over Australia) reading and discussing their work, as well as participating in forums, panels and discussion about poetry and poetry-related activity.
And we would like to involve YOU and your ideas!
We are seeking proposals for events, activities, talks, workshops, launches and ideas for the program - for people of all ages, interests and backgrounds. The APC would like to make the festival completely inclusive to involve as many people interested in poetry as possible, so we need ideas, though there are some criteria we would love you to consider:
1. Your event/activity/idea should be held in Goolwa (or surrounding area) between April 23-26 (Friday-Monday inclusive) or at least involve people who will be in Goolwa during that time (online ideas are welcomed)
2. It must be self-sufficient requiring minimal external resources (other than the venue, which we will provide). The resources required for your event or activity (including people to run it) need to be sourced by you or your organisation/team.
3. It must be something you are passionate about and believe people will be interested in or want to attend (and thoughts about how/where you will attract your audience should be noted in your proposal).
4. It must be financially viable and thoughts about this should be noted in your proposal. The APC has funds to support events during the festival, but these funds are limited and we would like to work with you to combine/share resources for the mutual benefit of you, your event, the APC and people attending the festival.
Please email your proposal to paul@australianpoetrycentre.org.au, supplying your contact details along with your reasons for wanting to be involved.
Look forward to hearing your ideas.
Paul Kooperman, Acting Director, Australian Poetry Centre
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Call for submissions for new on-line magazine: Islet

Islet: a free online journal of micro works from emerging writers and visual artists.
An initiative developed and supported by Island magazine.
Call for submissions
Islet is a new online companion to Island magazine's existing print journal, and will publish a free quarterly collection of works by emerging writers and visual artists. Islet accepts poetry, fiction, and reviews, with size the only limitation: we are committed to publishing small works.
Maximum lengths: poetry -- 25 lines; fiction -- 600 words; reviews -- 400 words. Our pay rates are $50 per poem and $75 per prose work (fiction or review). For submissions or more information, contact the editor at islet.online@utas.edu.au . Until the website is live, detailed submission guidelines will be temporarily available, from the end of October, at http://www.islandmag.com
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Submissions now open for Cordite Poetry Review
Writing haikus, snryus or other ultra-short poems?
Submissions are now open for the 31st issue of Cordite – EPIC.
Details available at www.cordite.org.au

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Submissions invited from November 15
The Margaret Reid Poetry Contest will re-open on November 15!
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Poetry Competition for School Students – submissions due by 8 Jan 2010
it's that time of the year again - Adelaide Plains Poets are seeking poems for our annual poetry competition. There is a $500+ prize pool, with no entry fee for Primary School or Secondary School students.
$5.00 entry fee for the Open Section,
Entries close 8 January 2010. Entry form and guidelines are available at the website below,
or contact Carolyn Gordon on (08) 85272412; jeebers@bigpond.com ;
30 Germantown Road
REDBANKS SA 5502.
The theme is Life, the Universe and Everything.
and winners will be announced in early March 2010
Carolyn Cordon
http://carolyn-poeticpause.blogspot.com/
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e-zines and e-anthologies for poets
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Folk Odyssey – The Magazine
http://www.folkclub.com/folkodyssey/

As you browse Folk Odyssey – the Magazine you will discover that several sections offer an invitation for you to contribute your work to this enterprise.

You may do this in the form of
-a Letter to the Editor,
-an article for Features,
-information for Event Horizon,
-photographs for FolkShot Gallery,
-poetry
-autobiography for Poet in Profile
-a story for StoryBoard.

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The Compulsive Reader News
maggieball@compulsivereader.com
http://www.compulsivereader.com/html

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Call for submissions to Islet
- new online publishing space from Island Magazine

A message from Anica Boulanger-Mashberg, the editor of Island magazine's new online publishing space. They are hoping to have the first issue up by the end of the year, and while they are commissioning writers for this issue, they're welcoming submissions now for future issues.
Islet: a free online journal of micro works from emerging writers and visual artists.
An initiative developed and supported by Island magazine.
Islet is a new online companion to Island magazine's existing print journal, and will publish a free quarterly collection of works by emerging writers and visual artists.
Islet accepts poetry, fiction, and reviews, with size the only limitation: we are committed to publishing small works.

Maximum lengths: poetry -- 25 lines; fiction -- 600 words; reviews -- 400 words.
Our pay rates are $50 per poem and $75 per prose work (fiction or review).

For submissions or more information, contact the editor at islet.online@utas.edu.au .
Until the website is live, detailed submission guidelines will be temporarily available, from the end of October, at http://www.islandmag.com

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A new web anthology saunters the sand with some of Australia’s leading poets.
Guide to Sydney Beaches - http://sydneybeaches.tripod.com/guide.htm - is aimed at an audience that may not normally access this artform.

This is a driftwood concept – people seeking information about a certain beach stumble across this collection & discover fine Aust poetry. 20 great beaches, 30 superb poets. Hit numbers indicate it is already a huge success. This will increase as we move into Spring.
The anthology is from Meuse Press, edited by PU member Les Wicks.
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Jacket Magazine- Message from Editor, John Tranter and Assoc. Editor, Pam Brown -
Announcing Jacket 37 -- Early 2009 Like the 2004 Hubble Ultra Deep Field image, http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2004/07/image/a/format/large_web/
... Jacket glitters with constellations and galaxies of luminous and sometimes bewildering insights: Catch it now, before it swims out of your ken: http://jacketmagazine.com/37/index.shtml
Visit their new Jacket Notes pages: readings, new books & magazines, blogs, etc. http://sites.google.com/site/jacket-notes/Home
Message from John Tranter: “PS: I'll be away until early December, so the news sections are closed until then. “
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Poetica Radio National program www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/poetica/
Australia-wide Poetry program- every Saturday at 3.05 pm and repeated Thursdays at 3.05 pm POETICA PRESENTED BY BRENT CLOUGH AND MIKE LADD,
SATURDAY AT 3.05 PM, REPEATED 3.05 PM THURSDAY.
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MELALEUCA
Melaleuca is a free e-zine of Australian poetry, delivered monthly
through your email in-box. For submissions and subscriptions, contact
the editor, Phillip A. Ellis, at phillip.a.ellis@gmail.com
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From PU member and WA poet Janet Jackson
'Coracle: Selected poems 1991-2007' by Janet Jackson now has a webpage
Read a sample poem from Janet Jackson's first full-length collection, 'Coracle: Selected poems 1991-2007', and find out where to get it or order your copy online.
www.proximitypoetry.com/coracle.html
Janet Jackson: Words with attitude & soul Poems Performances Workshops Courses
Creative, technical and corporate writing. Editing.
www.proximitypoetry.com (Poetry)
Perth Poetry Club: www.perthpoetryclub.com

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PressPress Chapbook Award winner 2009,
WA writer Scott-Patrick Mitchell - songs for the ordinary mass.
Mitchell’s chapbook songs for the ordinary mass is available now online from www.presspress.com.au or Planet Books in Mt Lawley in Western Australia.
News from Fremantle Press
NEWS: Shorelines 2 - poetry winners announced
Scott-Patrick Mitchell, James Quinton and Emma Rooksby will feature in Shorelines 2, a collection of works by emerging poets to be published by Fremantle Press in 2010. Guest editor and poet Tracy Ryan said the editorial committee was spoilt for choice ...
Read More
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Keep up with Aesthetica and the latest arts and culture happenings at aestheticamagazine.blogspot.com
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if: book Australia - new Australian centre of excellence for digital literature

The Queensland Writers Centre Management Committee Chair, Theodora Le Souquet, and CEO, Kate Eltham, announced the launch of the Australian Institute of the Future of the Book or “if:book Australia” at the Melbourne Writers Festival The State Of Digital Publishing industry seminar on Thursday 27 August.

Based in Brisbane, if: book Australia is only the third centre of excellence of its kind for digital literature established in the world, after the New York and London Institutes. It is a Queensland Writers Centre international initiative. You can check out the UK branch here and US branch here.

if: book Australia will promote new forms of digital publishing and explore ways to boost connections between writers and audiences.

The first project for if:book Australia will be a national seminar series delivered in 2010 called Writers and Digital Markets. Supported and funded by the Literature Board of the Australia Council, the program will inform Australian writers about new opportunities to create and publish digital content.

if:book Australia will function as a ‘think-and-do tank’ and Queensland Writers Centre is seeking partners from across the publishing, education and media sectors who are interested in collaborative programs and research.

Queensland Writers Centre works to advance the recognition and enjoyment of Queensland and Australian writers throughout Australia and the world.

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Australia Council’s publication: The writer’s guide to making a digital living
The Australia Council has been getting a great response to the Writer’s guide both locally and internationally since its publication in December 2008. You can read the guide online or download it for free from our site. http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/writersguide Explore the interactive New Writing Universe! http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/writersguide/newwritinguniverse/
Make use of the 300+ links on delicious, referenced throughout the guide. http://del.icio.us/Writersguide Also includes a link to the promo video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRueQ1Q6NGA
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Submissions from poets invited to monthly newsletter for HIGHWAY NEWS which promotes the re-introduction of rail, aware that investment must go to large-scale low carbon projects - without expecting a carbon price to be a substantial factor.

What does this have to do with poets?

At the end of HIGHWAY NEWS , Carolyn van Langenberg likes to promote a poet. Thus far, she has drawn attention to local resident and internationally renowned poet Pam Brown. In True Thoughts, the poem train, train is about travelling from Blackheath to Central. Spot on!

Then, in a manner of absolute serendipity, she discovered Les Wicks is going west, sponsored by CountryLink. Les will liaise with rural poets and learn the far horizon gaze. That’s a privilege!

So if you have any connection with rail, a low carbon sponsorship, a book of poems or a poem in a book about rail, she’ll draw attention to you and your work at the end of the e-newsletter. That means one poet per month is advertised in an unlikely spot. At present, HIGHWAY NEWS circulation is 300+. It goes to politicians as well as those converted to a more sustainable way of life.

Send your rail poems to Carolyn van Langenberg cjrml@ozemail.com.au
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Other news for poets
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Congratulations to PU member Jean Kent
MEANJIN names JEAN KENT inaugural WINNER of
THE DOROTHY PORTER POETRY PRIZE
Meanjin is delighted to announce that the inaugural winner of the Dorothy Porter Poetry Prize for 2009 is Jean Kent, for her poem ‘The Polish Guitarist’s First Paris Concert’ (Vol 68/4).
The prize was run this year as a tribute to much-loved Australian poet, Dorothy Porter, and her legacy of work, and is co-sponsored by Porter’s agent, Jenny Darling & Associates. Kent’s poem was chosen by judges Andrea Goldsmith and Kristin Henry out of all the poems accepted for publication in Meanjin throughout 2009. She was presented with a $1,000 cash prize at an awards ceremony to be held at Gleebooks in Sydney on Saturday 14 November at 4pm. The event featured readings from Porter’s most recent collection, The Bee Hut, which was published by Black Inc. in September 2009. ‘The Polish Guitarist’s First Paris Concert’ will also be published in the forthcoming December edition of Meanjin.
Jean Kent has released three books of poetry, including Verandahs, which was recently republished by Picaro Press in its Art Box Series. Her fourth collection, Travelling with the Wrong Phrase Books, was highly commended for the 2008 Alec Bolton Prize. She lives at Lake Macquarie in NSW.
Meanjin is pleased to announce that the Dorothy Porter Prize will run again in 2010
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Congratulations to Christine Paice
poet and long term member of the Poets Union who was the winner of the 2009 Josephine Ulrick Poetry prize with her poem The Ministry Of Going In.

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VOICEWORKS MAGAZINE TURNS 21
The Words We Found: the best writing from 21 years of Voiceworks magazine

Express Media’s flagship publication and Australia’s premier youth literary magazine Voiceworks is celebrating more than a generation of writers who have made their forays into publishing through Voiceworks.

Edited by Lisa Dempster, The Words We Found: the best writing from 21 years of Voiceworks magazine is Express Media’s coming-of-age anthology and, like all good 21st celebrations, it’s a fierce, flirtatious and furious record of our life so far.

The Age Journalist, Marieke Hardy says, ‘What resounds through each page is the song each writer sings through their craft – a dizzying cavalcade of thoughts, a profusion of wit. Breathtaking not only in its scope but in its ambition.’

The Words We Found will be available through all good bookshops and online at www.expressmedia.org.au Extract rights are also available.

For all media enquiries, please contact Bel Schenk, Artistic Director on 0431 054 190 artisticdirector@expressmedia.org.au

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In Florida, USA Palm Beach Poetry Festival January 18-23, 2010
Palm Beach Poetry Festival,
Delray Beach, Florida

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival has grown from a weekend event at Lynn University in January 2005 into a six day series of events including eight workshops with individual conferences; craft lectures, panel discussions, readings and performances, open to the public.

Because the festival will be participating in the Miami Book Fair, we are extending our application deadline from November 2 to November 16, 2009. Workshop acceptances and assignments will be emailed shortly thereafter.

Those who have already applied, or who apply by midnight, November 2nd, will be given preference in workshop placement compared to those who apply during the extension period.

Thanks to a generous donation, a limited number of partial scholarships may be available for the Intermediate Workshop with Mary Cornish, and the Advanced Workshops with Kevin Young and David Wojahn. Scholarships are for those who are unable to participate in a workshop without financial assistance.

Participants will have time to focus on their work with a brilliant poet as a guide and teacher, in the company of other talented poets. Participant tuition includes the workshop, a one-on-one conference with the workshop leader, attendance at the gala and admission to all festival readings, panel discussions and social events. For details, see the guidelines on our website.
This year's workshops are:
The Poem's Intention with Stephen Dobyns
Toward New Poems with Carolyn Forché
Discovery and Power with Marie Howe
Word By Word, Line By Line with Thomas Lux
Enhanced Techniques with David Wojahn
Poems Of Praise with Kevin Young
Poetry and the Visual Image with Mary Cornish
Masters As Models with Ilya Kaminsky
Apply before the November 2nd deadline. Review the application guidelines. A limited number of partial scholarships may be available. Email srw@palmbeachoetryfestival.org to request more information. The festival week is an extraordinary opportunity. Don't miss out!
Please visit their website, www.palmbeachpoetryfestival.org for complete workshop descriptions, faculty biographies, application guidelines and an easy-to-use online fill-in application form.
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CONTEMPORARY POETICS
"Redefining the Boundaries of Contemporary Poetics, in Theory & Practice, for the Twenty-First Century"

Edited by Louis Armand
ISBN 0-8101-2359-2 (paperback). 384pp.
Publisher: Northwestern University Press, Evanston.

http://nupress.northwestern.edu

Exploring the boundaries of one of the most contested fields of literary study--a field that in fact shares territory with philology, aesthetics, cultural theory, philosophy, and even cybernetics--this volume gathers a body of critical writings that, taken together, broadly delineate a possible poetics of the contemporary. In these essays, the most interesting and distinguished theorists in the field renegotiate the contours of what might constitute "contemporary poetics," ranging from the historical advent of concrete poetry to the current technopoetics of cyberspace. Concerned with a poetics that extends beyond our own time, as a mere marker of present-day literary activity, their work addresses the limits of a writing "practice"--beginning with Stephane Mallarme in the late nineteenth century--that engages concretely with what it means to be contemporary.
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Congratulations to Lucy Holt - The 2009 NSW Premiers Literary Awards were announced at the Sydney Writers Festival.

Congratulations to Lucy Holt on her receipt of the Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry for her collection ‘Man Wolf Man’. Lucy was a 2004 Poets Union ‘Australian Young Poets Fellowship’ holder and was mentored by the Poets Union. In 2005 the Poets Union published a chapbook of Lucy’s poems ‘Stories of A Bird’. The Poets Union is committed to raising funds to develop our mentoring, Poetry Fellowships, Poetry Scholarships, Residencies and Prizes. The full list of winners of The NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and more information about the awards can be found here: http://www.pla.nsw.gov.au/
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Congratulations to Jean Valentine - Jean Valentine has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Wallace Stevens Award from the Academy of American Poets. The $100,000 prize recognizes outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry.
and to Harryette Mullen Harryette Mullen has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Academy Fellowship. The Fellowship is awarded to a poet for distinguished poetic achievement and provides a stipend of $25,000. The Academy’s Board of Chancellors, a body of sixteen eminent poets, selects the Wallace Stevens Award and Academy Fellowship recipients. Who says poetry isn’t profitable? Full story is here: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21013
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Congratulations to Forward Prize Winner: Don Paterson Scottish poet Don Paterson has triumphed over one of the strongest poetry shortlists in years to take the Forward prize for best collection with Rain. Paterson, 45, beat a line-up of acclaimed poets including Peter Porter, Sharon Olds and Glyn Maxwell to win the £10,000 award for Rain, a continuation of his personal and philosophical exploration of the world around him.
and to Emma Jones Emma Jones's The Striped World, inspired by her home country of Australia, was named winner of the £5,000 best first collection prize. Hart called her "an ambitious and intriguing new voice" whose poems "are both elliptical and visionary – inhabiting a parallel world of strange disjointed images within which we nevertheless find echoes of familiar experience".

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Best wishes,
Cathy Bray
for Brook Emery and the Poets Union committee,
Poets Union Inc,
PO Box 755,
POTTS POINT NSW 1335

Tel. (02) 9357 6602 (Office Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
Email: info@poetsunion.com
Please visit the Poets Union website: www.poetsunion.com