Photo from Thylazine poetry magazine
Announcing the return of the Martha Richardson Memorial Poetry Prize, run by Ballarat Writers to honour the memory of poet, Martha Richardson.
Poetry to 40 lines, open theme
First prize: $1000 AUD
Judge: Judith Rodriguez
Entry $10 per poem
Closing date: 15 October 2010
Results announced online December 2010
COMPETITION GUIDELINES

Competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 years, including overseas applicants
Entries must be the original work of the applicant
Entries must not have been published, broadcast, or won a prize in any competition; presentation on the internet via …

Join us at 7:30 on Wednesday 8th September at Crags Royal Hotel in Lydiard Street to hear Ballarat Writers’ own Myra King read from her new short story collection, City Paddock, and to talk about her writing.
Myra’s short stories and poems have won awards in national and international competitions and been published in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, USA, and also online.
Paramount to her writing philosophy is the enjoyment of the reader, to make them laugh or cry or at least lift them from the mundane.
All royalties from sales of …

Dinner bookings are now closed, but Saturday program online bookings are open until midday, Friday September 3, unless sold out. We have a big crowd already and it’s shaping up to be a great festival.
For more information on the festival and to book tickets, click on the link in the menu bar above.

Tickets are now on sale for the Thursday Night Swing Club: Going Down Swinging No.30 Melbourne Launch at Melbourne’s Toff In Town on Thursday 2 September 2010, from 8pm, part of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival!
For your entertainment: queen of spoken soul Maxine Beneba Clarke and jive talkin’ Ezra Bix will be premiering GDS-commissioned spoken word performances. On storytelling, the master of smooth, Paul Mitchell, and the most beautiful thing in the bar, Eleanor Jackson. And! Very special guest virtuosos of the spoken groove, Emily XYZ and Myers Bartlett (USA).
Your host, …

The historic goldfields town of Maldon is holding its second celebration of the life and times of Henry Handel Richardson, her literary works and family life, focusing on the time she spent in Maldon during the 1880s when her mother, Mary Richardson, held the position of Maldon postmistress.
Events will run from Fri evening 15th Oct – Sunday morning 17th Oct.
A Picnic lunch is planned for the Saturday at the Maldon Rotunda in the Shire gardens.
We will provide you with a list of local provedores, where lunches can be purchased.
The dinner …

Anthony Woodward teaches drawing, digital art and print making at the Arts Academy, University of Ballarat. He is well known in the Art community as a talented cartoonist and producer of Zines (self published comics). Anthony is currently running cartoon drawing workshops at the Ballarat Art Gallery.
Wearing his other hat, Anthony is also a ‘roving’ Librarian at the Arts Academy and catalogues Zines for the State Library of Victoria.
Anthony will be presenting a lunch time talk at the SMB Library about Australian cartoon drawing past and present.
Please bring your lunch …

Sunday 1st or Tuesday 3rd of August
Rose Pruning Workshops in Creswick. August in Creswick is all about roses, so why not
learn first hand about the mysteries of rose pruning from Judy Morrison – Mistydowns Nursery.
These will be hands on workshops where everyone will get the opportunity to actually prune roses!
Assemble – The Tangled Maze, 2301 Midland H’way, Springmount 3363 (Creswick East) Cost: $25.00 per session (only one required) Time: 9.30 am. Bookings essential: 5345 2847
Numbers are limited to ensure everyone gets the opportunity for one-on-one tuition with Judy.
Lunch …

Join Hannah Rachel Bell to hear about her work with David Mowaljarlai and Tim Winton.
In Hannah Rachel Bell’s four decade friendship with Ngarinyin lawman David Mowaljarlai, she had to confront the cultural assumptions that sculpted her way of seeing. The journey was life-changing. When she returned to teaching in 2001 Tim Winton’s novels featured in the curriculum. She recognised an eerie familiarity and thought Winton must have been influenced by traditional elders to express such an ‘indigenous’ perspective. She wrote to him. This resulted in 4 years of correspondence and …