Port Writers’ Open Writing Competition launched on 1st June 2023. Your entry needs to be in by the closing time – Midnight 31st July 2023 You’re almost finished, aren’t you? Best get a move on! Winners will be announced in September. Successful entries may be selected for inclusion in a future anthology. Only winners are notified. See all the terms and conditions along with the entry form here.
Genre fiction is writing books of a similar subject, similar length, and similar style. It is about writing to meet the promise to the reader that when they buy a book it is recognisable in a genre. However, every story is different despite the common belief that all romances/crime/westerns are the same. The workshop will emphasise romance fiction and contemporary women’s fiction. This is a hands-on workshop with local author, Fiona McArthur. Fiona has had 54 books published in 23 years. In 2020 she won the Ruby Award for Contemporary Romantic Book. JOIN US on Saturday afternoon, 22 July from… Read More »Genre Fiction with Fiona McArthur
Humour is a device that can enhance a written piece of work, or it can detract from it. It’s not just about writing a comedic piece, it’s about lightening a mood, illuminating a character, and implying a situation or a relationship. Humour can achieve many things. On Saturday, March 25th from 1 pm we found out more about the use of humour in writing. Jacqui Winn, a successful author and facilitator, took us through the ins and outs of Writing Humour. See notes from one of the attendees here – https://melaniewass.wordpress.com/.
For us to compile written works that celebrate this wonderful region we call home, we need to cover the costs of printing and distribution. Putting the words together is free, organising the contributed words into a semblance of readable form can be done with love from our volunteers, but the tasks needed to get the words out into other people’s hands needs hard cash. Our small community writers’ group has big plans for 2023 and beyond to publish the stellar works of members and to give back to the area by creating works by/for/about them. You can help us do… Read More »We Need Your Vote Because …
… and we start early! Our November meeting is given over to a Christmas lunch at a local eatery. Every year we do something different to mark the occasion: this year we each added a line to a story to make a complete narrative over lunch. The end result may not make the Pulitzer, Booker or Miles Franklin lists but gee we had fun doing it – trying to be thoughtfully creative while dodging salad wraps, calamari, burgers and assorted drinks amongst the tinsel and decorations is a juggle and we were up to it. Christmas always rustled. It rustled… Read More »It’s a Writerly Christmas at Port Writers
Come and dive deep into the Various Paths to Publication with multiple published author, Anna Featherstone. Anna has traveled both the traditional and self-published routes and has researched what works and how to make the journey easier. No matter whether you write fiction or non-fiction, the principles are the same. Explore the many ways authors can now publish, the benefits and shortcomings of those methods as well as literary and foreign rights agents. By the time you finish your manuscript, writing will seem like the easy part! Publishing is a multi-faceted process and every writer will benefit from gaining knowledge… Read More »Anna Featherstone on Publishing
Writing short stories sound so easy … it’s only a few thousand words on a page, not double-digit thousands, right? A lot of people diminish the effort required to produce a highly readable short story. Fortunately, though, there is something of a resurgence in the popularity of the form these days. When writing a novel one can get lost in literary form, tantalising description, full blown character development and take your time with the denouement. A short on the other hand has to create only enough character, scene, and plot to engage a reader without exploding into a myriad of… Read More »Writing the Short Story
PORT WRITERS brings successful memoirist, Kim Hodges, to workshop all about memoir. The idea of writing down your memories sounds great. But then it can become daunting: where do you start? how do you start? what do you include? what do you leave out? what about other people and their reactions? how do I write it? does it have to be entertaining? is it just a chronicle? … so many questions… The good news is – we have a lot of the answers. Join us in Port Macquarie for a live, in-person event where Kim will explain how she came… Read More »Memoir with Kim Hodges – March 26
Patron to Port Writers Inc, 2015 – 2021 A sign of having lived a rich and valued life is the impact you make on people: Laurie Barber made an impact. A quiet and unassuming man, he led a large life of service and significant achievement across different fields. Passing away recently, Laurie’s funeral was at 11.30 am Wednesday 23 February 2022. By 11.12 am, the entire seating in the chapel was filled by 100 family, friends and farewellers. By the time of his service, around 50 more people were seated or standing outside. A majority of those attending were Rotarians,… Read More »Farewell, Laurie Barber
AVAILABLE NOW Your own copy of the first-ever Port Writers Wall Calendar – it may become a collector’s edition 🙂 Black and White version with a month to a page, Port Writers event dates highlighted, a quote on each month to inspire you, space for monthly notes, a 2023 mini-calendar, and a place to reflect on the year and plan ahead. Stylishly produced and ready for you to use. Just $10 each – very affordable. $15 including postage. Email Melanie at portwritersinc@gmail.com for your order and we will get your calendar to you. Collect from Melanie or we can pop… Read More »Port Writers 2022 Wall Calendar