For the fourth year running, the Newcastle Writers Festival has co-sponsored a literary award with Spineless Wonders. The joanne burns Microlit Award offers cash prizes and publication for the most outstanding writing under 200 words on a set theme judged by Melbourne academic and author, Cassandra Atherton.

We have great pleasure in announcing the names of the winning entries of the National and Hunter categories of the NWF/joanne burns Microlit Award.

The National winner is Sydney-based writer, K.A. REES for her piece ‘No White M &Ms’ which is a reflection on the legacies of colonisation in Australia. Ms Rees receives a cash prize of $300.

The Hunter winner is SHAYNAH ANDREWS for ’The Ocean Has Made Promises’, a very relevant piece set in Stockton. Shaynah receives a cash prize of $300.

The Joynton Avenue Creative Centre is hosting an unmissable short film hackathon for three days only. Guided by seven mentors, each with years of experience within the filmmaking and screenwriting industries, participants will learn all the fundamentals of storytelling through film.

Each stage in the filmmaking process will be manoeuvred through so that by the end of the three days you’ll have a polished, award-worthy short film that might just ignite a newfound passion for phone-shot film.

After the huge success of the first hackathon event, you won’t want to miss your opportunity to get involved. 

This event has been postponed due to Coronavirus, but keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated.

Don't forget you can submit short films for Microflix 2020 up until August 1. Find out more.

Following the launch on March 2nd at Sparkke at the Whitmore, we are excited to announce our new publication Siarad by Caroline Reid. The collection of spoken word, prose poetry and microfiction speaks to the memories and emotions that move us through decades, continents and cultures. A truly incredible writer, Caroline has repeatedly been a finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam and has a play, Prayer to an Iron God, published by Currency Press.Being no stranger to mixing and moving across genre and form, Caroline has seamlessly blended the internal and external expressions of literature into one compelling collection in Siarad.

‘The word Siarad means ‘to talk’ in Welsh so celebrating this book echoes the traditions of this place and the people who refused to cede it, not just through celebrating stories but also through the performance of storytelling.’ – Rachel Mead

 Rachael Mead launched the book alongside readings by Emma Beech and author Caroline Read, with beverages and books on hand for purchase. If you missed out on purchasing one on the night, grab one while they're still hot on the Spineless Wonders shop.

 Praise for Siarad –

‘Psychedelic. Startling. Alive. This book takes you to places you never imagined you’d go, and some places you’ve already been, but thought you were alone when you were there. Caroline Reid is a fellow traveller in a chaotic world. She tells a woman’s story, but it is the story of us all.’

—Donna Ward, She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster’s Meditations on Life.

‘Quote’ unquote

"Our elected village and regional representatives are able to virtually attend distant conferences in ways that are similar, but of course not identical, to actual attendance. If they wish to go sightseeing, they can also do that virtually with a strong feeling of being truly there. Although they will not have the same experience as someone who actually visits and is fully present in a place, we believe their experience is as satisfying as the way people travelled in your time.

People who live distantly are able to develop strong friendships through communications media and can even make love virtually, if they wish. Of course, we realise and honour the fact that couples often form strong bonds. If two people develop a deep relationship apart, they are free to live together, but do so with the understanding that at least one of them will rarely visit their family and home community. That is the reality of our world at this time."

From The World to Come: Preface to a Selected History of the Twenty-First Century, by Lucy Greenwood.