So, it’s about time I revisited this site, updated its look and started, like, actually posting stuff here. I mean, new stuff. So, this week, this site will be UNDER CONSTRUCTION while I work on that. Gotany suggestions? I’d love to hear from you.
Author: nike sulway
GenreCon Australia
I hope you’ll be attending GenreCon this year — it’s going to be an amazing event, with a rich and diverse program of panels, discussions, workshops, debates and other wonders. I’ll be making two ‘official’ appearances. The Joy of Writing workshop will take place from 1:30 – 5:30 pm on Friday, 11th October at the…
Commonwealth Writers Prize — Short Story
Commonwealth Writers has re-focused its prizes to concentrate on the Short Story. It will no longer offer the Commonwealth Book Prize. Commonwealth Writers develops the craft of individual writers and builds communities of emerging voices which can influence the decision-making processes affecting their lives. The Short Story Prize aims to identify talented writers who will go on…
DIY Mentorship, Week Two: A Map
“Maps are essential. Planning a journey without a map is like building a house without drawings.” [Mark Jenkins, The Hard Way: Stories of Danger, Survival, and the Soul of Adventure] This is the second in a series of posts designed to help you focus your writing. Last week, your homework was designed around making an…
DIY Mentorship, Week One: Assessment
Not everyone wants or needs to work with a mentor, but many writers feel the need to refocus their writing practice at some point. This is the first in a series of posts that, together, will comprise a kind of DIY mentorship. The DIY mentorship isn’t designed to replace a real mentorship, which also includes…
The Big Pineapple
Recently, I was delighted to publish an article, in SALT magazine, on a real Sunshine Coast icon: The Big Pineapple. The article is largely about the early history of Sunshine Plantation, which was founded by Bill and Lyn Taylor in the 1970s. The article draws on a range of sources, including archives in the fabulous…
Producer/Product/Publisher + Online Publishing
This isn’t really a fully-blown, well thought out post. It’s just a skeleton placeholder for some ideas I’ve been thinking about. Well, when I say *some* ideas, I really mean *an* idea. About publishing. I was thinking about why I’m so resistant to the hoopla around self-publishing, particularly ePublishing, and how many writers, particularly aspiring…
How to Write a Story For A Child
Instructions for writing a story for a small child, as a gift. First, consider the child. Is it small and sticky, or tall and clumsy? Does it prefer pickles, or ice cream? Pants or sequins? Measure it: first, from top to bottom, second, from belly button around to belly button. Is said belly button an…
Rupetta – reviews and copies
Well, it’s not every day you receive a lovely full page review in the national newspaper. George Williams reviewed Rupetta in The Australian this weekend. A lovely review. I was working in the kitchen when I received a message on my phone telling me to check out the weekend paper. I was expecting to find…
On reading Anne Frank/On censorship
When I was staying in Amsterdam, I visited Anne Frank House. It was a quiet January morning. I arrived early and wandered through the exhibition, which includes both introductory material about Anne, her family, and the other inhabitants of the Achterhuis during the war, the attic rooms themselves, and (once you’ve left those small, dark…