Tuesday 2 April: Talking Writing: Indigenous Languages. Join Writing NSW as we celebrate the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages with a special Talking Writing event. This night of readings and discussion will include Gamilaroi and Anaiwon playwright Cathy Craigie, Gamilaraay author and linguist Donna McLaren, Gunai children’s book author Kirli Saunders, Darug singer and songwriter Jacinta Tobin, and Yuwaalaraay songwriter Nardi Simpson. Writing NSW, Callan Park at 6.30-8pm. Free for members. $10 for non-members. We ask both members and non-members to register their attendance here.
Tuesday 2 April: Book Launch for The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta. From the bestselling author of Looking for Alibrandi comes a perfectly crafted novel about families, relationships and the true nature of belonging. Melina will be in conversation with Deputy Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Spectrum section, Melanie Kembrey. St Stephen’s Church Hall, Erskineville at 6:30pm. Tickets $5
Wednesday 3 April: Deadline for submission to Audrey Daybook Issue 11. Open to fiction stories between 800-1000 words, inspired by one of the puzzle names listed on their website. Winners will be published and placed in the running for a $1000 cash prize.
Friday 5 April: Author Talk, Rise and Resist: How to Change the World with Clare Press. Join Press as she discusses the formation of a new counterculture, united by a grand purpose: to rethink how we live today to build a more sustainable tomorrow. Beach Hotel, Byron Bay at 10-11am. Free, bookings essential
Saturday 6 April: Woollahra Libraries Autumn Book Fair. Have a rummage through an amazing variety of ex-Library books and magazines, including children’s and adult. Live music and free face painting for children. From 10am-4pm at Woollahra Libraries, Double Bay.
Saturday 6 April: Writing Workshop, Introduction to Life Writing by Booranga Writers’ Centre. The old aphorism for budding writers is ‘write what you know’: a cliché, perhaps, but who knows your life story better than you? If you think you have a story to tell, but aren’t sure where to begin, then this life-writing workshop is for you. Eastern Riverina Arts, Wagga Wagga at 2-4pm. Tickets $26.09
Wednesday 10 April: Book Launch for My Name is Revenge by Ashley Kalagian Blunt. A literary thriller novella set in 1980s Sydney and drawn from true events, My Name is Revenge is the story of a young man seeking justice. Book to be launched by author Emily Maguire at Acre Eatery, Camperdown from 6.30-8pm. Free. RSVP here.
Wednesday 10 April and Thursday 11 April: Writings from the South Public Literary Readings. Featuring writers from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, this event celebrates the ‘South’ as a special zone of literary production and introduces audiences to luminaries of poetry and prose. These public readings accompany a colloquium for international and Australian writers on the inventiveness and creative skill of the South; they offer a rare occasion to hear some of the finest writers working in our hemisphere. The State Library of NSW, in the Dixson Room from 6-7.30pm. Free. RSVP here.
Friday 12 April: Deadline for submission to RABBIT. Open to nonfiction poetry for Issue 28: The Politics Issue. Submissions must respond to the set question and be 50 words max.
Friday 12 April: Applications close for Gunnedah Shire Council’s 2019 Arts and Cultural Funding Program. Aimed at enriching the artistic and cultural landscape of the Gunnedah Shire, the Program supports new and existing community-driven projects, initiatives and events that increase the profile and participation of local arts and culture.
Saturday 13 April: Creative Writing Workshop: Character Development with Claire Zorn. Award-winning author Claire Zorn explores the techniques involved in creating rich characters while giving insight into her own creative process. Wollongong Central Library at 1-4pm. Tickets $20.
Sunday 14 April: Deadline for The Monologue Adventure: Voices of Women 2019. The Monologue Adventure invites all women writers to submit up to three unpublished monologues, which will be performed by emerging and established actors on Mother’s Day. Verity La Creative Journal will select, pay and publish the top three writers performed at The Monologue Adventure.
Wednesday 17 April: Bad Women Book Club at Better Read Than Dead, Newtown. Female characters are often labelled “unlikable” or “problematic,” purely for being three-dimensional. The Bad Women Book Club, hosted by author Lauren Sams meet once a month to dissect a different book with a female character deemed difficult at the centre. Everyone is welcome. This month they’ll be discussing The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald. Free. RSVP here.
Sunday 28 April: Applications close for the Emerging Writers’ Fellowship. This fellowship will see an emerging writer spend up to three months working in a dedicated space in the Victoria State Library, immersing themselves in the Library’s collection as well as learning, developing and networking at the Emerging Writers’ Festival. The fellow will receive a $5000 grant to contribute toward travel costs and living expenses, a golden ticket to EWF and home-stay accommodation for some of their time in Melbourne. They will attend the Emerging Writers’ Festival from 19–29 June, then spend up to three months following the festival working from the State Library.
Monday 29 April – Sunday 5 May: Sydney Writers’ Festival. Each year, Sydney Writers’ Festival presents more than 300 events, attracting audiences of up to 100,000 for a week-long conversation of books and ideas. From 29 April to 5 May 2019, thousands of readers and hundreds of writers will come together at the Festival hub at Carriageworks and venues across the city such as Sydney Town Hall and City Recital Hall. Head to their website for the full program.
