Sydney Writers' Centre blog

Text Publishing is looking for outstanding kids/YA manuscripts

The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing is an annual prize awarded to an outstanding unpublished manuscript. It aims to discover more wonderful new books for young readers, by Australian and New Zealand writers. The winner will receive a publishing contract with Text and a $10,000 advance against royalties.

The Publisher at Text, Michael Heyward, hopes this award “will unearth some brilliant new writing for young readers, which we can take to the world as we have done for many adult writers on our list”.

Both published and unpublished writers of all ages are eligible to enter with works of fiction or non-fiction. Judged by a panel of editors from Text Publishing, the winner will be announced at the Australian Booksellers Association Conference to be held in Melbourne on 24–25 July 2011.

The 2011 entry form is available now to download here. Submissions will openon 2 May and close on 3 June 2011. To find out more about Text, have a look at their website.

Outstanding travel writing mentorship opportunity, and a trip to Turkey!

If you've got itchy feet and twitchy hands and you're ready to be a travel writer, then this competition may be the best possible catalyst around.

The Rough Guide travel book is offering a month long trip to Turkey for an aspiring travel writer, to be mentored by Terry Richardson who writes the Rough Guide books. You'll even be tasked with your own assignment in Turkey, for publication in the next Rough Guide to Istanbul.

To enter you need to submit a 500 word travel essay on one of the nominated topics and tell the team behind Rough Guides why you should be awarded the scholarship.

It looks awesome - and a few of the team here are also considering entering. So get to it!

The Melbourne Writers' Festival is looking for a General Manager

The Melbourne Writers' Festival is a must-attend for any book loving person who can get to Melbourne for a week, and they're looking for a General Manager, and a couple of interns.

You can head straight to the Melbourne Writers' Centre website, or read through the ad below:

General Manager
Melbourne, Australia

Now in its twenty-sixth year, Melbourne Writers Festival is the annual literary highlight of a city renowned for its voracious consumption of books, newspapers and magazines, its abundance of quality bookshops and flourishing independent publishing sector.

Each August more than 50,000 readers, writers and thinkers gather for 10 days of conversations, panel discussions, readings and lectures in a stimulating and festive environment that is the tangible evidence of why Melbourne was named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2008.

The General Manager plays a key role in the production of the festival and provides financial, legal and logistical management for the effective operation of the organisation both during the festival and year-round. The General Manager is charged with representing the festival in high-level negotiations with a range of festival partners.

Please contact admin@mwf.com.au for a full position description. Applications should include a CV and a written response to the selection criteria, which can be found in the position description.

Closing date for applications is 5pm Monday 21 February 2011.
Melbourne Writers Festival is an equal opportunity employer.


Internships
Every year, Melbourne Writers Festival employs a number of interns in areas such as programming, marketing and development. 

We offer on-the-job training, diverse project work, and a friendly and supportive atmosphere. As an intern, you'll have the opportunity to develop new skills, obtain course credits, attend selected festival events free of charge, and receive a reference upon completion.

Position descriptions and information about how to apply for internships will be posted this month. All internship positions are also advertised in our e-bulletin.

The Australian Book Review Sidney Myer Fund Editorial Internship

 

Australian Book Review, based in Melbourne, seeks applications for an Editorial Intern to help edit, produce and present Australia’s foremost independent literary magazine. This is a unique opportunity for recent university graduates seeking an entrée into publishing.

This Internship – worth $20,000 and supported by the Sidney Myer Fund – is currently the only intensive, paid editorial training program of its kind in Australian publishing. It reflects ABR’s long-standing commitment to fostering new editorial talent, and extends the magazine’s established volunteer intern program; widely regarded as a ‘finishing school’ for editing and publishing graduates.

ABR is a small and hard-working organisation, with a profound commitment to new writing and literary values. This is an excellent opportunity to refine your editorial skills and to work closely with leading writers and editors.

Applications (maximum five pages, including CV) are due by Friday, 18 February 2011.

Online Editor/Community Manager position available in Sydney

Dynamic Business is looking for an Online Editor/Community Manager. You can apply for the job here.

The job advertisement:

Online editor/community manager

Can you write compelling headlines, use social media in your sleep and manage online forums? Do you have a genuine interest in entrepreneurs and small business? This could be the job for you.

The soon to be relaunched www.dynamicbusiness.com.au needs a new online editor/community manager. This is an exciting opportunity for someone to help take our site to the next level and manage what we hope will be active new discussion forums and video content.

Responsibilities include:

*Writing and SEOing fresh news stories daily
*Coming up with strategies to increase traffic to the site
*Producing 2 eNewsletters per week
*Sourcing exclusive website content
*Managing the @dynamicbusiness Twitter feed and helping keep the Facebook and LinkedIn groups up to date
*Managing bloggers and contributors
*Interviewing successful entrepreneurs for profile pieces
*Attending launches and media events as the face of the website
*Managing forums to encourage discussions on small business topics
*Managing Google Analytics reporting
*Liaising with ad sales, production, our inhouse web developer and other editorial staff.

A key part of this role will be encouraging and managing active discussion forums on the site.

In return we offer a workplace culture that money just can’t buy at our North Sydney office and an above average salary.

Loyalty Media is a work hard, play hard employer. We are a boutique publishing house with a suite of custom published products, the market leading news stand title Dynamic Business magazine and a number of websites.

Please email a cover letter and resume by Friday 28 January 2011. Applications without cover letters will not be considered.

Jen Bishop, Publisher, jen.bishop@dynamicbusiness.com

-ends-

Not ready to go for a full time writing job, but still want to explore how to make a living from your writing as a freelancer? Explore our online or face-to-face Feature Writing course to start writing and earning extra money while maintaining your current job.

3 CAL NSW Premier’s Western Sydney Writers’ Fellowships $7000 available

The CAL NSW Premier’s Western Sydney Writers’ Fellowships are offering Three Fellowships of $7,000.

The Fellowships are open to writers at all stages of writing practice and experience, including emerging or established writers. Writers working in genres including fiction, non-fiction, journalism, poetry and song lyrics, writing for performance, writing for online or new media and other forms of creative writing, are welcome to apply. Illustrators and graphic designers with a demonstrated interest in narrative through visual media may also apply.

This is a new initiative of the Copyright Agency Limited in partnership with the Western Sydney Young People’s Literature Project.

There are two parts to each Fellowship:
1.    Development of your work as a writer
2.    Working with young people in Western Sydney

Applications are welcome from writers across Australia, however, a final decision on non-NSW-based applicants may be dependent upon the availability of funding to cover travel and accommodation. The successful applicants will be required to work with young people in Western Sydney as part of the requirements of the Fellowship.

One of the three Fellowships will be reserved for an applicant under the age of 30 provided the applicant also meets the other criteria at a high level.

Special consideration will be given to applicants from Western Sydney who meet the general selection criteria at a high level.

For more information or to request guidelines and an application form, click here or please contact:

Judith Ridge
Project Officer, Western Sydney Young People’s Literature Officer
E: judith.ridge@blacktown.nsw.gov.au
T: 02 9839 6079

Triple J is looking for a "next generation storyteller"

ABC media is advertising for a "next-generation storyteller" and cross-media reporter/producer for Triple J. We like to feature jobs for writers and story-tellers, so email us if you know one!

The job advertisement is below.

Cross Media Reporter, triple j, Ultimo

Job No.:

492131

Department:

Radio

Location:

Ultimo, Sydney

Work type:

Contract Full Time

• Contract Role for Approx. 14 Months
• $61,876 - $73,866 p.a. + super

Hack, triple j's daily youth affairs show, is seeking a next-generation storyteller. We're after a multi-skilled program maker to create stories across radio and online.

As a cross-media reporter, you will publish original stories to the flagship Hack radio show, including packages and live crosses. You will also publish multimedia showcases to the Hack website that involve photos, audio and video.

Your stories will originate in bold, accessible and relevant program ideas for young Australians, 18 - 24.

This position requires an advanced level of technical skill - audio editing, video shooting and editing online publishing - alongside proven editorial judgment and high level experience in researching and conducting interviews.

You'll work closely with a team and be able to take direction.  You'll also go it alone on occasion, travelling around Australia in the search for young stories.

Selection Criteria:

1. Proven experience in developing and producing creative, accessible and relevant program content including live and packaged field reports for radio. A demonstrated creative approach to story construction and delivery for radio and online.
2. Proven experience in radio with accomplished editorial skills and judgment. A demonstrated ability to break original stories and initiate, research and conduct interviews.
3. Thorough knowledge of web publishing/multimedia, including digital storytelling, image manipulation, writing for the web and using social media.
4. Very strong and detailed knowledge of key issues that are relevant to, and affect the 18-24 audience. An ability to create cross platform stories that engage this audience.
5. Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines. A proven team player with the ability to go it alone when necessary with strong interpersonal and motivational skills.
6. Proven ability in working with/and detailed knowledge and understanding of modern broadcast technologies and digital editing systems such as Protools or Final Cut Pro.
7. A detailed understanding and commitment to the ABC Editorial and Corporate Policies including  the ABC Values, Equity & Diversity and OH&S policies and practices.

- Applications must include links to samples of your online media work (e.g. an online video; photojournalism essay; multimedia blog) and an audio sample, maximum 5 minutes, of radio stories/interviews/packages you have previously done.

• Copies of the ABC Editorial Policies are available at abc.net.au
• Applicants must address the selection criteria. For more information on how to apply visit Application Tips

For further information contact Samantha Phillips on (02) 8333 2944.

Closing Comments: One week close.

The ABC is an equal opportunity employer.
The ABC invites Indigenous Australians to apply for this position.

Advertised:

14 Jan 2011 Aus. Eastern Standard Time

Closing date:

21 Jan 2011 11:55pm Aus. Eastern Standard Time

Going Down Swinging 2011 Anthology calling for written and audio content

Going Down Swinging has turned 30, embraced e-books and looking for content for their Anthology. They will be publishing their print anthology, spoken word CD and their digital and are looking for fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction, comics, visual art and audio recordings. Submissions will close on 28 February 2011.

While there is no overarching theme for this anthology, the editorial team at Going Down Swinging are looking for work characterized by humour, compassion, vigorous narrative structures, a wariness of tidy endings and a delight in the strange and beautifully unexpected.

For more details, visit the website here.

Aspiring crime writers – Debut Dagger Competition 2011 open for unpublished authors

We get so many emails from passionate crime-story readers asking us to run a crime-writing courses, so we know that this will be very welcome news for many of you. The Debut Dagger Competition for 2011 is calling for entries up to the 5th of February.

This Award is open to all writers who have not had a novel published commercially.  Entrants are required to submit the first 3000 words of their crime-themed novel, plus a 500/1000 word synopsis.

The short-listed entries are circulated to all the editors and agents who are members of our Association, and the shortlist is increasingly being sought from Crime Writers Association by other agents and editors.

So if you’ve written or are writing a crime novel, or know someone who is, this is a wonderful opportunity to jump the slush pile and get their work seen by editors and agents.   

Head to the Crime Writers Association website for more details.

Ready your scripts and films - The 2011 Australian Film Festival Call for Entries Announced

If you’ve got an Australian feature, documentary, short film or 15 minute scripts, the time has come to submit your masterpiece to the Australian Film Festival, who have announced their call for entries for the 2011 program.

We received this email yesterday, so it may well be too late for submitting a short film or script that are due on the 24th of December 2010, but features and documentaries are due on the 14th of January.

The 2011 Festival will be held over 12 inspiring days with the iconic Randwick Ritz Cinema as the screening HQ. The festival includes a series of features, outdoor screenings, the Australian Short Film Festival, FutureFilm screenplay competition, seminars and workshops, fringe events with Q & A's by Australia's best filmmakers, the Spot Food & Film street festival and the Australian Film Walk of Fame.

There are some incredible prizes up for grabs and if your work is chosen for the festival, you will have the opportunity to screen your work to top industry professionals. Past judges for the short film competition have included Rachel Ward, Phillip Noyce, Jeremy Sims, Roy Billing, Andrew Mercado, Peter Castaldi and many more industry professionals. Already confirmed for the 2011 Festival are Jack Thompson, David Field, Gary Sweet and Sigrid Thornton.

Head to the Australian Film Festival website for more details, and enter your film via Without A Box.