AHWA NEWS DIGEST [02.06.09-15.06.09] - Oh, and 600th post.

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website.

Government Review of Western Australian Literary Awards
The Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA) has initiated a review of both the West Australian Premier's Book Awards and the Australia Asia Literary Award and is now inviting submissions from authors, publishers, book sellers, librarians, academics and members of the public. If you have a view regarding the future of the Awards, or suggestions on how the Awards might be developed to achieve greater impact and/or improved outcomes for the West Australian writing sector then this is your opportunity to contribute. writingWA encourages you to provide your input into this process. Further information about the aims and objectives of the Awards and details of the review process are available by visiting the DCA website. Submissions close 5pm June 25. Click through for contact details.

The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing
The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing is an annual prize awarded to an outstanding unpublished manuscript.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. Both published and unpublished writers of all ages are eligible to enter with works of fiction or non-fiction. We are now accepting submissions for the 2009 prize. All entries must be received by Friday 31 July. Judged by a panel of editors from Text Publishing, the winning book will be announced during the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. The winner will receive a publishing contract with Text and a $10,000 advance against royalties.

Jason Nahrung reading on Terra Incognita
Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction Podcast #008 is now available for your listening pleasure at http://www.tisf.com.au/ also available on iTunes. This month, Jason Nahrung reads his outback vampire story Smoking, Waiting For The Dawn (from Dreaming Again), and Keith Stevenson reviews Canterbury 2100, edited by Dirk Flinthart. The Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction podcast is presented by Keith Stevenson, and brought to you by Coeur de Lion books.

2009 Bram Stoker Award winners
The 2009 Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in Horror Fiction published in 2008 have been presented by the Horror Writers Association at the Stoker Awards Weekend in Burbank, California (USA). Click through to view a complete list of winners in all categories.

Call for Entries - 4th Annual A Night of Horror International Film Festival
A Night of Horror International Film Festival is now accepting feature films, shorts, music videos, and screenplays for the 2010 event. John Michael Elfers, director of the feature film Finale speaks glowingly of his experience at the 2009 festival: “Saying that we had a tremendous experience at A Night of Horror would be an understatement. It was our world premiere and exceeded our expectations. The festival is committed to helping independent horror filmmakers find their audience and get noticed. They put our film in the hands of distributors, reviewers, and got us on the radio. The personal attention was unlike anything I've experienced at other festivals.” More details are available at the festival's official site: http://www.anightofhorror.com/.

Facts About Speculative Fiction panel cancelled
Due to a lack of bookings, the Victorian Writers' Centre have had to cancel the Facts About Speculative Fiction seminar on Wednesday 17th June. Those who have already paid for the seminar, will be issued a refund, or alternatively can keep it as a credit in the system to be used at a later stage. For the other outstanding genre writing offerings, check out the previously reported news at HorrorScope. For a full listing of the 2009 VWC program, visit the Victorian Writers' Centre website.

Andrew J McKiernan's new website
AHWA member, Australian spec-fic and horror author and illustrator, Andrew J McKiernan now has a new website. The image gallery contains samples from the forthcoming SHARDS: Short Sharp Tales collection by Shane Jiraiya Cummings & Andrew J McKiernan (Brimstone Press - June 2009 - ISBN 978-0-980-56772-4), as well as illustrations that have appeared in Aurealis magazine, Orb Speculative Fiction, and a number of other collections and anthologies.

Genre Publishers Tell All
Join a guest editor from Black Dog Books, Stuart Mayne (Aurealis Magazine) and Janet Rowe (Five Mile Press) as they discuss their genre areas of writing and publications. This diverse panel of guest speakers will provide insight of the manuscript submission process, market trends and readership. There’s something for everyone who has an interest in SF, children’s or crime fiction and non-fiction writing and are looking to get published. Who knows, you may even be writing a SF, Kid’s crime novel! Victorian Writers' Centre, Tuesday 30 June 2009, 6:30PM - 8:00PM.

The Hero's Journey with Paul Collins
Join Paul Collins and create both a world and a plot in a single day! Working in groups, participants will learn the 12 point structure of fantasy, drawing on examples from the best known fantasy novels such as Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter books. At the end of the workshop everyone will have a map, plot and scenes from their fantasy novel. Paul is best known for his young adult fantasy and science fiction series: The Quentaris Chronicles, which he co-edits with Michael Pryor, The Jelindel Chronicles and The Earthborn Wars. Along with a dozen SF&F anthologies, he edited The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy. His current project is The World of Grrym trilogy in collaboration with Danny Willis. He is also the publisher at Ford Street Publishing. Paul has been short-listed for many awards for his fiction, and has won the inaugural Peter McNamara, Aurealis and William Atheling awards. Victorian Writers' Centre, Sunday 28 June 2009, 10:00AM - 4:00PM.

Cops and Robbers: writing the perfect crime scene!
Ever wanted to write a crime novel or short story? Chances are you'll have at least one detective wandering your pages. But how do you get the procedure right? What about dialogue? You don't want an Aussie detective to sound like a character off the set of CSI, do you? And what about the crime scene? Who strings up the plastic tape, who calls in homicide and the coroner? In this 6 hour interactive seminar you'll learn the ins and outs of real life police drama and how to apply this to your characters and plot, giving your stories the essential ingredient of every great crime writer; verisimilitude. Jarad Henry has worked in the criminal justice system for more than ten years, is currently a strategic advisor for Victoria Police and has two novels published, Head Shot and Blood Sunset. Victorian Writers' Centre, Saturday 27 June 2009, 10:00AM - 4:00PM.

Let's Network! Genre / Popular Fiction Writers
An opportunity for like-minded VWC writers to get together, form new networks, exchange ideas, and strengthen literary community ties. From new and emerging writers, freelancers, non-fiction, genre fiction to editors, each month will give focus to different literary groups, along with special guest speakers attending over the year. This month will feature guest speakers, Lindy Cameron, convenor of Sisters in Crime Australia and Murray MacLachlan, President of the Melbourne Science Fiction Club. Victorian Writers' Centre, Thursday 18 June 2009, 6:30PM - 8:00PM.

2009 Ditmar Award winners
The 2009 Ditmar Awards for Australian SF, fantasy, and horror were presented on Sunday June 7 at Conjecture in Adelaide. Click through to view a complete list of winners in all categories.

2009 Sir Julius Vogel Awards winners
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards. This year's Sir Julius Vogel Awards were voted on at Conscription, the 2009 New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention, on Sunday 31st May 2009. Click through to view a complete list of winners in all categories.

Applications now open for Regional Arts Fund (NSW) 2010
Applications are now being accepted for the Regional Arts Fund (NSW), one of the key funding sources for arts and cultural activities in regional, rural and remote communities of New South Wales (Australia). Funding is available for projects commencing after 1 January 2010 in the categories of New Initiatives, Partnerships and Residencies and Mentorships. Funding is available for one, two or three year projects. Applications for the Regional Arts Fund (NSW) close on Friday 14 August 2009.

Prey to open in USA in June
Top Cat Films and Damage Releasing have steered Australian horror movie Prey through the international market screening process, and released the following media blurb: Less than a week after a near-full 10am market screening at Cannes Film Market, surprise Aussie 'candy horror' treat PREY has taken down rights for Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia and is honing in on a coterie of Asian territories. PREY opens in the United States on 23 June. The DVD release in Australia is slated for June 30. (Extract only.)

2009 QWC/Hachette Australia Manuscript Development Program for Fiction Writers now open
Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) and Hachette Australia are proud to announce their national program for fiction writers in 2009. This program has been created for emerging Australian authors of fiction who are either unpublished or have no more than one significant work commercially published. Up to 10 emerging fiction writers will work with publishers for Hachette Australia to develop high-quality fiction manuscripts. Applications open in May 2009. The deadline for submission is last post 24 July 2009. The manuscript development retreat will run in southeast Queensland from 20-25 November 2009. Click through for full details.

4th Biennial Watermark Literary Muster
The Watermark Literary Muster invites readers and writers to celebrate the literature of nature and place. In 2009 the theme is 'wood' - forests, trees, fire, artisans and artefacts, philosophies, opinions, conflicts - and the literature and stories that embrace it. The packed program includes readings, conversations, panel sessions, nature excursions, literary meals, performances, art, book launches, formal and informal discussion. 19 - 22 June, Kendall, NSW.

AntipodeanSF #132
AntipodeanSF Issue 132 is now available on the net. Please visit for your monthly fix of fantastic flash fiction, another ten stories from everywhere around the world, and spanning subjects that stretch even further than that.

The John Marsden Prize for Young Australian Writers 2009
Tired of scratching around your pockets for money? Well it's time to get writing because The John Marsden Prize for Young Australian Writers 2009 has now opened. $4500.00 in prize money is up for grabs! In its fifth year running, The John Marsden Prize offers the chance for young Australian writers to have their work judged by author John Marsden, be published in Voiceworks, and receive some cash as well! Entries close 5pm Friday 28th August, 2009. For more information including the entry form, please visit http://www.expressmedia.org.au/.

Submitting News

If you have news about Australian and New Zealand Horror publishing and film, or news of professional development opportunities in the field, feel free to submit news to Talie Helene, AHWA News Editor. Just visit HorrorScope, and click on the convenient email link. (International news is not unwelcome, although relevance to Antipodean literary arts practitioners is strongly preferred.)

For information on the Australian Horror Writers' Association, visit australianhorror.com.

This AHWA NEWS DIGEST has been compiled, written, and republished in select Australian horror haunts by Talie Helene. Currently archived at the AHWA MySpace page, and Southern Horror; hosted at the social networking sites Darklands and A Writer Goes On A Journey; and hosted by AHWA members Felicity Dowker, Brenton Tomlinson, Scott Wilson, and Jeff Ritchie (Scary Minds: Horror's Last Colonial Outpost).

If you would like to support the AHWA News effort by hosting a copy of the AHWA News Digest on your blog or website, contact Talie to receive a fully formatted HTML edition of the digest by email.