500-word challenge
Congratulations
to our 'Intrigue'
challenge winner
Through The Glass
Darkly
by Gwen AngstromThe next challenge, write up to 500 words around the theme: SPEED. Closes midnight, 1 May 2012 AWST (GMT+8) More>
Tag Archives: books
Riffing with Margaret Atwood and China Miéville
By Carina Tan-Van Baren Margaret Atwood is fiddling with China Miéville’s sleeve. It is already rolled above his elbow but Atwood is carefully adjusting it to sit a little better. “How nice,” says the friend beside me. “She’ll spit on … Continue reading
Norway: A Writer’s Dream?
By Carina Tan-Van Baren Want to be a writer? Move to Norway. Acclaimed crime novelist Jo Nesbø says Norway “is the best country in the world to be a writer” and from what he and fellow Norwegian, author and playwright Johan … Continue reading
The Reading Cure
By Tamara Hunter “Is reading overrated?” The question posed by the 2012 Perth Writers Festival session seemed a ridiculous one to ask in a forum jammed with readers, writers, publishers and general devotees of the written word. Talk about preaching … Continue reading
Nano for Noobs
November is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). If, like me, you are both intrigued and intimidated by the thought of writing a novel in just four weeks, read on. Guest post by Simon Haynes I don’t like calling anyone a noob, but … Continue reading
Posted in Blogwax
Tagged books, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, simon haynes, writing
10 Comments
Trends in Publishing – Part 3: We’ve Never Had It So Good
Relax. The mega-conglomerates are taking over publishing and that is a good thing. Emmett Stinson, author, poet, academic and president of SPUNC, Australia’s only advocacy group for small presses, says digital convergence in publishing is taking us to a brighter … Continue reading
Trends in Publishing – Part 2: Trends v Heart
Vampires, vampires and… more vampires. That’s a trend. Surprised? Catherine McCredie, a senior editor in the Books for Children and Young Adults department at Penguin Books, says she has lost track of the number of vampire books on the publisher’s … Continue reading
Posted in Blogwax, Emerging Writers Festival 2011, The Buzz
Tagged authors, books, catherine mccredie, digital publishing, dystopia, Emerging Writers' Festival, isabella, malcolm gladwell, outliers, paranormal, paul jennings, penguin, publishers, shaun tan, sonya hartnett, steampunk, the boy and the toy, the lost thing, Town Hall Conference, trends in publishing, vampires, write, writing
1 Comment
Trends in Publishing – Part 1: A Short, Sharp Future?
Here’s an interesting publishing trend – shorter books. Maybe. Editor David Winter says Text Publishing is doing a lot of short books at the moment. It’s not a deliberate strategy, he hastens to add. But his musing about the opportunities … Continue reading
7 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me
“Talking about writing is not writing, tweeting about writing is not writing, reading about writing is not writing, going to writing conferences is not writing, blogging about your work in progress is not writing… if you want to be a … Continue reading
The Chemistry of Reading
It’s the best and absolute worst thing about reading. You find a book that absorbs you from the very first page and devour it in a single sitting, ignoring ‘real life’ responsibilities like preparing for that important meeting or feeding … Continue reading
Posted in Blogwax, Swancon36/Natcon50, The Buzz
Tagged books, chemistry, commercial, dopamine, fiction, natcon, Nikki Logan, norepinephrine, readers, reading, romance, seratonin, swancon, writing
2 Comments
Finishing The Story
You get a great idea, throw yourself at the keyboard and tap away enthusiastically. The characters, action and dialogue flow quickly through your fingertips, living and breathing on the screen almost before you are aware of them. That first rush of … Continue reading
Waxings 