Wish Upon a Southern Star is an anthology of re-told fairy tales for a YA audience. The work of 21 authors from Australia and New Zealand was chosen, including HWC member Graham Davidson’s 10,000 word story, The Tale of Krinkle-myst, Cinderella and the Prince: The True Cinderella Story. The re-telling is set in modern-day Sydney, with Cinderella and the Prince having failed to realise their destiny 1500 years in a row.
HWC member Graham Davidson and Emily S. Smith have created “Storytime Lane”, a YouTube channel with regular storytelling webisodes in response to the declining literacy rates in Australia. They hope their project will support the development of young children’s literacy skills by providing adults and children with access to visual storytelling and free resources and activities that extend on those stories. The webisodes will have an Auslan interpreter signing the stories so more people have a greater access to the content. Storytime Lane
Hunter Writers Centre funded the publication of the HWC poetry group’s series of poems that pay tribute to Margaret Olley. Olley was an iconic figure in Australian art whose main focus on landscapes and interiors turned everyday objects and scenes into bursts of colour. As the model for one of Australia’s most recognised Archibald Prize-winning portraits by William Dobell, she looks out towards the viewer, a serene presence with a hint of mischief in her eyes. The book can be purchased from the Newcastle Art Gallery for $15.
Here are the accomplishments by the prose writers of HWC in 2020:
Bronwyn MacRitchie published her memoir, Pixie Dust, in May and was a recent finalist in the Newcastle Herald Short Story Competition.
In January, Phil Williams won a Very Highly Commended award for his short story in the Port Stephens Literature Award and was a finalist in the Newcastle Herald Short Story Competition
Maree Gallop won the Newcastle Herald Short Story competition and Ted Bassingthwaighte won the People’s Choice Award. Other HWC members who were finalists in this competition included: Dean Briggs, Brenda Proudfoot, Bronwyn MacRitchie, Sally Egan
James Turvey’s short story, Telepathy, Smoke and Violence, was published in Westerly Magazine. Support contemporary Australian literature by purchasing a copy here.
Jeanette Campbell has had her short story ‘Plaque Proportions’ included in the NSW Seniors Card publication Senior Stories Vol 6.
Karen Whitelaw’s flash fiction were published in Overland in Autumn 2020 edition, and Meniscus literary magazine in October 2019,
Here are the accomplishments of writers of children’s books in 2020:
Katrina McKelvey’s fourth and fifth picture books were released this year. She has also been editing her four education titles due out in 2021 with Macmillan Education UK.
Sharon Boyce’s debut picture book ‘There’s a Shark in the Loo’ and second picture book title ‘Who is at the Zoo?’ were released this year. Sharon also placed 3rd place in the Writer’s Unleashed Picture Book Competition
Emily Smith’s debut picture book ‘Garbage Guts’ was released this year. Her 2nd and 3rd books with Larrikin House will be launched this year.
Zoe Disher had many pieces accepted by The School Magazine, including articles, a poem and short story. She also presented at The School Magazine Litfest. She also had three short pieces appear in Double Helix Magazine.
Claire Thomas was accepted into the Queensland Writers Centre Publishable Mentorship Program.
Here are the accomplishments by the HWC Speculative Writers (HWC Story Hunters) in 2020:
J.A.Haigh’s short story ’Trace a Circle’ was published in Midnight Echo Magazine #15 – She was also interviewed on Lee Murray’s blog for the author showcase.
Suzy Shearer Parkes had two books published (both contemporary romances) and signed contracts for two more (both paranormal romances)
Michael Tippett was runner-up in the NYC Midnight 2020 Short Screenplay Challenge. He was also shortlisted in the Australian Writers’ Centre November Furious Fiction competition.
The Story Hunters launched their first short story anthology in February 2020. Their second anthology will launch at this year’s IF Maitland Festival in May.
Here are the accomplishments by the poets of Hunter Writers Centre in 2020:
Gillian Telford’s poetry accomplishments in 2020:
Her poem ‘Ars Gratia Artis’ was published in I Protest, Poems of Dissent, Ginninderra Press;
‘More than a Thousand Pieces’ in Grieve 2020 anthology.
Her ‘pocket’ collection Midnight Lexicon, Selected Poems 2016-2020, was published by Picaro Poets, Ginninderra Press in September 2020.
‘Old Growth’, Commended in Robyn Mathison Poetry Prize 2019 (Feb 2020);
‘Rufus’, Highly Commended FAW Phillipa Holland Award for Poetry, Aug 2020.
Robert Edmonds self-published his novel Ghosted on Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing, and his poem ‘The Long Jetty Ghazals’ won third prize in the Newcastle Poetry Prize. He completed a short suspense novel for 8–12 year olds called ‘The Five O’Clock Dog’ and his first poetry collection – Gravity Doesn’t Always Work – has been published by Flying Islands Books.
Gillian Swain’s ‘My Skin Its Own Skin’, a book of poems, was published by ASM and Cerberus Press. Her poem ‘Switched to Overload’ was published by Old Water Rat Publishing
Olivia Hamilton’s poetry was published in Grieve Volume 8 anthology in August 2020.
Rebecca Trowbridge’s poetry was published in Messages from the Embers anthology.
Ellen Shelley’s poems were published in these anthologies last year: Out of the Ashes anthology in March, It’s Raining Poetry in April, The Blue Nib in May, Not Very Quiet in September, Backstory in October, Unfurl in October, Messages from the Embers anthology in October, D’amour anthology in November, and shortlisted in the FAW Alice Sinclair Writing Competition in November.
Jan Dean’s poetry collection ‘Intermittent Angels’ was published by Girls on Key.. She was placed equal second in the Hunter Writers Centre September Writing contest and was featured on Verity La’s homepage with a poem ‘Unnerved’, based on Robert Dickerson. She had an Ekphrastic poem accepted by online journal Old Water Rat and her entry submitted to the 2021 Joanne Burns Microlit Award has been placed among the finalists.
Eve Gray shared first prize (with Kit Kelen) in HWC Pen-demic in Autumn 2020 and her poem ‘Morning Birds’ has been selected for publication in an anthology in Victoria.
Kathryn Fry published the following poems: ‘KI Postscript’ in #authorsforfireys, Westerly online; ‘Going Home’ in Not Very Quiet Issue 6, March; ‘In Silence’ in I Protest! Poems of Dissent; ‘The Lesson’ in Not Very Quiet Issue 7, September; ‘On William Robinson’s Later Harvest’ in 2020 ACU Prize for Poetry Chapbook; ‘Circuit, Blackheath’ in Messages from the Embers; ‘The Art of Doing Things’ in Blue Nib; ‘Under the Microscope’ in Science Write Now. Her poem ‘About the Centre, Even Now’ won the Alice Sinclair Prize for Poetry 2020
Nicole Sellers’ poems were awarded in the SWWT Robyn Mathison Poetry Prize, the FAW Alice Sinclair Writing Competition, published in Return to Mago, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and The Blue Nib. Her short stories were published in Eternal Haunted Summer and longlisted in the Sydney Hammond Memorial Short Story Award
Diana Pearce’s poetry was published in Once Upon a Wednesday, The Mozzie, Messages from the Embers anthology, and awarded in Hunter Writers Centre ekphrastic competitions throughout the year.
Member Luci Croci had 2 poems published
Member Judy Johnson was published in Axon
Members Grant Palmer and Gail Hennessy were published in Eucalypt
Graham Davidson founded and directed the inaugural IF Maitland Writers Festival in 2020 featuring 47 events across 6 venues.
Nigel George published his computer textbook ‘Mastering Django’.
Kate Griffith won the Affirm Press Mentorship Award, including a week at Varuna writing with their team.
Hunter Writers Centre
ABN 44 903 609 935
Postal Address:
PO Box 494 The Junction NSW 2291 Australia
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