The Owlish Guide to Emerging Writers Festival 2015

Emerging Writers' Festival 2015 is just about upon us! Woo! I'm only going for a couple of days this year, but I thought I'd cover off all my picks in this quick guide to the festival. Enjoy and I hope to see some of you there!

TUESDAY 26 MAY
The Emerging Writers' Festival Opening Night Extravaganza 
Kick off the festival with the announcement of the winners in the Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Prize and the Monash Prize for Undergraduate Creative Writing, and general party funtimes.

WEDNESDAY 27 MAY
The Pitch
Allen and Unwin, Hachette Australia, Smith Journal and The Saturday Paper come together to tell you how to make the perfect pitch, whether you're fiction, non-fiction, short form or long.

FRIDAY 29 MAY
Inside the Publishing House
Take a tour of Hachette Australia and see the journey of a book - from acquisitions to marketing. This is a pretty amazing opportunity to actually get an inside glimpse and be able to tackle the publishing industry with a really firm professional knowledge.

Voiceworks 100th Issue Launch
Voiceworks is a bit of an institution in Australia (and the journal I had my first ever short story published through!) The launch of their 100th issue is super exciting, and, judging by the line up, sure to be a great night.

SATURDAY 30 MAY
The National Writers' Conference
Chock full of workshops, panels, advice and opportunities, this two day conference in the heart of Emerging Writers Festival is a must for emerging writers attending the festival. With panels on alternate paths, freelancing, genres and podcasting, it'll be a really interesting couple of days.

SUNDAY 31 MAY
The National Writers' Conference
See above!

YA is Forever
I'm pretty partial to Young Adult fiction, so this panel on the demographic and the genre should be a lot of fun.

MONDAY 1 JUNE
Live Podcast Recording: bring a plate
I've been getting pretty into podcasts lately, so going to a live recording seems pretty fun. Especially when it involves Rebecca Shaw or @brocklesnitch on Twitter, who's one of the most hilarious quippers I've heard.

In Conversation with Jo Walker
Interestingly, frankie magazine, is one of the few print mags actually increasing it's scope and sales at the moment. It helps that it's such a terrific magazine. This in conversation with editor-in-chief, Jo Walker, should be a really great insight into what makes frankie work.

Travel Slide Night
Slides! Visual storytelling! This should be a really fun way to start a Monday night.

TUESDAY 2 JUNE
Graphic Contents Exhibition Launch
I've always loved comics, so an exhibit that spotlights Australian artists and comics writers is a hugely exciting event.

WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE
Writing TV for the Internet: The Katering Show
The Katering Show premiered earlier this year, and is honestly one of the best and most delightful webseries I've seen. The two creators teaching a workshop on writing for webseries is basically a must-go for anyone interested in turning their screenwriting skills to the web.

THURSDAY 4 JUNE
Freelancing for Life Masterclass
The calibre of artists at this masterclass on making a living off freelancing is pretty A+ - Amy Gray, Rebecca Harkins-Cross and Luke Ryan, just to name a few. Having them teach you everything from strategic planning to marketing, invoicing and balancing creative and corporate work is pretty magical.

FRIDAY 5 JUNE 
Writing While Female
There's an interesting range of panels in this day-long event. Particularly gendered genres, writing women and radical acts. If you're interested in where women sit in the literary landscape, this is a great event to attend.

EWF Closing Night Party
And fall in a heap in the final event of the festival, a closing night party.

There's lots more happening at the festival though! You can check out the full program over at the Emerging Writers' Festival website.

Your Guide to Emerging Writers Festival 2014

Unfortunately, I'm not heading over for Emerging Writers Festival this year ( :-( ) but the program's so great I couldn't resist putting together the wishlist of things I'd be attending if I WAS there. So! Hey:

TUESDAY 27 MAY
Opening Night Extravaganza 
These sorts of events are always a ball and a great way to kick off the festival. It also gives you the opportunity to meet the artists, staff and fellow writers, PLUS you'll be among the first to hear the winners of the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript and the winner of the Monash Undergrad Prize. All in all, a pretty awesome start.

WEDNESDAY 28 MAY
The Pitch
Most writers' festivals have opportunities to pitch your work to publishers, but that doesn't undermine the opportunity. If you've got a manuscript you want to sell, this is an excellent chance to do so.

THURSDAY 29 MAY
Digital Writers Masterclass
This is less a masterclass and more a full day submersion in digital narrative. From gaming through to platforms, gender and copyright, it's a great development day for anyone interested in the medium.

Rev It Up! The Footscray Literary Late Night
Punk rock poetry! 'Nuff said.

FRIDAY 30 MAY
Emerging Editors
A full day set of workshops and seminars, this day covers a diverse range of content for emerging editors. Start up publications! Indigenous editing! Shaping debates! Building careers!

SATURDAY 31 MAY
The National Writers' Conference
Arguably the most essential part of the festival for any writer, this two-day conference covers everything from sex, drugs and rock'n'roll to writing for the internet to Aussies abroad.

Amazing Babes
This session's looking pretty awesome. Lady writers reading about the women who've inspired them! Why don't you just program something that relevant to my interests?

WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE
Live in the Studio: Exploring the ABC
The ABC is Australia's most interesting network, outputting compelling comedy and some of our strongest dramas. This session will be looking at the history of the channel over the last 60 years.

THURSDAY 5 JUNE
The Early Words: About the Animals
I'm pretty fascinated with the relationship between animals and people, and animal ecosystems, so this panel with Rebecca Giggs, Laura Jean McKay and Aden Rolf should be an interesting one. Plus I heard Giggs read an excerpt of her new book about whaling last year at EWF, and man, I need to have read it yesterday.

Industry Insiders: Audio Stories
I know a few people obsessed with audio books at the moment, and this sounds like a pretty great seminar on the genre and beyond, covering radio plays, podcasts and more.

Graphic Contents: A Night of Comics, Zines and Visual Oddities
It's hardly a secret that I love graphic novels, and this session is pretty awesome. There's trading! And selling! And illustrated comic responses to questions!

FRIDAY 6 JUNE
A Night Off Writing: The EWF Closing Night Party
Because hey, if you're going to fall in a heap, you may as well do it with other writers.

Your Guide to the Digital Writers Festival

Aannnnndd, we're off! 2014's festival season launches with a brand spankin' new one in Digital Writers Festival, an offshoot of the Emerging Writers Festival that's to take place entirely online. It's a pretty cool program and I've compiled some of my picks below for you all.

The Unfinished Phrase
Thursday 13 February
I'm pretty into methods of exploring storytelling generally, particularly through digital apps and games, so this one's a bit of a no-brainer for me. That combined with discussions over multi-authored stories is sure to be pretty compelling.

Literary Sexting: Sex Writing Online
Tuesday 18 February
Sex writing! It seems to be having a bit of a hey-day in Australia at the moment, and it'll be particularly interesting to hear people talk about how online journals and platforms have opened up the discussion of it and broken taboos.

WrICE: Postcards from Singapore
Wednesday 19 February
I hadn't heard of WrICE (Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange Program) prior to checking the program for DWF, and it seems like a pretty amazing new program. I'm always fascinated by the effect place and culture has on writing, so this should be an interesting panel in dissecting that.

Nothing's Dead That's Done Right: Print Publishing in the Age of the iPad
Friday 21 February
What it says on the tin, but something that's so topical at the moment as journals are both suffering and thriving all across the country.

From Notepad to Tweet: An Inside Look at the Digital Publishing Industry
Friday 21 February
Random House and Pan Macmillan are both at the forefront of digital publishing in Australia at the moment, so getting both of their digital-first imprints on a panel together is pretty awesome.

How to Do Digital Journalism: Breaking News vs Getting It Right
Monday 24 February
This one's a little bias as I'm a huge fan of both Amy Gray and Steph Harmon, but hey! It still looks interesting and pretty darn topical for today's headline heavy culture.

There's a lot more happening though, so don't forget to check out the full program over on their website.

Friday Finds

I'm having a Vampire Weekend kind of week. Soooo much Vampire Weekend.

- Kelly Sue DeConnick is adapting Barbarella!! There are not enough likes in the woooorld.

- Literary snobs: a ranked taxonomy.

- 50 essential movies about exhilaratingly bad women! How have I only seen 11 of  these?! I sense a movie marathon in my future.

- If you're in the land down under with me, Emerging Writers Festival is on the hunt for some associate producers.

- Every fake URL ever used on Law and Order. These are delightful. I would've thought there would've been a lot more though? Although scumwatch.com makes me think of like, a pond maintenance website.

- LUMBERJANES!!!! I can barely even vocalise how excited I am for this series.