The Emerging Writers’ Festival will begin later this week and the amazing program team have put together another stellar hybrid program! With events taking place both in-person and online there’s a trove of new authors and creators to discover and learn from, wherever you are and whatever your budget.

Writers Night School: Intro to Narrative Audio

This workshop will explore how to find a good story for audio, as well as the specifics of writing audio stories, getting the most out of your interviews and what to do with a pile of tape. Plus, get industry insider tips on how to successfully pitch your audio story or podcast idea.

When: Monday 20 June, 6.30–8pm AEST
Where: The Wheeler Centre Workshop Space
Cost: $35/$30 concession

Masterclass: Editing for Writers

Got something you’re working on? Unsure when to stop drafting and start crafting? Learn how to make the best of being your own (first) editor. These experts will talk about the early stages of editing yourself – how to think about pacing and structure, and how to look at your work with fresh eyes. Hear from editors about what they’re looking for when they sit down with a writer’s work and learn how you can look for those things yourself. Then learn how, down the track, when you’re ready to hand editing duties over to someone else who has feedback and criticism, you can best incorporate it to bring out the potential of your work to the fullest.

This Masterclass will be recorded and made available for ticketholders to watch on-demand after the event.

When: Thursday 23 June, 10am–4pm AEST
Where: Online, via Zoom
Cost: $80 / $60 concession

Late Night Literature: This All Come Back Now

Curated by Mykaela Saunders, join us online an evening to highlight the upcoming First Nations Speculative Fiction Anthology, This All Come Back Now. This special event brings together contributors from the issue from around the continent for an evening of spec fic readings.

When: Wednesday 22 June, 9-10pm AEST
Where: Online, via Youtube
Cost: Free

EWF X Thin Red Lines: Left on Red

A play on being left on read, splashed in Thin Red Line’s titular crimson hue. In this singular EWF x Thin Red Lines collaboration we will see artists performing sets that speak to the fast and loose theme ‘Left On Red’. Who knows what journey they’ll take you on: a recording light that never stops blinking? Directions down an innocuously named street? Being ghosted by The Communist Manifesto? Find out on the night as our artists radicalise what performance poetry can be.

When: Thursday 16 June, 7.30-8.30pm AEST
Where: Loop Project Space & Bar
Cost: $10 / NOTAFLOF* (*No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds)

By My Bed

What are the objects that make up your world? On display at No Vacancy gallery for the duration of the festival as well as online, Disabled Artists with lived experience of disability, chronic pain, and chronic illness answer the question ‘What are the objects that make up your world?’ by sharing photographs of their bedsides. Alongside the photographs, find the artists’ musings about the body, accessibility, care, community, and the order, mess, and tenderness that can accumulate by their beds.

When: Exhibition runs Tuesday 14 June – Saturday 25 June
Where: No Vacancy Gallery
Cost: Free

4 x 4 Rules for Writing

Kicking off the conference, our four festival ambassadors share their four rules for writing. Whether you’re emerging, emerged or somewhere in between, these gems of advice are bound to get you inspired.

You can book a single ticket to this session only or attend the whole National Writers’ Conference.

Please note: Yassmin Abdel-Magied is UK-based and will be participating in this session via pre-recorded video, due to the international time difference.

When: Saturday 18 June, 10-10.45am AEST
Where: Online, via Zoom
Cost: $21 / $16 concession