NEW Writers Group Inc secretary, Mihaela Cristescu chatted on 17 November, to Jim Taggart and Darryn Cape-Davis, on Spotlight, Alive 90.5 about our Writing Parramatta project. Jim and Darryn read poems by Marina Robins, The Tropics888 and Peter Cartwright. Mihaela brought to the studio a Covid-delayed birthday cake to celebrate the first year of the show!
Listen to the podcast here
Image: Reflections by Marina Robins won Best Image Award in WP21.
Saturday, 13th November, 2021, we gathered on Zoom to explore the collection of poems, images and stories published during this year on Parramatta themes. This project is part of Writing Parramatta 2021 which has been supported by a City of Parramatta Creative Economy Grant.
BOOK AWARDS:
Best Image: Reflections by Marina Robins; Runner-up: Light and Dark of Parramatta Park by Dannielle Viera. Judge Justine Youssef.
Best Prose: The Song by Geneva Valek; Runners-up: Run to Parra-dise by Nic Lesley and Going To Ground by Augusta Supple. Awarded by S.E. Crawford, Carol Amos and Christopher Sammut.
Best Poem: Jo’n’wicksy by Les Wicks; Runner-up Mars Hill Cafe by Belinda Curby. Awarded by S.E. Crawford, Mihaela Cristescu and Peter Cartwright.
Slide Images: Reflections: Marina Robins; Light and Dark of Parramatta Park by Dannielle Viera.
Thanks to all the contributors who created the 15th edition of ZineWest. Copies available at our shop. If you have a piece published in ZW21, select a product that includes your free copy.
Awards announced at the Zoom launch, 16th October:
ART – Judge Elizabeth Chang, Curator and Artist Development, Parramatta Artists Studios
BEST IMAGE AWARD: SANDRA BORRI for Galah
RUNNER-UP: ERIN MACNAUGHT for Hands #1
WRITING – Judge Luke Carman, author and lecturer, Writing and Society Research Centre WSU
FIRST Place and Best Prose: CHRISTOPHER SAMMUT for Breathe
SECOND place and Best Poem: PETER CARTWRIGHT for The Time
THIRD place GENEVA VALEK for The Rat (prose)
HIGHLY COMMENDED –
MYRA KOCH for Piano for Sale (prose)
NORM FAIRBAIRN for On the Lake (poem)
JO MULARCZYK for Lies of Love (prose)
EDITORS’ AWARD
PETE SHMIGEL for Geronimo’s Daybreak
Image: Christopher Sammut
SATURDAY 16TH OCTOBER 2021
3-4:30 ZOOM – Readings, Awards with Elizabeth Chang and Luke Carman
In 2022 we hope to add back in – food and giant book raffle!
Our cover features Galah, by one of our contributing artists, Sandra Borri. Poems, stories, images and a little reminiscence re 15 years of finding interesting and diverse creativity in Western Sydney. More info @
Free writing workshop led by Parramatta author Felicity Castagna
Saturday, 30th October 3-5pm. Contact us for the Zoom link, see email below.
We’ll look at micro fiction – the writing where each word is important but not necessarily prominent – the opposite of clutter and shouting and cliché – the super short memorable piece that is great training for our bigger works.
Would you like your original piece reviewed during the session?
Send us up to 3 Haiku¹ or one short poem max nine lines, or one work of prose max 100 words. Include your name, location and a couple of lines about your writing interests. You can paste the writing into the body of the email or send as an attachment.
Due: 22nd October
¹Haiku: we don’t insist on 5/7/5 but advise against anything longer.
This workshop has been supported by a City of Parramatta Creative Economy Grant.
Cover Image: Felicity’s latest book
Elizabeth Chang, Art Judge, and Luke Carman, Writing Judge: Fifteenth edition of ZineWest
NB Award winners are not notified prior to the launch.
Free entry. Copies: $15. Sales online due to Covid.
Contributors’ first copies are free, but we will need to recoup postage.
ZineWest 2021 is part of the Writing Parramatta 2021 project which has been supported by a City of Parramatta Creative Economy Grant.
Publishing Workshop with Felicity CastagnaWe are looking for your stories, memories and images of Parramatta, CBD and LGA, for online publication. You need to be 16 years or over and have a strong connection to Parramatta. Due 31st August. ENTRY FORM
Thank you to all the writers who sent work. Some entries needed a little more editing than our rules allow, but they matched the competition standard of energy, ideas and desire to communicate. If you entered this competition and have not received an email, please let us know. The launch will be in October, details to be finalised. Prizes are announced at the launch. Judge is Luke Carman.
ZineWest 2021 has been supported by a City of Parramatta Council Creative Economy Grant.
Don’t forget we are looking for Art Entries! Due 11th July.
ZW21 Publication List
Raqiya AHMED “Let Go and Give”
C.A. BROADRIBB “Three Good Whiffs”
Katelyn BRUNNER “Creative Writing Class: A Guide…”
Peter CARTWRIGHT “The Time”
Victoria CARTWRIGHT “Landing Station”
Neil COLLIS “Villanella”
Marie DUSTMANN “Mystery Birds”
Norm FAIRBAIRN “On the Lake”
Nix HAMILTON “Obviously Dead”
Alicia JONES “Covid Haiku”
Matilda HART “Meat Market/Modern Love”
Lisel HERRMANN “Associations with Parramatta”
Myra KOCH “Piano for Sale”
Ilona KRUEGER “Beyond the Grim Mash”
Harold LEGASPI “Kabayo”
Artelle LENTHALL “The Making of Bella Pappas”
Louise LOOMES “Mrs Kin Goes to Church”
Jo MULARCZYK “Lies of Love”
Amanda NASSIF “A Crack in the Parramatta Sky”
Denise NEWTON “Justice”
Katharine POLLOCK “Girl Talk”
Arna RADOVICH “Meeting Magda”
Christopher SAMMUT “Breathe”
Pete SHMIGEL “Geronimo’s Day Break”
Akshaya SIVAKUMAR “Kolam”
Geneva VALEK “The Rat”
Dannielle VIERA “Stockings, Stings and Sympathy”
Saturday, 1st May 3:00-5:00 pm Creative Writing with author and academic Luke Carman. Email for a Zoom link. This is a Writing Parramatta 2021 event supported by a City of Parramatta Creative Economy Grant.
Luke will comment on a few pieces by attendees as part of the workshop. You are welcome to send a short work or excerpt of your original writing (max 800 words prose or one poem) to our email address, see above, by 24th April. (Don’t send work you intend to submit to ZineWest 2021 – Luke is the judge!).
