Category Archives: ZineWest

ZineWest is a print zine and competition for Western Sydney Writers run by New Writers’ Group Inc

Luke Carman at UNE Sydney

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Group photo: Luke Carman creative writing workshop at UNE Sydney, 6th July, 2019

Luke Carman talked about his latest book Intimate Antipathies, Giramondo Publishing. He used samples of writing from five local writers to give individual feedback and to motivate the group to “see again” what more they can bring to their work. Luke is writing judge of ZineWest and every year helps launch the Romanian/Australian Anthologies of our NWG Inc Secretary Mihaela Cristescu – who we can thank for the photos. Below are some random pics… And thanks to our venue UNE Sydney !

  • Mihaela Cristescu
  • Door Prize 1
  • Door Prize 2

ZineWest ’19 Art due 1st July

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Publish your visual art in a Western Sydney zine!

The writing entries are in, and it’s time to invite artists with a connection to Western Sydney to send us images for inclusion in our annual print zine. There is a prize of $100 for the Best Image. We aim to publish work by at least 10 visual artists.Our Judge (who sees all entries) is Sophia Kouyoumdjian, Director Parramatta Artists Studios. ArtEntryForm_ZW19 

Launch is 12th October, at UNE Sydney 232 Church Street, Parramatta

Img: L. Marsden

ZineWest 2019 due 27th April

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WritingEntryForm_ZW19

Over the last twelve years, ZineWest has published around 360 short works by Western Sydney writers. You are most welcome to enter this year’s competition if you live, work, study or attend a local cultural org in Western Sydney; are 16 years or over; and haven’t yet been professionally published except in multi-author journals. Entry is free, you can offer up to three pieces, and since this is a niche comp you have an excellent chance of either being print published in the zine, or applauded at ZW Word which follows the zine launch. Entries must be your original work, not previously published in print or on-line, and not previously received an award. (ZW18 Cover Image : L. Marsden)

We are interested in all word-based work – anything we can reproduce in an A5 zine.You can discover what we’ve previously picked by looking at the ZineWest Page (includes ZW18 Judge’s commentary, YouTube link and launch photos) and the Ezine Page (Page numbers for ZW18 winning works in zine PDF). 

All pieces selected by the editors for publication (notification in early June) are sent to our judge, Dr Luke Carman, who decides  on the prizes:  1st = $400, 2nd and 3rd = Giramondo Titles, plus commendations. There is $100 cash prize for ZW WORD too. 

Are you also a visual artist? We will post the Art Entry form in May. 

Many thanks to our writing co-sponsor

Writing and Society Research Centre (WSU)

 

ZineWest 2018 Publication List

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It is a wonderful challenge to select a publication list for ZineWest. Some pieces that did not go on the list had verve and relevance, so as always we hope those writers will present their entries at ZineWest WORD which follows the print zine launch – details below. But first the list:

ZINEWEST PUBLICATION LIST 2018
(32 writers)
Frances Gia Phung An – Using The Toilet
C.A. Broadribb – Moon, Peace, Between
Kate Brown – Share If You Agree
Peter Cartwright – The Twenty Year Affair
Victoria Cartwright – Fresh
Danielle Catherine – Murder in a Westfield Parramatta Cinema
Lindy Courtney – The Masterpiece
Terry Dingwall – Photos
Danny Draper – Was That You
Alexander Donoghue – Shoal Craft
Robert Dunn – Sunkissed
Eric Esber – Yesterday
Norm Fairbairn – Just One Time
Fayroze – Let’s Start Again
Damian Fedele – Western Arguments
Michele Freeman – I Guess You Call Us Westies
Sian Furniss – Him
Jason Gray – Bad, Boy + Honor
Nix Hamilton – Unbearable Tunes
Lisel Herrmann – Snowflakes
Wafa Kulsoom Khan – The Plan
Sime Knezevic – Airflow
Morgana Ladrina – Haunted Ontologies of Desire
Peter Lewis – The Reassignment
Zena Maghchouch – The War Within
Jo Mularczyk – The Day the Technology Stopped
Kathryn Neto – Extrude
Paul O’Loughlin – Focus
Michaela Simoni – The Closing Ceremony
Dannielle Viera – The Tree
Dona Samson Zappone – Grandma’s Lament
Annie XY Zhang – A Bush Barely Burning

ZINEWEST LAUNCH SATURDAY, 13th OCTOBER
UNE Sydney, 232 Church Street, Parramatta
(opposite campus reception at 211)
11:30 am Finger food, drinks
Noon-1:30 pm Readings Prizes Giant Raffle
Chat, more food, photos…
Entry: $10; Zine: $10. Copies can be mailed – small postage fee applies.
We hope to offer first copy free to all writers and artists included in the zine.

ZW WORD follows at 2:15 pm with some great pieces!
Invite your friends to go in the Open mic or try it yourself…
$2 entry unless you’ve already paid for launch entry

ZineWest 2018 Open for entries

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LE Armbruster won ZW17 – who will win $400 in 2018? We want to read your best short works of prose, poetry, drama, cartoon. You need to be at least 16 years old and not yet had a sole author trade publication. ZineWest gives you a great chance of being print published or invited to ZW Word – a spoken word comp with prizes. If you are an artist, we’d love to hear from you too – we publish art by around 10 visual artists in the zine.
Writing due 27 May, 2018
Art due June, 23 June, 2018

WritingEntryForm_ZW18
ArtEntryForm_ZW18

ZineWestWord 2017

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After the ZW17 launch, we enjoy some spoken word. Here’s our Open Mic winner looking a bit concerned about her “bleeps” Kathryn Yuen!

 

 

 

One of the many runners-up:    C.A. Broadribb

 

 

 

Sue Crawford and Carol Amos outmatched by the competitors

The judges failed to pick a “second”. All too good.

ZineWest 2017 Launch

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Director of UNE FutureCampus, Rob Field, launched ZineWest 17 on 8th October. Rob shared a glimpse into his history as a member of a very large family. It seems that being surrounded by individuals with diverse gifts and challenges, was like attending a school for empathy and communication. Rob sees openness to the ideas and experience of others as commonsense, however it is a commitment to his own ideas and strengths that has shaped his career. He urged us to have the same confidence to develop our personal talents and insights when creating our writing and art.

Luke Carman, our writing judge, commented on  every writing piece in this year’s ZineWest – a rarity in the world of competitions. We hope to post a copy of his notes for the benefit of those writers who couldn’t attend. Luke (as expected) also officiated at the crazy raffle finale.

Writing awards were co-sponsored by The Writing and Society Research Centre, WSU, including book titles from Giramondo Publishing  (see writing award list below  images). Art and Spoken Word awards were supported by private donors. The Editor’s award (The Big Black Thing) was donated by SWEATSHOP. Our venue was provided free of hire charge by UNE FutureCampus. Sahtein Lebanese Feasts was the keynote of lunch. List of writing winners is below the images.

Best Image: Zena Maghchouch: They, I, Us – Dissociative Identity Disorder “…a raw illustration of its sufferers and their suffering…” 

 

 

 

 

Best Image: Runner-up: fayroze – Self Portrait composed of the artist’s original texts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our art judge who selected all the included images was Sophia Kouyoumdjian, co-ordinator of the Parramatta Artists Studios.

WRITING AWARDS: First Place and Best Prose: LE Armbruster; Second Place and Best Poem: Norm Fairbairn; Third Place: Loredana Tudor-Tomescu; Commendations: Kirsten Oakley, Morgana Ladrina, fayroze, CA Broadribb. Editor’s Award: Kate Brown. Note: All pieces included in the zine were selected by editor SE Crawford and the guest editors: Lyn Leerson, Ruth Wyer, J. Anne deStaic and Mihaela Cristescu. The works to be published are sent to the writing judge to determine the prizes. The winning works will be posted to the ezine by January, 2018.

 

 

ZineWest 2017 Launch

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Image:fayroze

ZineWest 2017 Launch Sunday 8th October 
Food, Prizes, Judges’ Comments, Readings
Entry $10; Zines: $10 – first copy free for writers and artists included in zine.
Please join us at 11:30 am for a light lunch. Event begins at 12 Noon and runs to 2:00 pm or earlier, followed by ZW Word…..
….if you’re not published in the zine this year, why not bring an original 2 minute spell-binder for the Open Mic cash prize of $50! (sign on at 2:45 pm). Published entrants might find a spot as well…

ZineWest is a project of NWG Inc for new/emerging writers and local visual artists in Western Sydney.

ZineWest 2017 Publication List

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Every year we are grateful to all the writers who offer their work to ZineWest and every year it is a tough job to decide which pieces to publish. This year was the most difficult. There are some interesting pieces not included – we hope the writers will present them at ZW WORD which follows the print zine launch on Sunday, 8th October, 2017 at UNE FutureCampus Parramatta  The launch starts with food and drink at 11:30 am; ZW Word starts at 3:00 pm same day. More details on that soon. Meanwhile, here is our publishing list for 2017 – all works listed are eligible for the prizes, awarded by author/lecturer Luke Carman, and co-sponsored by the Writing and Society Research Centre, WSU.

PUBLICATION LIST for ZW17

F. An – Love Deconstructed
LE Armbruster – Pretending: A Hero’s quest
A. Scobie – Within Dreams
C.A. Broadribb – Danger – Link Box
K. Brown – Once-Fish
A. Chougaonkar – Lesson From Above
P. Cartwright – Crumbling
L. Courtney – The Sign Reads Warning
B. Curby – Mars Hill Café
D. Catherine – Seeing Red
R. Dunn – Glam
N. Fairbairn – First Day Back
fayroze – Friday
G. Funk – Wrinkled Full Moons
C. Haiek –The Rainbow’s Dawn
Y. Kassab – House of Youssef
Kayote – Derrida’s Wave
M. Ladrina – Other Irreversible Combustions
NL Mansell – Untouchable
A. Miller – I Never Knew
J. Mularczyk – Through a Child’s Eyes
S. Anora N – Hook, Line and Sinker
A. Noman – Perspectives
K. Oakley – Second Reading
A. Radovich – Who do you think you are?
S. See – Beaufort House
M. Sutton – How does a nice warm doona sound?
TigerSpirit – Scents of Home
L. Tudor-Tomescu – It’s Spring Back Home
K. Valeontis – (So Said the Particle Physicist)

ZW 17 Editor’s Award:The Big Black Thing Chapter. 1

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Stephen Pham, Winnie Dunn, Maryam Azam, Shirley Le

When we have a strong idea for a story, or a promising few lines of poetry, we want to crack open the possibilities. We won’t be satisfied with an easy, clichéd product. More likely we want to be honest. But good writing is a steep hill and being honest makes it steeper. The steady, patient build on inspiration/knowledge can be the answer.

Recently at NEW Writers Group inc we used an example given by director of Sweatshop, Michael Mohammed Ahmad, in his keynote speech at this year’s Sydney Writers’ Festival “Forest for the Trees”. Mohammed began by reading a school student’s piece from Sweatshop’s latest title, The Big Black Thing – Chapter. 1. Mohammed explained that the initial text was very brief. He kept asking the writer to include “more detail” and the result is a fetching story of a house and its people (or of people and their house). When war strikes the house and the people, we the readers know the loss, feel the fear.

The Big Black Thing Chapter. 1 is a vigorous contribution to the growing record of Western Sydney voices. It’s also fun to read. I love this volume because I’m busy at the moment. I can pick it up and take in two or three works, all different, and put it down again knowing that tomorrow I’ll be interested in the next story, the next poem. Contributors come from diverse cultural and language backgrounds. Members of the Western Sydney Writers Group, school students, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, have all been wonderfully featured in this first of a series – a great way of advancing literature and community in Western Sydney, and I trust, beyond.

The Big Black Thing Chapter.1 will be the Editor’s Award for ZineWest 2017. Published by Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement. Edited by Michael Mohammed Ahmad and Winnie Dunn. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writing edited by Ellen van Neerven. Project photographer – Socorro Cifuentes. Available from sweatshop.ws

‘Sweatshop was tired of waiting to see more cultural diversity in mainstream Australian literature and media, so we decided to create The Big Black Thing ‘ Michael Mohammed Ahmad.

SE Crawford, ed ZW