ZineWest 2023 Launch

Dr. Luke Carman will launch ZineWest 2023 on Saturday, 14 October, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm at UNE Sydney, Level 4, 100 George Street, Parramatta.
Also attending is art judge, Maria Serbanescu.

All welcome. $10 entry includes door prize ticket and morning tea. Carers and children under 13, free entry. Please note: Ground floor entry will be accessible from 10:45 – 11:30 am. If you expect to be late please advise before the day.

Zines $15, Contributors’ first copy $5

Morning Tea 11:00 am
Launch 11:30 am – 1:30 pm 
Commentary by Luke Carman 
Art PPT with Maria Constantinescu
Readings, prizes and awards
Giant Raffle & Door Prizes

Prizes announced at the launch
Writing: 1st $400, 2nd $300, 3rd $200; Highly Commended awards; Editors Award
Art: Best Image $100; Runners-up book awards

Writing co-sponsor for 1st place – Writing & Research Society Centre
Other prizes – Private donors

 

 

 

 

ZineWest 2023 – Art List

Maria Constantinescu is an Australian artist based in Sydney, who has collaborated with NWG Inc on projects in Parramatta. She is our ZineWest Art judge for 2023. Maria will announce the winner of Best Image ($100) and Runners-up (book titles) at the ZineWest launch, 14th October, 11:00 am, UNE Sydney, 100 George St. Parramatta. Below, see the Art publication list and Maria’s bio.

ZineWest 2023 Art 

Sandra Borri – Autumn Pickings 
Mihaela Cristescu – The Way of the Water 
Trish Jean – Pelican at Dusk 
Erin Macnaught – A Girl and Her Dog 
Kathryn Munro – Floral Bouquet 
Marina Robins – Going Places 
Karla Schindler – The Garden Visitor
Michaela Simoni – Near Wentworth Falls 
Dannielle Viera – Ebony_Devil & Still Life 

Note: Most entries were in colour. We have sought  permission from several entrants to publish one of their colour images in greyscale for the zine’s inside pages. We will update the list accordingly.

Maria Constantinescu is an Australian artist based in Sydney, NSW. Her work investigates different modalities in which information about the universe and related theories of the sublime are translated into contemporary works of art, as a continuum of an artistic tradition nascent in the 18th-century Romanticism. Through a range of media including painting, drawing, digital video, and clay, Constantinescu’s studio practice explores connections between imagination and reality, and focuses on modes of making the unseen visible, presenting the unpresentable, and transformation metaphorically linked with alchemy. Constantinescu’s work has been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions and is held in private collections in Australia and overseas. For more details and artwork images, please visit her website www.mariac.com.au or her Instagram page @maria.constantinescu.art.

 

 

 

 

NWG Inc gathering 12 August

Saturday 12 August, 2023, 3-5 pm, we meet at UNE Sydney, 211 George St. Parramatta (upstairs) to discuss our next Pop Up Zine theme: writing about places outside our usual spheres: a change in routine; an adventure; an unfamiliar location; a change of heart or mind …

You are welcome to bring a short piece of your own writing to share at the open mic. And for those who like homework: Write a short poem or a story (max 500 words) on an unusual person – real or imaginary. Free entry for first time attendees and financial members. Others: $5 to help cover our insurance cost. 

Art ZineWest 2023 due 16 July

Kathryn Munro – Meandering City

New Deadline for art entries to ZineWest 2023 is Sunday 16 July 2023.
ZineWest2023_ArtEntryForm.
Looking for images from Western Sydney creatives. Open style. We have some great entries already, but hoping for a few more artists to be involved. We include up to eight colour images on the cover and colour insert but we like grayscale for inside pages and these sometimes land on the ‘colour’ pages. It’s an A5 digital zine. Please check the entry form for more details.

Parramatta Expression Launch

Saturday 17 June, 2023, we will launch Ambiguous Loss, an anthology of stories and poems by Western Sydney Writers who are award winning contributors to NEW Writers Group Inc’s projects. We will also present ekphrastic collaborations between local artists and writers. Parramatta Expression 2023 has been supported by a City of Parramatta Council Community Grant.

Level 4, 100 George Street Parramatta (UNE premises)
Entry $5 Ambiguous Loss $15 (1st copy free for anthology contributors).
11:00am for finger food including Sahtein Lebanese Feasts.
11:30am for readings and book awards
Please note the building will be open for guests to enter between 10:45 and 11:30am
Image on cover – Mihaela Cristescu

 

Parramatta Expression Ekphrasis update

Our second round for Ekphrasis writing in response to Parramatta images is due 20th April. Writers new to the project can offer responses to 1-3 of the ten images. Writers who entered work in the first round, are welcome to send additional writing related to the three new images: Maria Constantinescu’s abstract – acrylic and Lake Parramatta sediment and water; Michaela Simoni’s painting of a lone canoeist inspired by Parramatta River (the project’s motif image); and the gallery’s only night scene, by Marina Robins. Full Gallery and entry form 

 

ZineWest 2023

ZineWest’s  2023 edition is open
for entries 1st March – 14th May.
Entry is free. Up to three entries. Please read the entry form carefully for guidelines. Entry Form.
Cover image: Kathryn Munroe

ZineWest is NWG Inc’s longest lasting special project which has been a valuable stepping stone for many writers, including some very successful ones. Every year we offer publication to aspiring poets and story writers 16 and over who have a connection with Western Sydney. Comics and cartoons also welcome. Local artists do a great job of helping us produce an attractive anthology. (Art Entry form available in May.)
Queries:   ZW2023_WRITING ENTRY FORM

Click here for ZW 2022 details and earlier ZW editions. 

 

Parramatta Expression 2023 – Ekphrasis – Writing

During January we were offered images of Parramatta by local artists. It is now the turn of writers from Parramatta, and anywhere in Western Sydney, to respond with poetry or prose. You can write a response for up to 3 separate images in the gallery. Book awards.

PARRAMATTA EXPRESSION GALLERY (1)

Parramatta Expression Ekphrasis Writing Entry Form

Image by Michaela Simoni

Please read the entry form before you write. There is a brief statement of what we’re hoping for – more than just a good description of the image… Plus details on maximum words/lines.
All contributors retain full copyright. Launch is on 17 June in Parramatta. This project has been supported by a City of Parramatta Council Community Grant.

Open Mic – Valentine Theme

Blast from the past at 211 Church Street (UNE Sydney) with Sue Chamoun, Luke Carman, Sue Crawford and Carol Amos. Will be great to return in 2023!
Photo: Mihaela Cristescu

First gathering for 2023 with NEW Writers’ Group Inc Saturday 4 Feb, 3-5 pm UNE Sydney 211 Church Street Parramatta – enter at ground floor reception, let them know you are attending our event, then head upstairs to sign in. Entry $5. Free for financial members.

Program!
Introductions; Updates on our calendar and key projects for 2023; Open Mic

OPEN MIC details:

  • Valentine theme – your interpretation
  • Light deep comic ironic (but not crude thanks)
  • No props, no music, solo only, English only
  • Time limit strictly 3 mins max
  • Your original work
  • Book award 

Note re Venue
We do not use the kitchen or student/staff equipment.
Guests at UNE premises are allowed only bottled water on site and no food.
(We sometimes go for a drink/snack afterwards.)
Wheelchair access. There is a wheelchair lift near main entrance and internal lift.
NB Some scooters might be too large. Please contact us at least three days beforehand at re options.

COVID: Please comply with social distancing requests. Do not attend if feeling unwell or testing positive.

New to us? You are most welcome but suggest you check our About page to see our charter and other information.