Category Archives: UNE Sydney

ZineWest 2023 Awards

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At UNE Sydney in Parramatta, on Saturday14th October, we were delighted to launch ZineWest 2023.
Our judges, Luke Carman (Writing) and Maria Constantinescu (Art),  announced their awards.
Cover Image by Sandra Borri.

We honour the judges for their dedicaton and thank the contributors and friends attending –  supporting their colleagues, volunteering, reading. For those unable to come, you can order a contributor’s copy and more copies At our Shop.

Luke Carman gave his annual commentary on all the writing pieces and announced the following awards:

1st Place and Best Prose:
The Sound of Water by Adam Byatt
2nd Place:
The River is a Mirror by Trish Jean
3rd Place and Best Poem
Amity by Mitch Browne
Highly Commended 
Dawn by Lisel Herrmann
A Way from where you live by Kristof Mikes-Lui
1942 by Geneva Valek

Editors’ Award
Joint winners –
The Feasting by Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan
Her vs Him by Paris Rosemont

Maria Constantinescu gave her commentary on the images published in the zine and announced the following awards:

Best Image:
Pelican at Dusk by Trish Jean
1st Runner-up 
A Girl and Her Dog by Erin Macnaught
2nd Runner-up
Going Places by Marina Robins

Photos to come!

We thank our sponsors and supporters including the Writing and Society Research Cenre at WSU, and our generous private donors.

 

ZineWest 2023 Launch

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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 Constantinescu.

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

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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 & Face in the Billabong
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

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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. 

Parramatta Expression Launch

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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

 

NWG Inc Gathering 25 March 2023

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Saturday, 25 March 3-5 at UNE Sydney 211 Church Street Parramatta upstairs (There is a lift!)

Join us for an informal discussion and exercise on Writing Character.
Tell us about a protagonist or the voice of a poem that impressed.

And how do writers produce a memorable person, an unforgettable voice?

Plus Open Mic – your original works are most welcome – short or an excerpt. 

Image: Banisters at 211 Church Photo: Mihaela Cristescu

And meanwhile don’t forget our Ekphrasis project and your entries for ZineWest!

Open Mic – Valentine Theme

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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.

 

NWG Inc Venue 2023

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FutureCampus Parramatta

With heart-felt thanks to UNE Sydney. Starting on 4th February, we will meet once a month on a Saturday 3-5 pm, at 211 Church Street Parramatta, for tutorials, workshops and open mic – except when we launch Parramatta Expression in June and ZineWest in October at 100 George Street.

Saturday Gathering Dates:

February: 4
March: 25
April: 15
May: 13
(June: 17 Parramatta Expression Launch)
July: 8 
August: 12
September: 9
(October: 14 ZineWest Launch)
November: 11 – Includes AGM 

These events are open to the public but please introduce yourself first by email at and visit our About page to see our charter and other info.

 

 

NWG Inc last 2022 Gathering

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Saturday, 12 November at UNE, 28 George St Parramatta 
3-5 pm Please sign in downstairs 2:50-3:00

Masks please, and no food or drink except bottled water.
We always bring wrapped sweets. No obligation to eat them.

Open Mic – short work or extract
Survey on your suggestions for 2023
*Ekphrastic writing – discussion and exercise
Afterwards, join us at the Woolpack for a quick drink/snack
*Ekphrastic Writing – one among many definitions – “describes or pays tribute to a piece of visual art”.  

Here is an artwork we will include in the exercise: Meandering City by Kathryn Munro