More prizes!

This morning I received an email saying I'd won the five pack of the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. The slightly creepy covers of the books take me back to when I was a kid and used to write kind of gruesome little stories. Thanks to Kids Book Review who have me reading so many great kids' books because of their reviews, I was able to enter this competition which asked what I would call one of the books in this series.
The week before I was delighted to find out through the Handmade Canberra website that I'd won "Riley and the Grumpy Wombat" picture book by Tania McCartney. I had to say what I would do in Melbourne because Riley flies about over some amazing Melbourne sights and great Victorian landmarks. I just love these creative, fun competitions and it's pretty nice to be a winner of some great books.

Creative Fellowships

I just got an email that I'd been waiting for. Unfortunately it didn't carry the news I was hoping for. I did not get shortlisted for the Rosebank Writers' Residency. I looked through the list of successful applicants for last year and I realised that my application and genre was probably not going to get me onto that shortlist.
Anyhow, I wish everyone else all the best. The Victorian Writers' Centre encouraged me to apply again next year and I shall. I have a different project in mind and by then, it should be well underway.

Moment with a Mentor

On Saturday 10th September I went to Albury to attend the 'Write around the Murray' Festival. Well, I only managed to attend one session which was 'Moment with a Mentor'. There were other sessions I would like to have attended but I had to decide whether to catch up with my cousin who I hadn't seen for twenty years, or attend readings and a dinner. Of course I would have loved to attend as many writing sessions as possible but I knew that if I left Albury without seeing my cousin, that I would have missed a great opportunity. It was wonderful to see my cousin.
That aside, I met with Jenny Darling the next morning. Jenny was a lovely person who put me at ease immediately. I knew that her Literary Agency was a top one so I felt quite intimidated. Our half hour together was gone in a flash. We talked about the ten pages which I submitted from my children's book. We discussed the title, the blurb, the genre, the beginning, writing to strengths, character names, plot problems and being disciplined in setting aside time to write. It was a unique opportunity for me to chat with an agent. To gain knowledge from a professional, one on one, is a gem. I hope that next year I will earn other such opportunities.