2021/23 Four Centres Emerging Writers Program at FAWWA
Congratulations to the selected participants of the 2021/2023 Four Centres Emerging Writers Program. These emerging writers’ manuscripts were selected not only for their original and creative treatment of subject matter, but for their technical proficiency and potential for publication and career impact.
This program, funded by DLGSC and auspiced by Fremantle Press, will provide mentorship from established writers and workshops from industry professionals to aid the development of participants’ manuscripts. Best of luck to these emerging writers for the next two years.
The Emerging Writers’ Program (EWP) at FAWWA provides eight emerging writers the opportunity to develop their manuscripts and writing careers with support from industry professionals over a two-year period. Participants work with an established writing mentor and attend a series of workshops designed to kickstart their entry into the writing and publishing sector.
The Fellowship is delighted that the EWP is again running from 2021-2023 with funding from the Department of Local Government, Sporting and Cultural Industries. The program will be run with assistance from Fremantle Press and in partnership with three other WA writing centres: Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre (KSP), The Peter Cowan Writers’ Centre (PCWC) and West Australian Poets Inc (WAPI).
Poetry, Short story, Adult fiction, Young Adult fiction, Children’s fiction and Life story/Memoir manuscript submissions were accepted this year. The selected participants for the current program were initially assessed blind by a five-person panel comprised of both prose and poetry writers as well as experienced critical readers. The selection criteria included:
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Technical proficiency (spelling, sentence construction, grammar and syntax)
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Creativity and imagination (original treatment of the subject matter, genre, or theme)
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Viability for publication
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Work sufficiently developed to be taken to a submittable standard in the two year timeframe
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Potential for career impact (assessed on the basis of the writer’s statement)
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Applicants over the age of eighteen, who have not have published a full-length work*, and are current members of FAWWA.
* For the purposes of the EWP at FAWWA a full-length work shall be defined as a digital or hard copy, sole author publication of 25,000 words (prose) or a poetic work of 60 pages plus. Writers with individual short works published in journals, anthologies and online, even if in excess of 25,000 words in total, are eligible to apply.
Read on to find out more about current Four Centres Emerging Writers Program at FAWWA participants.
Jen Rewell
Jen Rewell lives in Western Australia, where lots of ideas wash up on white sandy beaches and come humming out of blue skies. She’s travelled the world and is good at sport and music and art. She talks to strangers and plays the piano and can make you laugh. Her life is busy with her lovely teenage daughters, her two foolish dogs and her husband (who golfs).
She’s always written for a living. She’s been a journalist and columnist at POST Newspapers, and spent years writing online web reports and freelance articles and real estate copy. In fact, she spent so many years writing sparkling marketing guff that she was starting to believe it. So, she spent a whole lockdown rethinking her reasons for existence and then, happily, cut her freelance ties. Now she has more time to write for herself and can feel the wind in her hair again.
Megan Anderson
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Megan Anderson is a journalist, author, artist and illustrator. Her journalism has been published in newspapers and magazines in Australia and internationally. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, The Qantas magazine, Broadsheet and the Sydney Morning Herald. She was a feature writer on The West Australian, and has been variously a travel writer, columnist and editor of WA lifestyle magazine Scoop.
Megan moonlights as an artist under the guise of Hangdog Art. She creates whimsical, offbeat artworks and wire sculptures with a dog theme. She has held several solo and group exhibitions, and her artwork features in private collections around the world. In 2019, Megan combined her two passions – writing and painting – in Word of Dog (Fremantle Press), a picture book for grownups. It captures her sense of the absurd, as well as a pressing desire to understand the human condition. She hasn’t quite got there, and so continues to explore by writing short fiction. Flash is her current fascination. She’s keen to master the art of leaving things out.
Richard Grant
Richard Grant is a Perth based writer. A childhood obsession with books and stories became a career when, after completing degrees in Screen Arts and Cultural Studies, he began working in libraries. Currently working at City of Swan Libraries as a Programs Specialist, his work ranges from facilitating writing workshops to developing community events that run across the City of Swan's six library branches. Prior to working in libraries he used his skills as a freelance filmmaker and videographer, to shoot a range of corporate videos and weddings. Farewell Rebel is his first novel, combining his love of Western Australia with his knowledge of music and pop-culture. When not working or writing he enjoys going on hikes and climbs with his golden retriever Saaba.
Kim Aikman
I am a writer, living in Fremantle with my husband and four children. I have a BA (Hons) in English Studies (First Class) from the University of Nottingham and a MSc in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. I have also studied editing, publishing, fiction writing, journalism, and scriptwriting. I am currently enrolled on the Master of Arts (Literature & Writing) degree at Deakin University.
I have worked in publishing, documentary production and arts administration, as well as reviewing books and restaurants for Mslexia and The List. I was a runner-up for The Guardian Young Travel Journalist of the Year 2001, short-listed for The Asham Award in 2005, long-listed for the Fish One Page Story Prize in 2005, and short-listed for the Global Short Story Competition in August 2009. I was a finalist for the Northern Territory Literary Awards in 2008. For several years, I wrote a blog about motherhood and creativity. In 2019, I was chosen by Allen & Unwin for the Varuna Publisher Introduction Program Fellowship. I have also been selected for a fellowship at the KSP Writers’ Centre in 2021.
Jane Laugharne
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I was born in the United Kingdom, completed my BA (Hons) in English in London, and a PGCE in Sheffield. After a brief stint living in Baltimore, in the United States, I moved with my family to Geraldton, Western Australia, and then to Coff’s Harbour in the late 90’s. Returning to England in 2000, we endured two years of rain on Dartmoor, before returning to WA, and settling in Hovea, in the Eastern Hills.
I have variously worked as an editor, a teacher of English, drama, and literature, and as a full-time mother and travelling spouse, but have always been a teller of tall tales, and a secret scribbler. In 2018, I embarked on an MA in novel writing, via London Middlesex University, and since graduating this year with a first distinction, I’ve continued to develop my novel. I also teach and enjoy bushwalking and natural history. I have recently contributed to the upcoming WriteFree Group anthology, both as an author and as an editor.
Mary Rose
When Mary retired from her nursing career ten years ago she knew she had another career awaiting her. An avid reader, she had been dabbling with children’s stories for some time and had had a nursing related article published. But there was a story still to be told.
In 2012 she completed a six-week course in memoir writing run by Dr. Maureen Helen at PCWC. She continued honing her skills in workshops and courses both face to face and on-line. Now her memoir ambition has been acknowledged and she looks forward to being able to present it for publication.
She is a member of Australian Society of Authors and FAWWA where she attends the Book Length Project group. Mary splits her time between family, writing, and bridge. She enjoys time with friends and time in the garden. She is a member of Women Welcome Women Worldwide and looks forward to travelling with them again when permitted.
Emma Bladen
Emma Bladen began writing in 1992 as a reporter for Post Newspapers in Subiaco. Since then, Emma’s career has included roles as a reporter, sub-editor, news editor, and editor in New York, Sydney, and Dubai where she also taught journalism at the Murdoch University campus.
Emma began writing fiction while still immersed in the news industry. Her sci-fi flash fiction The Pick-Me-Up reached top five in the international 2013/2014 Fish Publishing Flash Fiction Prize, and was published in the 2014 Fish Anthology. Her flash fiction Good Fluffy reached top five in the international CrimeFest Flashbang 2016 competition. Her prize was to be published online with the other finalists, and a place in a series of writing workshops at CrimeFest in Bristol, England. Emma is currently working on her first novel, which is women’s fiction, and two children’s chapter books.
Annie Wilson
The daughter of a journalist and a librarian, Annie Wilson has always loved words. She has taught English and Japanese to all ages, finds people endlessly interesting and considers it a privilege to facilitate learning. After marrying an engineer and living in places as diverse as Karratha, Japan, Milan and Melbourne, Annie is fascinated by culture and communication in all its forms. Animals and plants have a special place in her heart, as do her husband and two children. Now happily back in sunny, relaxed Perth, Annie misses Brunswick Street and Melbourne family and returns as often as she can. Annie has an ongoing interest in supporting young people living with a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/POTS diagnosis and is the co-administrator of a large online parent group. She is currently writing full-time, won a Highly Commended in the ASA Mentorship Awards 2021 and wouldn’t survive without her writing group.
Take a look at the emerging writers who completed the program with FAWWA in 2020. We wish these authors the very best with their writing futures, and are honoured to have supported them on their writing journeys.
Jacquie Garton-Smith
Jacquie Garton-Smith is a writer and doctor. With 28 years of medical experience and specialised as a General Practitioner, she strongly believes in the power of sharing stories, and in creativity and the arts for health benefits, on which she has blogged.
Born in Kalgoorlie, Perth-raised and a UWA graduate, she feels a deep connection with WA.
The Taste of Red Dust is historical fiction set in Perth, the Central Wheatbelt and the South West. It was longlisted for the 2017 Richell Prize for Emerging Authors.
Jacquie continued working on her manuscript in 2019, applying insights gained at the Emerging Writers Workshops. In March Jacquie won a 2020 ASA and Copyright Agency Award Mentorship for The Taste of Red Dust. We wish Jacquie all the best in her new mentorship.
Laurie Smith
Laurie Smith is a retired zoologist and Honorary Associate of the Western Australian Museum. His work there spanned more than forty years and included the development and management of the Museum’s collections through field work. His scientific work includes publications on the ecology and systematics of terrestrial vertebrates in Western Australia and Indonesia. Another of his interests is the history of Western Australia, especially the impact of the maritime expeditions of the nineteenth century. His poetry and essays have been published in various Australian journals, including Westerly, Tamba and Landscapes: the Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language.
Janelle Lawer
Like any respectable geologist, Janelle’s pockets are often filled with rocks. Passionate about exploration, she’s spent a disproportionate amount of time alone in the bush; for research, for fun, and now to fuel her love of creating wilderness-based fiction. She’s chased mountain ranges from Nepal to Bolivia, and settled for a time beside the Canadian Rockies. After meeting a bear (the hard way), Janelle realised her allegiance was with Australian-style critters. She finds creative inspiration in the memories of ancient landscapes, exploring hidden forests, and drawing the line between art and science.
Janelle lives with her family in Perth, Western Australia.
Tim Scanlon
Tyson Adams, the pen name of Tim Scanlon, started writing after an unfortunate accident with an imagination and a pencil. He has published short stories in Pulse Pounding Tales and Kills, Thrills and Chaos, satirical articles in The Sauce and The Skeptic Magazine, and was awarded an Honourable Mention in the Katherine Susannah Pritchard Ghost Story competition. Tyson was also a 2018 KSP Fellowship recipient.
As a scientist, Tyson has been involved in science communication and contributed articles to The Conversation and ABC’s The Drum. He doesn’t like to brag, especially in the third person, but has a couple of science degrees, is married with a son and a daughter, and is a vocal proponent of renewable energies and quality whiskey.
Bruce Willett
I am an emerging writer in the genre of young adult fiction. My first manuscript is titled 1414C, a dystopian journey in the year 2150. I am also a clinical psychologist and perfectionist. I currently co-facilitate the Book Length Project Group at FAWWA, which includes a vibrant collection of writers in different genres. I’m also co-writing a non-fiction psychology self-help guide which addresses universal human vulnerabilities. Our knowledge is drawn from 30 years’ shared experience and 10 000 people. And if you are curious about the title of my fiction manuscript, 1414C is the melting temperature of silicon!
Hessom Razavi
Hessom Razavi is a doctor and writer, born in Iran in 1976. He was raised in Tehran and Karachi, speaking Farsi and Urdu. His family moved to the UK in 1983, and later migrated to Western Australia.
Hessom wrote his first poem in 2006, after a night of hospital shift work. His poetry has since garnered prizes in Australia and overseas. Themes include his lived experiences: in-groups and out-groups, the migrant’s quest, death and its aftermath, the wonders of eyesight, the joy of Iranian dinner parties.
Hessom is husband to the vivacious Megan. They like the idea of having children.
We are pleased to announce that at the end of 2019, Hessom won the Behrouz Boochani Fellowship. We wish Hessom all the best all the best with his future writing, and the Behrouz Boochani Fellowship.
Nicky Buller
Nicky Buller is a scientist who works with bacteria that cause disease in terrestrial and aquatic animals, and is the author of a UK published reference book for identifying bacteria found in aquatic animals. Some of her short stories and poems have been published or listed in prizes. She is currently working on a contemporary novel involving intrigue in scientific research.
In 2020 we have been able to offer Nicky a mentorship for her manuscript The Chemistry of Conspiracy. We look forward to Nicky's continued participation in the Emerging Writers program.
Julie Woodland
Julie Woodland is West Australian, and deeply interested in our local and regional landscape and how it shapes a sense of place and self across generations. She loves the Kimberley region, has operated adventure tours between Perth and Darwin, and flies in and out of a remote town to work as a nurse.
Her short stories have won (2015-2016) and been shortlisted (2017-2018) in the Mallacoota Arts Council E.J. Brady Short Story competition, and been placed second in the FAWWA Stuart Hadow Short Story Prize (2017).
She is currently working on a Middle Grade children’s novel set in the South West.
Julie has a degree in Literature and Writing from Curtin University and a plan to go feral and create stories set in the Western Australian wilderness.
Jennifer Mapleson
Jennifer Mapleson is a Western Australian historical fiction writer, working on her first novel, set in Perth in 1961. She works in education and previously as a professional historian and museum curator. Jennifer writes about the early 20th century concentrating on women’s voices, intangible histories and secrets buried in the past. She has been selected for programs and residencies with Margaret River Press, Varuna The Writers House (NSW), Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre and the Fellowship of Australian Writers, WA. She lives in the Perth Hills.
Jennifer made good progress on her manuscript The Oral Histories in 2019. In early 2020, Jennifer submitted The Oral Histories for the Ted Hungerford Award with Fremantle Press. We wish Jennifer all the best with her manuscript and the award.
Traudl Tan
Born during WWII in Germany in 1943. In 1963 travelled overland to Australia. Married a Chinese Malaysian, had three children, majored in Asian Studies at Murdoch University and finished with a DipEd and MPhil. Worked as tutor, then taught at secondary level. At that stage became a widow and single mother. Employed as EO at Pundulmurra College, Pilbara. There I met Ambrose Mungala Chalarimeri who asked me to help him produce his autobiography and we lived in Kalumburu for oral history recordings. His book The Man from the Sun-rise Side, nominated for two literary awards, was published in 2001. Later I taught at Wyndham DHS for eight years. I assist as volunteer with a UWA Archaeology team researching Aboriginal rock art. I paint and write poetry.
Ingrid Rickersey
Ingrid Rickersey is a freelance writer who, after a career as a registered nurse, completed her journalism degree in 2008. She has had articles and short stories published in newspapers and magazines and writes on a variety of topics, including travel and restaurant reviews. An eclectic reader and occasional blogger, Ingrid is currently working on her first novel. She is one of the founding members of the South Side Quills writers group in Bunbury, who together produced an anthology of stories titled The Runaway Quill: Tales from the South Side Quills, published in 2016.
Heather James
I am perhaps the world’s slowest emerging author, but my love of stories, and the words that create them, have intrigued me since childhood. I have been writing ‘seriously’ for over ten years now and have completed one novel length manuscript, which was shortlisted in the Luke Bitmead 2016, unpublished manuscript award (Legend Press, UK), in addition to a number of short stories.
I am currently working on a second manuscript - a psychological drama set in a remote region of Western Australia.
My writing explores themes of human frailty and psychological disturbance. I am also deeply intrigued by the creative process itself and how it intersects with our own individual narratives.
I have attended various writing retreats and workshops and am a member of ASA, FAW WA and Varuna Alumni.
Helen Doran-Wu
We are pleased to welcome Helen Doran-Wu. I was born in Liverpool to Irish and English parents. My husband is Burmese of Chinese descent. We have two adult daughters. I have worked in the Local Government and Not-for-Profit sectors for many years. As a result of my experience, migration and diversity are major themes in my work. I am currently studying part-time for an MA in Creative Writing at Curtin. I also facilitate the Words and Writers Group at KSP on a Tuesday morning.
Lisa Collyer
Lisa Collyer is a poet and storyteller. Her poetry is not nice - aiming to disorientate and challenge expectations of female experience and Australian identity.
She writes from the fringe in language laden with baroque imagery that jars with snapshots of the mundane. Her work is imbued with the ‘body’ exploring how women’s sexual, reproductive and spatial realities shape a life.
Personal accounts tap into global themes, including asylum, assault, loss and lust. She has been a feature at Perth Poetry Club and a repeat feature as a guest storyteller at Barefaced Stories
