‘Waiting for Beckett’ finds a home

The Synchronicity of Submissions

Margaret McCaffrey of Elwood Writers recently posted a short piece on her website about the turn of events that led to her essay ‘Waiting for Beckett’ being published in oxygen6, the October 2023 edition of oxygen magazine (ISSN 2653-0376). Margaret’s post, linked above, makes for an interesting read about the small coincidences and chance remarks which can direct or lead us to fortunate places – it includes a link to the journal’s website, with an email address for subscription enquiries.

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.
http://www.greentreepublishing.com.au

oxygen is produced by Green Tree Publishing, a small publishing house that treads an independent path and is well worth your attention. You’ll find info about their other publications and initiatives, as well as subscription and purchase details, at their website – click here.

Small independent presses such as Green Tree Publishing bring tremendous diversity to the literary landscape and wider world – we all benefit hugely by celebrating and supporting them when and where we can, even if that means simply visiting their websites and taking an interest in what they’re up to.

Have a peaceful weekend. Happy reading.

Podcast: Cover to Cover | episode 510

The podcast for last week’s episode of Cover to Cover has just dropped, and you can access it by clicking here. It’s also available to stream wherever you usually get your podcasts, including over at Spotify. We’ve downloaded the episode from our preferred platform – you can too, but to save you the work the sound file can be accessed by clicking here. Why a sound file? Because podcasts are available only as long as the platform hosts them, whereas sound files are forever. Sort of. Anyway, there’s many ways to listen. (And very few excuses not to. But no pressure.)

This episode of Cover to Cover was broadcast on Friday 2 February, repeated Sunday 4 February. For information on the content of the program, visit our 23 January blog post here.

It’s a hugely entertaining program, and well worth your time.

Happy listening.

Sunday’s listening, sorted

Coming up in February: Elwood Writers on Cover to Cover

A quick reminder that in about 15 minutes you’ll have another chance to catch Friday’s episode of Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio, featuring work from Elwood Writers, including our stories published in the latest issue of 20 Artists magazine. That’s 1:00pm local time, but you can listen live wherever you are in the world (click here), unless you’re asleep or busy or not in the mood. There’s more info in the post linked above. Hope you can join us. You’ve just got time to make your favourite beverage.

And if you can’t join us today, don’t worry, there’s always the podcast, which we’ll share on this site as soon as it’s available.

Happy listening.

Now online: 20 Artists literary edition

In December, 20 Artists launched Handwritten Issue One, the inaugural literary edition of their magazine: 20 literary pieces by 20 Port Phillip artists includes work by all three Elwood Writers. This is 20 Artists’ fourth print publication – previous magazines have featured visual arts and photography.

The pieces from this latest issue are now available at the 20 Artists website. To read Helen’s poem ‘Behind the Mask’, click here. For Margaret’s ‘A Pocket Handkerchief at the Edge of the World’, click here. And for Barry’s short story ‘Portrait’, click here. You’ll find all 20 authors and their stories by clicking here.

20 Artists is supported by the City of Port Phillip Cultural Development Fund.

And a quick reminder: the Elwood Writers stories from the magazine will feature in this Friday’s episode of Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio, produced and presented by Tim McQueen. In print, online, and on the radio – how good is that! Click here for more info on the radio broadcast.

Happy reading.

Coming up in February: Elwood Writers on Cover to Cover

It’s been a radio-themed start to 2024 for the group, and that looks set to continue into next month as a selection of our work features in the 2 February edition of Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio.

The lineup includes our pieces from the latest edition of 20 Artists magazine, published in December: Barry’s ‘Portrait’, ‘A Pocket Handkerchief at the Edge of the World’ by Margaret, and Helen’s poem ‘Behind the Mask’.

Also included in the program is a re-broadcast of Barry’s short story ‘Gray’ from Broken Rules and Other Stories (Transit Lounge), with a new introduction. And we’ll be sharing the hour with Julie Koh, whose story ‘On the Road’ is taken from New Australian Fiction 2023 (Kill Your Darlings).

As always, you can listen to Cover to Cover on the radio if you’re in Australia, or online from anywhere in the world. And if you happen to miss the show, we’ll be sharing the podcast the following week.

Tune in on Friday 2 February (repeated Sunday 4 February) – listening details can be found on the Vision Australia Radio website – just click here.

Thanks as ever to Tim McQueen and the team at Vision Australia Radio for continuing to support and encourage Australian writing in all its many forms.

More information on our stories in 20 Artists magazine can be found by clicking here.

Happy reading and listening and writing.

Elwood Writers and Cover to Cover: Happy 500th Episode!

On 24 November last year, Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio reached an important milestone: episode 500 of the program. In the introduction to that week’s broadcast, producer and presenter Tim McQueen points out that over the last ten years approximately 1500 stories have been read on Cover to Cover, by about 500 different authors.

Tim and the team are always keen to promote Australian authors, and Elwood Writers has enjoyed a tremendous amount of support and encouragement almost since the program began. We’ve created the material for a number of special themed episodes, starting with, appropriately enough, ‘Starting Over’ for episode 38. On many occasions we’ve had the opportunity to visit the studios and read our work on-air. And we even get a mention in this anniversary episode. And, our very own Helen McDonald gets her very own shout-out as the program’s most-read author in 2020. Quite an achievement – well done to Helen!

We wrote a blog post to publicise episode 500 last year but in the end-of-year festive flurry we neglected to share the podcast of the program after it had been broadcast. We’re remedying that right now – you’ll find all the links you need below.

Click here to go to the podcast of episode 500. You can listen directly, or download the audio file for later, should you so wish.

Click here for an audio file of the episode.

For more information about the work of Vision Australia Radio, click here.

If you’d like to revisit our November 2023 blog post about episode 500 of Cover to Cover, click here.

You’ll find recordings of all the themed episodes that Elwood Writers has created for Cover to Cover by clicking this link here.

Thanks as always to Tim and the entire team at Cover to Cover and Vision Australia Radio for all their valuable support – it means a great deal and is very much appreciated. And huge congratulations to you all on reaching 500 episodes. Here’s to many more episodes, and many more milestones.

Happy listening, reading, and writing to everyone.

Elwood Writers on “Best of Cover to Cover 2023”

Happy New Year from Elwood Writers.

Tune in to Vision Australia Radio (VAR) this Friday at 1:00pm (AEDT) for another chance to hear our tribute to Jennifer Bryce on Cover to Cover (CTC), originally broadcast on 4 August last year, and now featuring in The Best of CTC 2023.

As always, you can listen on the radio if you’re in Australia, or online from anywhere in the world. Details can be found at the VAR website – just click here for more info.

First post of 2024, and the new year is less than 12 hours old. We’re hitting the ground running. Jenny would be proud.

Here’s hoping for a safe and peaceful 2024.

Helen’s year keeps on giving

Just when we thought we could rest on our literary laurels as the quietness of Christmas and the holiday season descends, Helen called the Elwood Writers office and was delighted to share some exciting news: her poem ‘Glimpse’ is included in the just-published WA Poets Inc online quarterly journal Creatrix #63. Congratulations, Helen! You can read Helen’s poem by clicking here.

But wait, there’s more: her one-line senryu (loosely defined as similar in structure to a haiku but without the seasonal reference, and depicting human foibles) is published in failed ~~haiku~~ – a journal of English Senryu | Volume 8, Issue 96 (USA). We’ve downloaded the issue so you don’t have to, and you can read it by clicking the link here. This collection of short-form poems is pithy, poignant, and funny, and definitely packs a punch. All the poems are well worth your time, and you’ll find Helen’s on page 150. Each month poets from all over the world submit to this US-based journal. It’s interesting to read what the publication and its people are all about, so if you’d like to know more, just head on over to their ‘About’ page by clicking the link here.

Well done, Helen – your year clearly isn’t over until it’s over! What a wonderful way to see out 2023 and welcome 2024 …

Happy reading to all, as always,

A literary gathering

On Saturday 2 December, Margaret McCaffrey hosted a small literary gathering at her home – she’d invited fellow Elwood Writers Helen McDonald and Barry Lee Thompson to join her, and to read short pieces of their work. Margaret wanted to dedicate the afternoon’s event to Elwood Writers co-founder Jennifer Bryce, who died earlier this year.

Mindful of the health and safety of her guests, Margaret kept the numbers low (and the windows open) – the event was lively and entertaining, and copies of the new edition of 20 Artists, featuring all three members of Elwood Writers, were available, hot off the press, having only been released the day before.

The readings included poetry and haiku from Helen, short fiction from Barry, and memoir from Margaret herself. Tony Thomas was invited to read from Jennifer’s body of work, and he presented a short piece from her trove of oboe-themed stories, as well as an extract from Lily Campbell’s Secret, Jenny’s debut novel. The only thing missing was Jenny, but it felt as if she were there, watching, smiling; at times, if you listened carefully, you’d swear you could hear the sounds of her beloved oboe …

At this week’s Elwood Writers meeting, the final of 2023, it was agreed that the event had been a success, and more importantly had rounded off the year in a hugely positive way. Thank you to Margaret for asking us along, and for inviting us to read from our individual work. It was clear that a lot of thought and preparation went in to the very elegant afternoon – it shone through and was much appreciated.

It’s given us a taste for public readings again, and we discussed how we might take that forward. The last Elwood Writers public soiree was held at St Kilda Library on 25 August 2018, over five years ago. Where does the time go! Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about another event in the not-too-distant future. Anyway, we’re sure to return to this topic when we reconvene in February for our first meeting of 2024.

The holidays might have begun for Elwood Writers, but this isn’t our last blog post of the year. There are one or two more to follow before 2023 is out.

For now, have a peaceful weekend.

Elwood Writers feature in 20 Artists Handwritten Issue

Within these pages, you’ll find a rich tapestry of short stories, satire, touching poetry, local snapshots, heartfelt memories, and even contemplative spiritual prose. These stories reveal the profound roots of creativity, which run deep within our community.
20 Artists | Handwritten Issue One

We were delighted to be approached earlier this year by 20 Artists in Melbourne, Victoria, to contribute to their first ever literary edition of the magazine. This issue is their fourth publication – previous magazines have featured visual arts and photography. 20 Artists is supported by the City of Port Phillip Cultural Development Fund.

This is a wonderful way to cap off the year for Elwood Writers, and we’re thrilled to be included in this beautiful publication.

More information on the 20 Artists project, including biographies of the contributors, will be available soon at the 20 Artists website, here.

Happy reading!