Elwood Writers reflects on a year of milestones

Every Second Tuesday (Rightword Enterprises) 2020

Elwood Writers recently had its last meeting of the year: last Tuesday, 9 December — coincidentally five years to the day since our anthology Every Second Tuesday was launched by Lee Kofman at Readings. Half a decade’s worth of water has passed under the literary bridge since that glittering night. And how quickly the stream has flowed. Happy fifth birthday, Every Second Tuesday.

But let’s look back at the year just gone. A busy year, 2025, and one of some notable firsts and lasts.

Our first ever writing retreat occurred in February, at beautiful Daylesford and Hepburn Springs in Victoria’s spa country, on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. This was very much a week of intense focus, and we loved it so much that we followed up with a second retreat in July!

We were invited to judge the 2025 American Writers Review literary contest, with its theme “Buyers’ Remorse”. And we were blown away by the quality of work submitted.

We turned 18 in June. Yes, Elwood Writers has been around for an entire generation. Was there cake? You bet there was!

In October, we recorded our twelfth edition of Cover to Cover for Vision Australia Radio. ‘Stories of Change and Place’ was broadcast on Friday 14 November, repeated Sunday 16 November. Check out the podcast if you didn’t catch the original airing.

Which brings us back to Tuesday 9 December, and our last fortnightly meeting of the year. Nothing remarkable there. Except this was Barry’s last formal meeting. After co-founding Elwood Writers with Jennifer Bryce in 2007, Barry is bidding a fond farewell to the group. Everything must change, it’s often said. Very best of luck to you, Barry. We’ll miss you in too many ways to name. Thank you so much for your camaraderie and invaluable contributions over the years. We can’t begin to say how much we appreciate the work you’ve put into this website — now I guess we’ll finally have to start reading the operating manual.

But, Barry’s not getting away quite that easily — he’ll remain ‘on the books’ as an Honorary Member of Elwood Writers. And who knows, there might be a radio collaboration in the works for the not-too-distant future.

So we begin to cast our thoughts towards 2026: a new chapter for all of us. What lies in store for this changed writing group, we wonder. Whatever happens, we think it’ll be well worth reading about. So make sure to keep watching this space.

Don’t forget to follow/subscribe if you haven’t already. Please give us a ‘like’ by clicking the button below — it helps us out and keeps us connected with you. We do like to keep in touch.

Wishing everyone a peaceful festive season. All the best for 2026.

Cover to Cover, Episode 603 — podcast/recording

As promised, here is last Friday’s Elwood Writers special — episode 603 of the weekly literary magazine Cover to Cover, from Vision Australia Radio. Play at your leisure.

Cover to Cover

Hosted by Tim McQueen, this 1 hour program delivers a diverse feast of book readings and short stories presented by our fantastic team of volunteer readers.

You’ll also find this recording wherever you usually get your podcasts. If you usually get podcasts, that is. And if you don’t, we’d like to let you know that audio is the thing right now.

Happy listening!

ICYMI: Cover to Cover episode 603

Did you tune in to last night’s edition of Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio? It was a rich exploration of change and place, and the intersections between the two, told through a selection of work from Elwood Writers. We’ve been receiving very good feedback on the show already. One listener got in touch last night to say it was our ‘best program yet’. And we’ve done twelve so far, so that’s a pretty neat endorsement.

We heard memoir pieces ‘Long Island’ and ‘Ellinbank Revisited’ from Margaret; a selection of poetry and haiku from Helen, including ‘The dish’, ‘In retreat’, ‘The magpie feather’, ‘Tink tink’, ‘Paradise’, ‘Moving day’, ‘Last orders’, and ‘Crossing the Fitzroy’. From Barry, we had short stories ‘Love Always, Adrian’, ‘Fragrant’, ‘Astronaut’, ‘The Sea Tower’, and ‘Front of House’.

As always, the glue holding the entirety together was Tim McQueen. Thanks to Tim and the VAR team for their support, allowing us once again the opportunity to read our own work on the air.

If you missed the broadcast, see you tomorrow at 1PM (AEDT) for the repeat. Listen online or on your wireless if you’re in Australia. All listening details can be found at the link here.

And if you miss Sunday’s repeat, we’ll share the program recording on this site next week. Or simply pick it up wherever you usually access your podcasts.

Do listen in.

Have a wonderful weekend!

On the air tonight: Stories of Change & Place

Not sure how to spend your Friday night? Too many choices? Not enough options? Or looking for a way to get out of a sticky social engagement? We’ve just the thing: the only event worth attending this Friday evening can be found on your transistor by tuning the dial to Vision Australia Radio at 8PM (AEDT) and settling in for this week’s edition of Cover to Cover. It’s another Elwood Writers special, our twelfth. The theme this time: ‘Stories of Change & Place’. With poetry from Helen, memoir from Margaret, and fiction from Barry, it’s sure to be a literary banger. All wrapped up in just under one hour.

Thanks as always to Tim McQueen and the team at Vision Australia Radio.

Vision Australia Radio can be heard in various ways: online from anywhere in the world, or on the radio if you’re in Australia. Details can be found at the VAR website, by clicking here.

And if you can’t join us this evening, the program is repeated Sundays at 1PM.

And if by Sunday you still haven’t had a chance to listen to this episode, fear not — podcasts usually come out on the Tuesday after the repeat. You’ll find those recordings wherever you get your podcasts, and we always share them here on the EW website. And then you can listen in your own time.

Isn’t it great when you don’t have to make a plan because someone else makes it for you? You’re welcome!

Happy listening,

Stories of Change & Place | Cover to Cover, Vision Australia Radio

Elwood Writers was in the Vision Australia Radio studios on Tuesday, recording our twelfth special for the weekly literary program Cover to Cover. The focus of this latest edition is ‘change and place and the overlap between the two’, and features poetry from Helen, memoir from Margaret, and fiction from Barry. The broadcast date is Friday 14 November, to be repeated that Sunday.

We’ve been a bit quiet in the online space these past few months. Normally, we post at least once a month, but our usually razor-sharp attention slipped off the blogging ball in October. Our excuse? That attention was redirected elsewhere — we’ve been busily putting together the radio show. A lot of work goes into building each program, and we’re fortunate to have the support of Tim and the team at VAR along the way. It’s always well worth the effort.

Produced and presented by Tim McQueen, Cover to Cover airs on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, and can be heard on the radio in Australia, and online from anywhere in the world.

We’ll share more info on ‘Stories of Change & Place” closer to the time — so do stay tuned over the next couple of weeks. We hope you’ll be able to join us on broadcast night.

For now, from sunny (currently!) Victoria, have a very peaceful Sunday.

Tell Me a Story

When I was a child, our mother used to read to my younger brother and me. By the time she had three more sons, she’d run out of steam; probably driven hoarse by my begging for more. There’s something magic about listening to a story that never loses favour. That’s why Tim McQueen’s program Cover to Cover (CTC) on Vision Australia Radio is a gift to his audience.

In October, Elwood Writers recorded our work for a CTC literary broadcast: Helen read her poetry and haiku, Barry his fiction noir, and I, a personal essay.

My story ‘Tommy’ is about a childhood friend who left Melbourne for London in the early seventies. His artistic dreams took him around the world before he settled back in England. His sudden death this year sparked memories for me of what he called our ‘naïve’ youth.

I worked on the memoir piece with the unstinting support of fellow Elwood Writers. When the opportunity came to record our work for an episode of Cover to Cover, I grabbed it with gusto. We have read almost annually for the program, but this time – perhaps because it was a ‘writers’ choice’ theme – I set about rehearsing properly. I practised by our local river, recording the story over and over while waiting for the birds and wood spirits to offer their free opinions. For me, parrots represent good omens, and a rare call from the lofty kookaburra can verge on the mystical.

Cover to Cover is popular with long haul drivers who may tire of the news cycle. Knowing there’d be listener scrutiny for our pieces sharpened my resolve to create flow and purpose in a way that simply leaving the words on the page might not have.

By the time of recording, I was as ready as I’d ever be. When the program aired, I returned to the river to listen and walk. I could hear in my voice unnecessary pauses, and a lisp I thought I’d left behind in childhood. But all in all, the reading – guided by Tommy’s effervescent spirit – made for a peaceful way to farewell my friend. Nothing one does will bring a person back, but shaping and chronicling days we had together can help.

Barry and Helen are masterful story tellers and literary performers. Now I’m a convert to the spoken word and an advocate for live readings being a part of a writer’s arsenal. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Consider it the gift of story to both listener and reader. Oh, and to writer too.

Helen McDonald: Poetry on Cover to Cover, Episode 552

A selection of Helen’s poetry and haiku, read by Helen herself, was broadcast recently on Vision Australia Radio’s weekly literary program Cover to Cover. Episode 552 went to air on Friday 22nd November, repeated Sunday 24th November. Fabulous, Helen – what a treat!

In case you missed the program, the podcast (published Nov 26, 2024 at 2:11 PM) is available below:

Also included in this program are Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Sister of the Baroness’ and Damon Runyon’s ‘The Broadway Financier’, both read by Barry Leviny.

A sound file of the recording can be accessed by clicking here.

Cover to Cover is produced in the studios of Vision Australia Radio in Kooyong. The program is presented each Friday evening by Tim McQueen, and repeated on Sunday afternoons.

Happy listening!

Cover to Cover | Episode 548| 25 October 2024

Here’s the podcast of last week’s episode of Vision Australia Radio’s Cover to Cover, a special edition of the weekly literary program featuring the work of Elwood Writers:

Elwood Writers presents: The Writers’ Choice

‘Elwood Writers Presents: The Writers’ Choice’ features memoir by Margaret, fiction by Barry, and poetry by Helen – all read by the writers themselves.

This episode can also be found over on Spotify, or wherever you choose to get your podcasts. If you’d rather access the recording via a sound file, we’ve got that covered – just click here.

Don’t forget, one of the best ways of supporting our work is to give it your time. So sit back, relax and enjoy being transported by our stories.

Happy listening!

Catch the repeat!

Listen up!

If you didn’t catch Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio (VAR) last night for ‘Elwood Writers presents: The Writers’ Choice’, there’s another opportunity to hear the program tomorrow afternoon. The repeat airs at Ipm Sunday in Melbourne, but you can check out local times at the VAR website, here. You don’t need a transistor radio, either: wherever you are, you can listen online at the VAR website – just click here and hit the ‘Listen live’ button.

We were moved by Margaret’s memoirs, unsettled by Barry’s ghost story, and carried to a place of peaceful introspection by Helen’s poetry.
EW

If you missed Friday’s broadcast, and you can’t make Sunday’s, don’t worry: we’ll be posting a podcast and recording of the program on this website sometime next week. Make sure you don’t miss any updates by clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button at the end of this post.

Happy listening!

Listen up!

🎧 Tune in to Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio this Friday evening – it’s another Elwood Writers special! 🎧

Elwood Writers presents: The Writers’ Choice, includes:

📖 Memoirs by Margaret McCaffrey
📚 A new short story by Barry Lee Thompson
🖋️ Selections of poems and haiku by Helen McDonald

Don’t miss this literary showcase!
Vision Australia Radio

Check varadio.org for program times near you. If you can’t join us on Friday, catch the repeat broadcast on Sunday. And if you can’t make that either, we’ll be sharing a recording or podcast of the program on this site next week. So if you haven’t already, subscribe to Elwood Writers below to stay in the loop – it’s completely free and will remain free forever. How fab is that!

Happy listening!

P.S. Do subscribe if you haven’t already – it’s a really good way to support our work, and we promise you won’t be disappointed. That subscribe button is coming up again at the end of the post. Here it comes …