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.

Every Second Tuesday: an update

The second half of 2024 got off to a flying start for the Elwood Writers blog yesterday with a fascinating new post from Helen, all about the power of the spoken word.

And the momentum continues today with this update on the Elwood Writers anthology Every Second Tuesday. We recently decided, for administrative reasons, to close our account with IngramSpark, the printers and distributors of the anthology. It takes 45 days for the closure to fully take effect, so the title is slowly being withdrawn, bit by bit, and by the end of July Every Second Tuesday will no longer be available from the usual channels. For now, it can still be purchased print-on-demand or as an e-book from some platforms (click here to view an example), but this is unlikely to be the case for much longer. The situation might even have changed by the time you finish reading this post!

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you might be familiar with the voyage of Every Second Tuesday. Having discussed it for many months, Elwood Writers started to put an anthology together in early 2019, working on structural edits of the pieces in the second half of that year. In early 2020, Barry copy-edited the manuscript – when finished, he declared that no one would ever find a single typographical error in the entire anthology! So far, no one has challenged his bold claim. We’re forever grateful to David Grigg at Rightword Enterprises for his tireless and patient collaboration on designing and publishing the book, and creating a beautiful finished product. Lee Kofman launched the anthology in a glittering online Q&A event hosted by Melbourne bookseller Readings in December 2020. In the same month, the ever-supportive Tim McQueen of Vision Australia Radio generously dedicated an entire episode of Cover to Cover to the anthology. Other radio appearances included an interview on 3CR’s Published…Or Not, and readings on 94.9 MAINfm’s The Quiet Carriage. There have been many other events along the way, too many to list in this brief post, as well as wonderful reviews, a panoply of supportive readers and booksellers, and plenty of warm glows. And one of the best things is that we distributed or sold our entire print run, which means we’ve never had to remainder or pulp a single copy.

None of this means that Every Second Tuesday is disappearing. Far from it. The anthology will continue to grace the shelves of many public libraries in Australia (and maybe even beyond), as well as the shelves of any bookstores that might still be holding stock – although most of the bookstores we supplied sold out very quickly.

The upshot of this quick (ish) update is that if you’re late to the party or you’ve been here forever and still don’t have a copy of Every Second Tuesday, then you’ll need to act quickly if you’d like to get your hands on it because opportunities to buy the book are dwindling. We hear it’s a very good book, so you won’t regret it. The clock is ticking …

Happy reading,

P.S. If you miss the boat, or you end up kicking yourself at the end of July because you didn’t get hold of a copy, then there is a small chance that all may not be completely lost – but more on that later.

Unusual Work No. 35

While spending time putting together our tribute to fellow Elwood Writer Jenny for Vision Australia Radio, creativity continues to extend in diverse directions for us all.

Helen is delighted to have her poem ‘Identity in Two Acts’ included in the latest edition of Unusual Work (#35) published by Collective Effort Press, editor πO (PiO). For more info and to find out how to order your copy of Unusual Work, just follow this link here – you will be adding your support to our vitally important small presses and publishers.

Judge Ann Bowman awarding Helen the Poet of the Month

Also, Helen was thrilled to be awarded Poet of the Month at the April Chamber Poets spoken word event held in Woodend, regional Victoria. The event was dedicated to commemorating ANZAC Day and celebrating International Haiku Day. Helen’s moving prose poem ‘The Diary’, about her grandfather’s experiences as a foot soldier in WW1, was followed by a poignant haiku – this reading encompassed both themes and clearly resonated with the audience.

It’s worth mentioning that ‘The Diary’ is published in Every Second Tuesday – Stories by Elwood Writers as part of Helen’s story ‘My Grandpa’.

So it’s double congratulations and two big cheers for Helen! Very well done.

Happy Monday to everyone.

Two on the Shelf

Helen was browsing in Stoneman’s Bookroom in Castlemaine last week, and spotted something rather exciting. In the middle of the second shelf in the photo below is a copy of the Elwood Writers anthology Every Second Tuesday. Helen sent this pic to the group, and we ran our eyes along the shelves, absorbing the host of excellent authors whose company we’re keeping. And, thanks to the orange Transit Lounge logo on that singular green spine, we quickly spotted another reason to cheer, nestled quietly on the left of the top shelf: Barry’s Broken Rules and Other Stories. So it’s a double hooray! for Elwood Writers and its members.

Stoneman’s Bookroom, Castlemaine, Victoria (photo: Helen McDonald)

Thanks for your eagle eye, Helen, and for capturing the moment. And a huge thank you to Stoneman’s for supporting writers and writing everywhere.

In the literary world, being on the shelf is definitely a very good thing. Mind you, it’d be even better to be off the shelf and in the hands of an eager reader. Don’t forget to keep supporting your local bookshops and libraries. Especially the smaller independent booksellers who might be struggling a bit at the moment. If you want them to still be around this time next year, go and browse their shelves. And maybe take a punt on a book you might not otherwise have thought to read. Its author might turn out to be a favourite.

Whether you buy or borrow your next book, happy reading.

A Farewell to 2021

As we reflect on this particularly challenging year, when it seemed we were stymied in many aspects of our lives, we’re surprised by how much we have in fact achieved, both individually and as Elwood Writers, without actually meeting face-to-face.

We’ve attended online seminars, and taken part in literary festivals, panel discussions and readings; we’ve worked on first drafts of manuscripts, achieved publication in a variety of journals and anthologies in Australia and overseas, contributed guest blog posts, judged short-story competitions, and formed relationships with other writers’ groups here and in the US. And throughout the year, our anthology Every Second Tuesday has been selling from a number of independent bookstores and online platforms.

In spite of all that life and the pandemic might have thrown at us, we’ve kept on writing. Putting one word in front of another. We think it’s important to celebrate this.

We look forward to continuing to share our news and progress throughout 2022. In the meantime, we’d like to wish everyone a safe and peaceful holiday season. Here’s to another new year filled with the joy of reading and writing.

Take good care,

Elwood Writers

‘How to Maintain a Thriving Writers Group’, by Barry Lee Thompson

Barry has written the October guest post on Lee Kofman’s blog The Writing Life, over on Lee’s website.

‘How to Maintain a Thriving Writers Group’ offers practical tips to anyone thinking of starting a group, or for those who want to inject momentum into an existing group, or shore up their solidarity, or what have you. Maybe you’re curious about how we work. Or you might want to compare the group to your own experiences. There’s plenty in the post to think about. While you’re there, it’s worth checking out the rest of Lee’s website. Have a wander, linger a while.

Thanks to Barry for writing about Elwood Writers. And thanks to Lee for welcoming us to her blog.

Happy reading and writing to everyone!

Back in March …

Back in March, Helen read a selection of work from the Elwood Writers anthology Every Second Tuesday, on Castlemaine’s 94.9 MAINfm program The Quiet Carriage. The four pieces were: ‘Ironing’ by Margaret McCaffrey; ‘On a Sunday Morning’ by Jennifer Bryce; ‘Deluge’ and ‘Stark against the sky’ by Helen McDonald.

In case you missed the original broadcast, the recording can be found here. The Elwood Writers segment kicks in around the 33-minute mark, though we’d recommend listening to the entire show. If at any time you fancy another listen, the sound file will soon be accessible within the podcasts and recordings area of this website.

The Quiet Carriage is MAINfm’s dedicated literature show all about books and authors, hosted by Paul J Laverty every Friday at 1:00pm. More details including listening info is available here.

Thanks to Paul and the station for supporting our work so enthusiastically, and to Helen for reading it so beautifully.

Happy listening!

Elwood Writers

Special offer: Every Second Tuesday

It’s come to our attention that Book Depository is currently discounting Every Second Tuesday in every country they service. For example, in Australia they’re offering the book at A$20.24, which represents a saving of A$1.76 on their cover price. Factor in their free delivery worldwide, and it’s a great opportunity to get your hands on a copy of the anthology. So don’t miss out. Check it out here. You can alter the currency to whatever’s appropriate to your location, at the drop-down near the top right of the page .

The mix in Every Second Tuesday is eclectic, the stories and poems deliciously delightful, crammed full of the unexpected and perfect for those with only a small window of time to indulge in their gentle obsession of reading the written word.
Janet Mawdesley, Blue Wolf Reviews

There are memories of childhood, recollected experiences, and overseas travel, the tense facing up to teenage thieves with knives, to a baby suddenly slipping over the side of a boat. There is the sharing of the pleasure found in the ordinary task of ironing, to the threatening suspense of ‘The interrupter’. All in all there is an amazing variety of snippets of life contained in this slim volume that make for compelling reading.
Helen Eddy, ReadPlus

Happy shopping and even happier reading!

More reviews of Every Second Tuesday

Since we last posted, more reviews of Every Second Tuesday have come to light.

Bruce Gillespie’s write-up of the anthology can be found on page 12 of SF Commentary No. 105, March 2021. You can read Bruce’s take on the stories here.

Over on BookBub, Ann McCauley has listed the book as a recommended title. Take a look at Ann’s comments here. You might have to be a member of the BookBub community to access that link, but you can also go here for the review.

Thanks so much to Ann and Bruce. We’re always tremendously grateful to anyone who reads the anthology, or who’s placed it in their reading pile on the bedside table. Remember, the best way to support writers is to read their work, or share it, or tell others about it. If you still haven’t got your very own copy of Every Second Tuesday, find out how you can get your hands on one here.

Happy reading and writing,

Elwood Writers

ReadPlus Recommends

There are memories of childhood, recollected experiences, and overseas travel, the tense facing up to teenage thieves with knives, to a baby suddenly slipping over the side of a boat. There is the sharing of the pleasure found in the ordinary task of ironing, to the threatening suspense of ‘The interrupter’. All in all there is an amazing variety of snippets of life contained in this slim volume that make for compelling reading.
Helen Eddy, ReadPlus

On the heels of the recent Blue Wolf review of Every Second Tuesday comes a recommendation from ReadPlus. You can access their full write-up here.

ReadPlus is a resource for librarians, teachers and parents. Read about their work here.