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.

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.

Podcast: Cover to Cover Ep. 484 | Tribute to Jennifer Bryce

The Elwood Writers tribute to colleague and friend Jennifer Bryce was broadcast on Vision Australia Radio’s Cover to Cover last Friday, 4 August 2023 (repeated Sunday 6 August). If you missed the program, or if you’d like to listen again, it’s now available as a podcast at the link below:

The recording can also be accessed via the MP3 audio-file below:

We hope you enjoy this celebration of Jenny’s life and work.

Best wishes,

A Life Celebrated On Radio

Do tune in to Cover to Cover on Vision Australia Radio (VAR) this Friday evening at 8:00pm (AEST) to hear our tribute to Jennifer Bryce, our friend and colleague who co-founded Elwood Writers in 2007. Jenny died in April, and we were invited by Tim McQueen, presenter and producer of Cover to Cover, to put together a one-hour program honouring her life and work.

Our program focusses on Jenny’s literary and musical achievements, and features recordings of Jenny reading her stories ‘Memories of Adelaide’ and ‘So This Is Winter’. Barry reads Jenny’s short-story ‘Benjamin’, and Helen reads Jenny’s essay about the music she commissioned for the trio Ensemble Françaix. There are tributes and musical interludes, and Margaret does the honours in holding the program together with her wonderfully informative intros and links.

We reached the edge of the old Luna Park – mainly ruins – a few broken fences where it had once been secured because the structure was unsafe. Sure enough, the waters were receding quite dramatically. We stood and watched as the man-in-the-moon mouth sucked up the waters and regurgitated them out to sea, wheezing and gurgling to the beat of some unknown subterranean rhythm. Towers still tottered over the entrance, barely supporting a few fragile wooden slats – all that remained of the scenic railway. A wind sprang up, further agitating the swirling water, and for just a moment I could hear a clattering like the old train, and squeals as the carriages swooped through a tunnel.
from ‘So This Is Winter’ by Jennifer Bryce

You can listen to the program online from anywhere in the world – just hit the ‘listen live’ button on the VAR homepage. Or if you’d prefer going old-school, the radio frequency and tuning details are also on the website. You’ll find everything you need at the link below:

https://radio.visionaustralia.org

The program will be repeated on Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm, and we’ll share the podcast on this site as soon as it’s available.

Why not lose yourself for an hour in stories and music – we’d love you to join us in celebrating Jenny. Whenever and however you choose to listen, you’ll enjoy the warmest of welcomes …

Huge thanks go as always to Tim McQueen and the team at Vision Australia Radio for promoting and supporting the work of writers everywhere.

Jennifer Bryce

A Tribute on Vision Australia Radio

We’re slowly coming to terms with the enormous loss of our very dear friend and writing colleague Jennifer Bryce, who died on 27 April.

Jennifer co-founded Elwood Writers with Barry Lee Thompson in 2007. She achieved so much in her writing career, and was published widely in Australia and overseas.

*Elwood Writers soiree, St Kilda Library, 25 August 2018 (photo: Harriet Claire Tarbuck)*

Jennifer has written a broad range of fiction, both historical and contemporary, spanning themes such as loss, love, grieving, war, and the environment. The strength of her vision was a key driver in the production of the Elwood Writers anthology Every Second Tuesday. 2019 saw the publication of her debut novel, Lily Campbell’s Secret, launched at Readings in Carlton by Toni Jordan. Jenny’s follow-up novel had been successfully pitched to a publishing house, and the manuscript was under consideration at the time of her death. You can read more about Jenny’s work in her bio from this website – just click on the link here.

We’re honoured to have been invited by Tim McQueen of Vision Australia Radio (VAR) to create a special tribute, and this will be broadcast in Tim’s weekly literary program Cover to Cover. We’re working on the material now, and will showcase a selection of Jenny’s finest work. We’ll record at the studios of VAR in Melbourne in July, and the tribute will air soon after that. Details to follow as soon as they’re available.

Jenny is deeply missed by all who were fortunate to know her. For us, she will forever be the beating heart of Elwood Writers.

The Gift of Reading

It’s that time of the year again. How quickly it comes around. Maybe you’re on the lookout for some original festive gift ideas? For the reader in your life, might we suggest a copy of the Elwood Writers anthology Every Second Tuesday? We think there’s something in the book for everyone. But don’t just take our word for it:

The anthology Every Second Tuesday hangs together well. It covers periods from the First World War to the far-too-soon future, with a variety of poetry, memoir, fact and fiction. The evocation of place, from the 1916 trenches near Boulogne to Luna Park in St Kilda is marvellous. Each of the authors has their own distinct voice – the voices blend together like a great choir.
Tim McQueen | Producer and presenter of Cover to Cover, Vision Australia Radio

You can order the paperback from most online platforms. Book Depository offers free worldwide delivery, and they currently have 10% off their list price – find them at the link below:

Every Second Tuesday at Book Depository

If ebooks are preferred, Every Second Tuesday is available from all the major retailers, including the one below:

Every Second Tuesday Kindle Edition

Why not share the wonderful gift of reading this December? Books make great stocking fillers, and you’ll also be supporting Australian writing.

Happy December,

Best of Cover to Cover 2022 | Vision Australia Radio

We’re excited to learn that this year’s special Elwood Writers edition of Cover To Cover on Vision Australia Radio (VAR) has been selected for the Best Of Cover To Cover 2022, which will run on VAR between 26 December and 6 January. Our program’s theme is ‘Adelaide’, and it was first broadcast over the Easter weekend.

So if you missed our show the first time round, or if you would just welcome the chance to hear it again, tune in to hear us reading our own stories on-air. We don’t have specific timings yet, but we’ll provide more details as we get them.

Thanks as always to Tim McQueen and the team at Vision Australia Radio for their ongoing support of Elwood Writers and our work.

More soon. In the meantime, happy reading, writing and listening!

Something about Augusts

The online corridors of Elwood Writers have been unusually quiet over these past few weeks. In fact, we didn’t post any blog activity at all in August. Interestingly, the last time EW had a month of zero blogging was August 2020 – there must be something about Augusts. That’s something to ponder over our afternoon coffee and cookie.

Anyway, a lack of blogs doesn’t necessarily mean nothing’s been happening. Far from it. For example, Helen has been overseas, and Barry has just returned from a writing retreat in the Blue Mountains. We’ll look forward to hearing more about these and other adventures in the next meeting of the group, on Tuesday.

In the meantime, here are two recent blog posts from Margaret and Jennifer’s individual websites: Jennifer has written a review of Cow, a film directed by Andrea Arnold, while Margaret has posted her review of the classic novel Treasure Island.

Happy reading!

Now available: American Writers Review 2022

The brand new American Writers Review is out!

This edition of AWR, The End or the Beginning?, features stories from two members of Elwood Writers. Jennifer’s ‘The First Day’ and Barry’s ‘Half Life’ are included among contributions from writers and artists all over the world.

There are a couple of ways to buy the book: either contact San Fedele Press directly by clicking here, or go via Amazon by clicking here.

American Writers Review 2022 | The End or the Beginning? | San Fedele Press (USA)

For more information on American Writers Review and the work of San Fedele Press, visit them at their website, here.

Congratulations to San Fedele Press and to all the contributors to this edition of AWR!

The End or the Beginning? | American Writers Review 2022

We received a preview of the cover of the forthcoming edition of American Writers Review this morning, and are excited to see that both Jennifer and Barry have stories included in this year’s anthology.

*American Writers Review* 2022 | San Fedele Press

For some years now, San Fedele Press has consistently come up with terrific journals featuring talent from all over the world, with compelling art and writing that addresses important contemporary themes. This year’s anthology is looking like no exception. We can’t wait to read it.

More details soon. In the meantime, for information on San Fedele Press and their publications, drop by their website via the link here.

Happy reading and writing, as always!