Tag: Margaret McCaffrey

A ‘How To’ re-post for late November

How to Write a Book in Five Easy Minutes*

As we move towards December, when the end of another year will be within touching distance, I’m again feeling that time marches on faster and faster and faster. I once met someone who claimed to know the secret to slowing things down. Make a cup of tea, they said. That was it, no elaboration, and I didn’t probe. I think I see where they might have been coming from. Like the watched pot never boiling, the carefully crafted and considered cuppa never cools. Maybe.

Anyway, with time at a premium, this September post from Margaret McCaffrey seems particularly apt. Five minutes to write a book. Tell us more, Margaret. Oh, hang on, does that asterisk point the way to a disclaimer? No, apparently not, it’s marking a shout-out to the film that suggested the title for the blog post. I’m going to make a cup of coffee (I don’t like tea) and dive into the post and learn the secret to writing that five-minute book.

Nevertheless, for a few glorious moments in my quest for sightedness, I’d experienced that rare writerly feeling of accomplishment. And it had all been so easy.

Happy reading and writing and tea or coffee drinking. Or whatever your poison is.

EW

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!

EW

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!

EW

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 …

Coming soon: Elwood Writers on Cover to Cover

Stories on your radio
from barryleethompson.com

I was enjoying a Marie biscuit and strong lungo yesterday morning when a new blog post from Barry’s website popped into the Elwood Writers mailbox. In the post – linked over there👉– Barry writes about an upcoming episode of Vision Australia Radio’s weekly literary program Cover to Cover, featuring the work of Elwood Writers. We don’t yet have a broadcast date for the program, but it’ll be sometime after the material goes to Cover to Cover‘s producer/presenter Tim McQueen in early October.

Elwood Writers has been contributing stories to Cover to Cover since 2015, featuring in roughly one special episode each year. Our first program, appropriately titled ‘Starting Over’, was broadcast in episode 38 of Cover to Cover on 11 January 2015. If you fancy a bit of a blast from the past, you can listen to that or any of the episodes featuring our work by clicking here. We’re always grateful for the invaluable support of Tim and the Cover to Cover team, and everyone at Vision Australia Radio.

Until my coffee break was pleasantly interrupted by the happy ping of that email notification yesterday, October had felt a long, long way away. And now? Well it’s closing in, but is still six weeks away – and I remember the six-week school holidays used to go on and on and on. We’ll be sure to provide more info about the radio program between now and October. To stay in the loop, make sure you’re subscribed – it’s free, and means you’ll never miss any content.

EW

‘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.

EW

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.

EW

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!

EW

oxygen6

Congratulations to Elwood Writer Margaret McCaffrey, whose piece ‘Waiting for Beckett’ is published in the latest issue of oxygen.

Poetry can be whatever we need it to be. It can be a place of peace. It can be a place for breathing in the oxygen of new ways of looking, new ways of feeling, new ways of understanding.

from oxygen website

It’s a wonderful piece, Margaret – great to see it in print.

To find our more about Margaret’s work, visit her website, here.

Have a safe and peaceful weekend, everyone.

Happy reading.

EW

Margaret muses on writing friendship

We six friends shared our Melbourne convent days together, later taking a deep dive into the buzz of early seventies’ London. 

‘Writing Friendship’

Earlier this year, The Human Writers published a story by Elwood Writer Margaret McCaffrey about her friend Jane – or, more particularly, about her friendship with Jane. A short time later, The Human Writers asked Margaret to record an audio of ‘For Jane’ to feature on their website.

Margaret then wrote a blog post about about how ‘For Jane’ came into being. The post, ‘Writing Friendship’, takes her relationship with Jane as a focus, reflects generally on the nature and peculiarities of friendship, and is rich in wonderful observations and references about writing and friendship. Here’s a quote from sculptor Louise Bourgeois that strikes a particular chord with us:

We either die of the past or we become an artist.

Louise Bourgeois

Maybe by sitting in our spaces, clicking away at our keyboards, drinking too much coffee and occasionally fretting about how the current book or story or essay or blog post or what-have-you is faring, we can take comfort in knowing that at the very least we’re staying alive. And perhaps we might be making a friend or two along the way. And maybe that’s really all that matters.

You can read ‘Writing Friendship’ below – be sure to check out Margaret’s story ‘For Jane’ while you’re there:

 Writing Friendship

Happy reading, listening, and writing!

EW