What Does Getting Published Feel Like? FNQ Life Writing Workshops in June!
Byron Retreat Special Offer, Life Writing Workshops, Suspense Tips, Publishing Opportunities
Who’s a happy chappy?
Hello, hello my lovely writing friend!
I hope you’re doing well and that May has given you plenty of inspiration and bum glue to get stuck into your writing. It’s pouring here in Ipswich, has been for days. What is this? England? Anyway, much as I miss our glorious blue sky winter days, rainy days are perfect for writing, reading, cosying up on the couch and sleeping. All good things to do! But remember stories don’t get written without actually sitting at your computer, or putting pen to paper. Even five minutes of hasty scribble will add up. So if you haven’t written this week yet, here’s your reminder. Put the timer on for 5 or 10, then blah any old rubbish onto the page until something else starts to emerge. You can do it!
It’s been another busy month for me, but I’ve been enjoying staying mainly at home with almost half of last year spent away. I love home :) The month started with an incredible stroke of luck. Dear Madman was reviewed in The Weekend Australian. On the same double page spread as a beautiful article about the late great David Malouf, a Queensland literary icon. It felt as if he was giving me his blessing. I’ve done lots of book related events and interviews and learnt some hard lessons along the way. Read my post Post-Publication Pleasures and Perils, HERE.
Have you read Dear Madman yet? Here’s what people are saying on Goodreads. THANK YOU to all of you who took the time to write a review! If you have time to add a review I’d greatly appreciate it.
Still need a copy? BUY DIRECTLY FROM ME HERE or ask your local bookstore to get it in – that way you don’t pay postage. It’s available from AndAlso Books and John Reed distribution. Please help my labour of love reach lots of readers. Every time you tell a friend about it helps (but please get them to buy their own copy – I need to sell over $1000 before I make a bean for 16 years of work). Thank you!
WRITING HINTS AND TIPS
What does SHOW don’t TELL, actually mean? And how to make sure you’re doing it. Learn some handy tips on how to identify moments from your story that would make great scenes and how to write scenes at my website HERE. Everything underlined below is a link to an article.
USING SECRETS TO BUILD SUSPENSE by Liz Adams is a great article to help you keep your readers turning the page.
How little things create big tension! by C. S. Lakin. You don’t need a gunfight to bring in more tension to your stories
How using STRONG VERBS transforms your writing By Sarah Kaufman at Joanna Penn’s site. Chuck those adverbs and find the right powerful verb to add punch to your stories.
SCAMMER ALERT. Publicity scammers are targeting writers in plague proportions – WATCH OUT! This article from Anne. R Allen outlines the different scams now affecting authors READ HERE
THE RULE OF 6 – My dear friend and writing buddy Vahida Berberovic has written a great post elaborating on this rule to help you expand your knowledge of your characters and develop a more intrinsically motivated plot. It goes like this: What’s your character’s backstory?
Personal trauma: her younger sister disappeared under similar circumstances. This is a good start but the Rule of Six insists you keep going:
Professional ambition: there’s a new editor at the paper, and she’s determined to prove herself.
External pressure: a rival journalist is pursuing the same lead, and time is running out.
Moral conviction: her sense of justice won’t let her walk away.
Innate curiosity: she’s always loved puzzles and chose investigative journalism for that reason.
Personal connection: she went to school with one of the victims’ mothers.
Give it a try. Even memoirists. Often, we neglect to examine ourselves as characters in our life writing. Use this exercise to go deeper.
FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND TOUR! FNQ HERE I COME!
Me with my parents and younger siblings (yes it’s me pulling the face) in the backyard in Flying Fish Point.
I love FNQ and spent my early childhood around Innisfail, running between sugarcane stalks, so I’m super excited to be heading north again. You can read all about my impending travels and some stories based on my childhood in the tropics HERE.
FNQ EVENTS
Monday 15 June at 6 pm TOWNSVILLE Mary Who? Bookshop: Dear Madman event. I’ll be doing a slide show with insights into the researching and writing process.
FREE! YAY! But book in HERE
Friday 19th June 9:30 am – 12:30 pm. KURANDA Library LIFE WRITING WORKSHOP. Tablelands writers please join me for as much information and inspiration as I can cram into 3 hours. $35 includes light refreshments. BOOK HERE
Saturday 20th June 1pm – 4 pm CAIRNS – Stratfield Library LIFE WRITING WORKSHOP Book HERE
Cairns friends spread the word! Come along to reboot your writing mojo and get cracking on that memoir or life writing project. $35 with light refreshments. BOOK HERE
Thank you to the wonderful Eve Stafford for organising this and for the wonderful posters and glamorous headshot fixes! I’ll have some copies of Dear Madman with me :)
Looking forward to seeing you all!
Eve’s glamour shot!
EDITING SLOTS AVAILABLE
Are you nearing the end of your first draft of a full length project? Need some professional advice to make sure your MS is in tip top shape to submit to publishers and agents? I have availability from early December 2026 into January and beyond in 2027.
Plan ahead and give yourself a deadline to work towards. Contact me to book your editing slot.
Endorsements:
“Edwina Shaw’s manuscript assessment and edit of my memoir provided me with valuable insights and practical guidance on how to turn it into an actual story. Edwina understands narrative arcs, scene setting and writing a page turner as opposed to a long boring autobiography. She is skilled and kind and provides editorial guidance that’s easy to follow because it makes so much sense! Vivienne Wynter – writer, journalist and editor of The Pineapple. Very happy to announce that Sunny Vivienne’s memoir that I edited is now under contract with Hawkeye Publishing.
“Submitting one’s life story to a ‘stranger’ feels a bit like being exposed naked in the street. However, Edwina’s empathy soon dispelled any feeling of vulnerability. I knew my story was in safe and caring hands. Edwina returned a very thoroughly edited manuscript, with feedback on all aspects, format, structure, and content. I feel greatly encouraged to make my memoir worthy of publication.” Deborah Prior author of “The Colour of Difference – the story of an unwanted child”
Come on in, the writing’s fine :)
RETREAT NEWS
RELAX AND WRITE RETREATS – Springbrook, Gold Coast Hinterland.
These affordable weekend intensives are like writing bootcamp, but with treats and no push-ups. Open to women, non-binary and female identifying writers.
AUGUST 7 – 9 – FEEDBACK AND REVISION RETREAT. Whether you’re finished that first draft, or stuck at 20 000 words, or a hundred. If you need help to clarify your project and develop a plan and a plot to keep you writing all the way to THE END, this is the retreat for you. Optional feedback groups with other retreaters are a great way to make writing buddies that last far longer than the weekend. Prices start at only $550 ALL INCLUSIVE. All the info and BOOK IN HERE. Fairy Godmother spots have been filled – one 81 year old and one 19 year old! YAY! Still about 7 places left so go ahead and book in.
APRIL 9- 11/ 2027 LIFE WRITING AND MEMOIR RETREAT – I haven’t done up a post about it yet, but if you’re keen to join us then and get cracking on your memoir then just DROP ME A LINE.
TRANSFORMATIONAL WRITING RETREATS – weeklong retreats around the world with me and Kerstin Pilz
SPECIAL OFFER! Bookings through end of May and all through June for our Byron Bay Retreat will be $100 off per person! Drop me a line when you book your spot and I’ll make sure you get the discount!
Bali here we come! Blissful Bali 2026 is fully booked and we’re looking forward to enjoying this retreat with a wonderful rowdy and talented bunch of writers and retreataholics. We’ll be back in Bali again in 2027, so check it out and dream of uninterrupted writing time surrounded by rice paddies and the sound of running water.
BEAUTIFUL BYRON BAY LIFE WRITING AND MEMOIR RETREAT. September 19 – 24/2026 Sangsurya Retreat Centre in the lush Byron Bay hinterland.
A whole lot flasher than our nun cabins in Springbrook, this 5 night/6 day retreat offers luxury, two highly skilled writing teachers and a comprehensive memoir/life writing course, as well as daily gentle yoga, breathing techniques, deep relaxation, sound bowls, tarot readings and even a special dance session to dress up like goddesses and twirl and laugh.
Dancing with Lalita!
ALL INCLUSIVE.
Delicious meals prepared by a French chef, deluxe airconditioned rooms and bungalows. Some ensuite rooms are still available. Large singles even have a fridge and kettle. Glorious surroundings, like-minded writers to connect and share with, and a whole lot of inspiration. If you’re ready to get serious about your memoir project or autobiographical fiction, this is the retreat for you. ALL THE INFO AND BOOKINGS HERE
SPECIAL OFFER! Bookings through end of May and all of June for our Byron Bay Retreat will be $100 off per person!
Is that YOU I spy in the window? Go on, live the dream!
INCREDIBLE ITALY October 1- 8 2027 Terzo Di Danciano, Tuscany.
This retreat is the dream. My dream anyway. Remote stunning Italian countryside to wander, ancient frescoes on your bedroom walls, delicious Italian meals prepared by a singing chef, 7 nights and all the writing craft info you can handle from two multi-published authors and university educators. Plus a built in spa with both wet and dry saunas. Plus all our usual extras. ONLY 3 rooms left. Grab a writing buddy and book a double room to bring that hefty European price down. There’s plenty of space around the property to find space and quiet writing nooks. ALL THE INFO HERE
HORN TOOTING
Patrizia Pisano came all the way from England to our very first Transformational Writing Retreat in Bali 2023. Last year she joined us in Italy and showed us all a thing or two about dancing. I’m thrilled to announce the her self-help title Reclaim Your Worth has now been published. YAY!
Here’s Patrizia working on her book like a fiend in Italy!
Reclaim Your Worth gently guides you to understand how your sense of self was shaped early in life - long before you had the awareness to question it - and explores how childhood experiences can lead to overthinking, people-pleasing, and disconnection from who you truly are. Blending personal insight with practical guidance, this book supports you in recognising what shaped how you think, feel and relate, so you can gently begin to experience yourself and life differently.
PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES
You’ve got to be in it to win it. Rejections are badges of honour. Remember the 10 point plan? Read HERE
Edwina’s top picks:
7 June: The Giancarlo DiTrapano Foundation for Literature & the Arts Residencies OH YEAH! The Giancarlo DiTrapano Foundation for Literature & the Arts Residencies are open to writers from around the world looking for uninterrupted time to create new creative work. All residencies are fully funded, with airfare and full room and board at our 17th-century villa and cultural centre in Sezze Romano, Italy fully paid for. They are currently offering residencies for two weeks each in the spring and fall.
15 June: The Australian Fiction Prize
The Australian Fiction Prize is an annual prize for a book-length work of fiction, offered by Australia’s leading publisher, HarperCollins Australia. It is open to all Australian writers, regardless of age or publishing history, with the winner receiving a contract from HarperCollins to publish the work, along with an advance of $15,000
13 July: The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers
The Richell Prize is open to unpublished writers of adult fiction and adult narrative non-fiction. Writers do not need to have a full manuscript at the time of submission, though they must intend to complete one. The winner receives $10,000 in prize money, donated by Hachette Australia, and a year’s mentoring with one of Hachette Australia’s publishers.
17 July QLD Writers Fellowships up to $20 000 in funding to pay for writing time, mentoring, writing education etc. Looks like a rather horrid Arts QLD form to fill in, but who knows, you could get lucky? Check it out HERE
AND MORE!
58 Literary journals that pay! Worth a shot.
15 Literary Magazines looking for memoir
27 Approachable Literary Journals Literary Journals where you may stand a chance! Some literary journals are very, very hard nuts to crack. Those listed here are friendlier and you have better odds.
81 Publishing Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers
1 June 2026 Royal Geographical Society QLD Nature Writing Competition. Theme is the Environment and you must name a place in QLD. Short stories to 500 words. $300 for winner plus publication. More info Here
5 June: MeetCute Storyteller Competition
MeetCute are searching for the next big voice in romance fiction and the winner will be offered literary representation! Enter your opening chapter to a romance novel. All types of romantic fiction from romantic comedy to historical romance to newer sub genres such as romantasy and mafia romance. The first prize winner will receive £500 and an offer of literary agency representation from Kate Nash Literary Agency Ltd.
7 June: Bath Flash Fiction Award
Two international flash fiction writing competitions; the Bath Flash Fiction Award, and the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award. In addition to winning cash prizes, entrants have the opportunity to appear in print and digital anthology collections, and also as single author novellas-in-flash.
8 June: Human Rights Essay Prize
Centre for Stories is calling for writers to submit to Portside Review’s Human Rights Essay Prize. This year, the theme is ‘Rainbow Pride’. Writers are encouraged to submit essays with a focus on LGBTQIA2S+ rights, issues, empowerment, and celebration. The first prize will receive AUD $10,000, including flights to Perth to deliver a seminar.
19 June: The Cooper Prize
The Cooper Prize is open internationally, to published or unpublished playwrights. The submissions will be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals and the winning playwright will receive a $20,000 AUD prize and their work will be considered for a full commission for production. All finalists will receive a professionally directed public reading of their submitted scene with professional actors.
22 June: Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers
The Copyright Agency Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers will support a writer aged 18-35 years to develop and write a new work of fiction
22 Jun Publishable Manuscript Development Program Publishable is Queensland Writers Centre’s annual national manuscript development program for emerging writers.
30 June SHORT STORIES UNLIMITED Open theme short story prize. Stories to 5000 words. $10 entry fee.
30 June: Teacher, Teacher Anthology
Author and editor Dianne Bates is collecting stories from teachers all around Australia about their teaching lives for a proposed anthology titled Teacher, Teacher. Each story – with a title – should be 1,000-1,500 words. At the end of the book, there will be a biography of contributors. Payment will be at ASA rates. If you are interested in contributing to this anthology, please contact Dianne (Di) Bates at dibates@outlook.com with your expression of interest.
1 Jul Rockingham Writers Centre – National Short Story Award Short fiction up to 2,000 words on the theme of A Twist in the Tale. First prize $500, second prize $100; winning entry will be published online and announced at a presentation ceremony in Rockingham (WA) in September.
1 Jul Australian Catholic University (ACU) Prize for Poetry
29 July The Letter Review Prize for Short Fiction, Poetry, and Books
Short Fiction (up to 5,000 words), Poetry (up to 70 lines), and Books (the first 5,000 words of an unpublished novel, novella, or nonfiction work, or the first 15 pages of a poetry collection). Winning entries are published in The Letter Review and considered for submission to the Pushcart Prize and other prestigious anthologies. Entry fee: $20
Top prize: $1,000 (shared equally between 2–4 winners per round) and publication in The Letter Review
31 July Precocious Prize for Fantasy
Submit original, unpublished short fiction in the fantasy genre — including urban, dark, contemporary, and romantic fantasy —no set theme or prompt. Stories up to 6,000 words. Entry fee: £9.75 Top prize: £100 and publication in the Precocious Prize for Fantasyanthology
1 August 2026 Queer Little Daydreams Speculative poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction for Queer Little Daydreams, a new anthology of queer writing to be published in fall 2027. Fiction entries between 1,000 and 5,000 words (no fan fiction). Non-fiction between 1,000 and 5,000 words and must have a speculative aspect. FREE! Top prize: Contributors receive an honorarium and a copy of the published anthology
My word count tally from 2014 where, after 4 years of research, I started writing Dear Madman intending a memoir, with a novel coming out. As you can see, no mention of me!
Phew! Congratulations if you made it till the end! I hope you found the information useful and somewhere interesting to submit your work. Please do remember to click the little heart and perhaps restack or share this newsletter with other writing friends. Thank you for all your love and support. I can feel it from here.
May the month ahead shine blessings of every kind upon you. You deserve to shine bright, to create and tell your truth and write the very best book or story you can. Use my website if you get stuck, remember to put the timer on to short-circuit that inner critic. Meditations, Let’s Talk Writing with Kerstin and some free workshops are on my YouTube to help break you out of any writing funk.
Let your heart sing and your spirit soar. We only get one go at life as us, make the most of it. Choosing to write and claim your creative joy is the wisest step you ever took. May the road rise to meet you and opportunities abound!
Lots of love,
Edwina :) xx
Cass’s wonderful review of Dear Madman