What did we do 
at our meetings in 2010?

Last updated 08/02/2012

November 2010

Report by Veronica Schwarz

We began with a brief business meeting.

Del Nightingale then introduced and launched Beth Wunderlich's two books Pickles the Possum and   
Loving. Beth gave a brief talk on how she has self-published fourteen books.

President Tricia then introduced the judge of our Christmas competition, Garry Smith. 
Garry announced the winners and gave a helpful critique on each winning piece. 
To see the results of the competition, go to competition results.

Garry Smith with Paula Wilson. Paula won two awards! Well done.

Lunch was then served. This year we had our meal catered for and the array of finger food was delicious. 
Some members brought a bottle of wine each and this added to the festive feel for many.

Best wishes to all for the Christmas period and we look forward to being together again in February.

October 2010

Dr. Brenda Niall

Report by Rebecca Maxwell and Lauren Thompson

If she were a male, I could introduce Dr. Brenda Niall by saying that she was a "scholar and a gentleman!‖ But our idioms haven't caught up with the changes in society's regard for a female's gifts and status. We wish to, and we can, give a woman's achievements our heart felt accolade, and perhaps a linguist amongst us could coin a descriptor. "A scholar and communicator" seems to suit our purpose here. Dr. Niall, who is an acclaimed biographer, spoke to us about her journey into the lives of some well-known Australians. She showed how she developed the relationship with each subject, and how different the process had to be for each.

Her work with the novelist Martin Boyd, and later with the Boyds as a family, required a breadth of knowledge of their different particular crafts - writing, sculpting, painting, architecture - thereby giving a sense of how their family roots established themselves and developed with our culture. For these extant subjects, she could rely on interviews, and also their diaries and letters.

In conveying the life of Georgiana Mcrae there could be no personal interviews, but there was some material in journals and diaries, and background information in newspapers, which would have illustrated a panorama of early Australian history, and the habits of thought of the times.

Another subject of Brenda Niall’s biographical works is Judy Cassab, the first female artist to win the Archibald prize twice. In 1996, Judy Cassab offered to paint a non-commissioned portrait of Brenda Niall — an invitation that she eventually accepted with eagerness. Brenda developed a friendship with Cassab as a result of their many deep conversations.

Six years later, Dr Niall offered to do Judy Cassab’s portrait in the form of words. Judy Cassab: A Portrait, is an in-depth exploration of Cassab’s life, from the horrors she experienced throughout World War II when her family was killed in Auschwitz, to her later triumphs as an artist.

During the presentation, we learnt about Dr. Niall's books, and the different ways to go about accruing knowledge of one's subject. Brenda Niall stated that many people have inquired why she’s never applied her talents to novel writing. Dr Niall simply stated that, ―there are just as many choices about how to present your material.‖

I had read several of Brenda Niall's books: some of the biographies, and the collection of Early Australian School Days. I must say that I am particularly grateful for the sense of Australia's social history which permeates her thinking, and therefore her books. As a biographer, she shows that her subject's story is also very much dependent on the social context, whether it is to respond to its boundaries, or to overcome them.

Members were pleased to receive helpful answers to their writing questions.

September 2010

No Report.

August 2010 Meeting

Meeting of Society of Women Writers Victoria 27 August 2010 Karen Turner, Vice President, chaired the meeting and welcomed everyone including our guest speaker, Hazel Edwards, who was the judge of the Margaret Hazzard Short Story Award. She then handed over to Veronica Schwarz to introduce Hazel.  Veronica reminded members of the delightful presentation Hazel had given us a few years ago after her return from Antarctica when she was awarded the Humanities berth. Veronica also outlined the wide and varied works of Hazel from children’s literature to adult non-fiction and the many awards she has won. You can find out more about Hazel on www.hazeledwards.com .

Hazel Edwards

 Before announcing the awards, Hazel outlined her requirements for what makes a good story and the basis on which she had judged the entries.

 She said: The test of a good story is if it stays with you, and if it reads well aloud. Many of these did.

In general, an interesting range of stories exploring worthwhile concepts but in a few cases, structure would have benefited from a little re-working.  Some needed to get into the story faster, by establishing the conflict earlier, shortening sentences, avoiding repetitions and ‘shaping’ the story more, especially with a twist.

Some of my considerations when choosing the winners were:

1. Structure or choreographing of the idea.
2. Easily distinguishable characters
3. Underlying conflict to provide the drama
4. Evoking setting, both time and place
5. Subtlety, so writer hints rather than repeats.
6. Humour
7. Subtext
8. Twist
9. Credible dialogue which advances the plot.
10. Relevant title as first clue
11.  Compassionate portrayal; with strengths & weaknesses
12. Flair, the indefinable quality

 Hazel then announced the winners. You can see the results of the competition and read Hazel’s comments on the competition results page.

 Karen thanked Hazel for judging the competition and Meryl Tobin presented Hazel with a bunch of beautiful wild flowers from her garden.

 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 Following the announcement of the Margaret Hazzard Award, we began our Annual General Meeting.  The previous committee was re-elected with the addition of Yvonne Sweeney as a Committee member. To see a list of the Committee members, go to our Contacts page.

 July 2010 Meeting 
Kirsty Murray gave an excellent talk on the gendered nature of children's literature.

PRETTY IN PINK OR BEST IN BLUE

 Report by Veronica Schwarz

KIRSTY MURRAY

Our Literary Patron Errol Broome, herself a children’s author, introduced Kirsty Murray to speak on the gendered nature of children’s books and the world of children’s authors. Kirsty gave us a delightful presentation which  was both entertaining and alarming.  In the last ten years, Kirsty said, she had become concerned about the gendered nature of lchildren’s literature.

 She had wanted to write since she was eleven years old and had her first published book when she was forty. It was a non-fiction book for children entitled “Maneaters and Bloodsuckers”.  

While she was bringing up her children, she participated in school reading programs. She identified a gap in the books available for boys who were struggling with reading. She decided to write a non-fiction book about children in history who had done great things. “Tough Stuff” was published in 1999 and is still selling.

The protagonist of her first work of fiction “Zarconi’s Magical Fish” was a boy and she had subconsciously chosen to write about a boy because boys can act and react in and with the world in a way that girls are not usually allowed to.  

Her next book was also about a boy (again chosen unconsciously). The book “Market Blues” was about the Victoria Market in its early days. It was published in 2001 and featured a huge cast of boys.  

Her daughters pointed out that she had written two books about boys and asked when was she going to write about a girl. She did lots of research and found that most documentaries and records were about boys. There was nothing about girls. They were virtually invisible.

Her next book was about two thirteen-year old girls. It was not taken seriously and did not sell as well as her books about boys.

One day, she was speaking at a school about books and two girls came up to and her expressed surprise because they did not think a woman could write books! Although 75% of children’s authors are female most people can usually only name male authors.

Reading Janet McCallum’s book “Sex and Suffering” opened her eyes even more to the fact that historic events involving females were forgotten or buried. Another book which stirred her awareness further was “Barefoot and Pregnant” by Trevor McLaughlin. The book told the story of 4,500 girls sent to Australia. Some 1800 were sent to Melbourne.

She found that books that schools put on their reading lists almost invariably involved male protagonists. She was told by teachers that boys don’t read books about girls but girls will read anything.

She also expressed concern that so many of the books that did feature girls were about girls being girls rather than girls having agency in the world. Even now, schools still set books that have only male protagonists. There are no books studied that have strong female protagonists.

Her latest book “India Dark” is about Pollard’s Little Opera Company which features mostly girls based on a true event in 1909.

 She finds that she is now being “gendered” and she is invited to speak mainly to girls only.

When she is on a platform as a speaker she is usually outnumbered by male authors and has requested the Premier’s Department and organisers of Writers’ Festivals to provide gender balance among speakers.

Good on you Kirsty and thank you for an inspiring, entertaining and informative presentation.

 (Author’s note: In the 1980s, I was Head of Equal Opportunity in Education for Girls and back then we were drawing attention to the presentation or lack of it of girls in children’s literature. It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same! Veronica Schwarz)

June 2010:  Paula Wilson spoke on Creating your own Website.		Veronica Schwarz spoke about  "What's on our Website?"
	For the complete information on Paula's talk, including recommending websites to visit, click on Paula's photo. To read the information that Veronica gave us, click on Veronica's picture. USE THE BACK BUTTON ON YOUR BROWSER TO RETURN TO THIS PAGE. OR USE THE TAB "RECENT MEETINGS" ON THE LEFT.
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May 2010:  The results of the Kathryn Purnell Poetry Competition were announced. See Competition Results. Our speaker for this meeting was Cher Chidzey, another of our capable members.	Cher Chidzey	Reflecting on experiences learned when writing her novel, The House of Ninety-Nine Closed Doors, Cher informed members about some of the finer details of novel writing in her speech, “The Pitfalls of Writing Your First Novel”. Cher went into great detail describing how to lay-out and plot your book. Using her own story to demonstrate her points, she shared some masterful techniques for tracking and taming a work in progress. Cher also helpfully provided the details of a software package available for writers. This software is available from Simon Haynes, an Australian writer who is a bit of a computer guru as well. Just go to www.spacejock.com and download yWriter. It's free.
April 2010 : Members Show and Tell Recorded by Veronica Schwarz		Three members shared their passion: Blaise Van Hek, Veronica Schwarz, Beth Wunderlich
Blaise Van Hek sharing her "Joy of Making Books".  Blaise spoke of the history of the book and the development of paper. She gave some helpful tips on self publishing and marketing. Blaise sees making a book as one more step in the creative process and cited Carmel Bird as an inspiration in this field.  Tips from Blaise:  Make the cover and the title eye-catching Try your local library for a reading of your book Build a website Approach bookstores especially small independents, to publicise and sell your book. Contact Radio programs Markets and fairs Small printers can be very helpful. e.g. Bookpod A book launch is a good way to sell books Carry a copy of your book at all times and talk about it Get an ISBN and send copies to the State and National Libraries Send to writers you admire and request a review
Next, Veronica Schwarz launched her book on Joan of Arc  "Ride the Wind. Choose the Fire".		Veronica told the story of sitting in the small church in Domremy, France and being inspired to write the story of Joan the Maid. For Veronica, Joan of Arc is one of the most inspiring and amazing people of all time. The book is written as a series of imaginary interviews with Joan as Veronica travels across France visiting the various towns associated with her hero. Paula Wilson brought the champagne and the book was launched in style. The book is available from Veronica for $25.

March 2010: Guest speaker Sue Braint - Jane Eyre Recorded by Tricia Veale Sue Braint  gave a very interesting and informative evaluation of Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, entitled "Readings in Jane Eyre: A look at key passages."

Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855)