A BIG FAT WOO-HOO!

Guess who's going to be the Emerging Writer-In-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard writer's Centre next year? Yup, your fat little hero! Put my application in without any great hopes, but they conducted a phone interview with myself and the other shortlisted applicants this morning, and rang back just after lunch to offer me the position.

Come late August I'll have 4 weeks of free writing time to work on the much-talked-about-but-never-quite-started Napoleon novel, plus I'll get to run a workshop, attend each of the centre's 10 writing groups at least once each, and pretty much put myself about being a writah dahling and pretending I don't have to do anything else for a living :)

The Centre officially offers:
• Workspace and accommodation
• Access to the KSP writing community, with opportunities to attend our several group meetings as a guest or participant, and to conduct a workshop.
• Efforts will be made to promote the writer/editor and the writer/editor’s work, especially in the local press, with the possibility of radio interviews.
• The writer/editor will be a guest reader at a KSP Sunday Readings, a long-established KSP.

My end of the bargain is to:
• Positively promote and represent the KSP Writers' Centre, before, during and after the residency, and to raise community awareness of writers and writing.
• Further community awareness of the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers' Centre as a resource, helping to establish it as such for the future benefit of Western Australian writers and the wider community.
• Consult with the Centre’s Coordinator in drawing up a program, which will include participation in the Centre’s regular program and may include outside visits or workshops.
• Conduct one workshop on a topic in my field of interest over a minimum of three hours.
• Spend productive hours on developing a work-in-progress, with the possibility of this providing the basis for the Sunday Readings.
• Write a report suitable for publication, which reflects the writer/editor's experience while in residence.
• Complete an appropriate feedback report for the Management Committee.
• Participate in any public readings at the Centre scheduled to occur during the period of the residency, one of which will feature the writer/editor.
• Chair any Meet-the-Writer events which occur during the residency, one of which may feature the writer/editor.
• Consult with the Coordinator with respect to all matters relating to the residency, particularly in developing the resident’s program.
• Undertake other duties mutually agreed upon between the writer/editor and the Foundation, such as promotional or literary events in association with KSP activities.


Pretty cool, huh? The workshop I've punted to the Committee is one on alternate methods of writing outside of linear narrative, with the beautifully wanky title of "Living Inside The Firework: The Art of Pyrotechnic Writing", which is just an excuse to spend three hours cutting up bits of old books, doing silly stand-up comedy exercises, and reading weird stories :)