There is lots of news from Omega Writers this month! We have a winner in the Realm Awards, news about the Omega Book Fair and Retreat (including scholarships), and a call for nominations for the Encouragement Awards.
Realm Awards
Congratulations to Omega Writers member Kristen Young for her double win at the Realm Makers Awards, announced last Saturday.
Kristen's debut novel, Apprentice, won the Science Fiction section of the 2021 Realm Awards, the major awards for Christian speculative fiction.
Even better, Apprentice also won the Book of the year Award. Kristen is the first Australian author to win a Realm Award. As publisher Steve Laube said when collecting the Book of the Year Award on Kristen's behalf, that makes the Realm Awards global.
Click here to watch the ceremony replay. The Science Fiction award is at 45 minutes, and the Book of the Year at 1:25.
Congratulations, Kristen!
ACFW Genesis Award
Mindy Graham is a Romance finalist in the 2021 Genesis Award.
Congratulations, Mindy!
Stories of Life
If you'd like to enter an award, there is still time to enter the 2021 Stories of Life awards. There are three categories:
- Open Stories of Life (1000 to 1500 words)
- Short Stories of life (up to 500 words)
- Young Stories of Life (500 to 1000 words, from writers aged 17 and under)
Entries close on 31 July. Click here to find out more.
Omega Book Fair
Omega Writers members in Brisbane are hosting a Book Fair on 31 July from 10am to 2:30pm at Hills Church, 79 Queens Road, Everton Hills.
The fair includes author readings, door prizes, short story contest and a treasure hunt.
Entry is free.
There will also be two workshops, which are $20 each (including a $5 voucher to spend at the fair).
- Anne Hamilton presenting The Deadly Duo (and how to beat them)
- Sally Eberhardt, Lynne Stringer & Jeanette O’Hagan share a panel on Marketing and Promotion for Writers
Omega Writers Retreat
Bookings are now open for the 2021 Omega Writers Retreat. Earlybird pricing ends on 15 August, so don't miss out.
This year's event will be a retreat rather than a full conference. While there are two main streams (Pathways to Publication and Pathways to Promotion), the emphasis is connection and fellowship with other Christian writers (and after the last year, don' t we all need that?).
There will be two great keynote speakers:
- Psychologist Collett Smart
- Creative writing instructor Nicole Partridge
We will also be sharing the 2021 CALEB Awards dinner on Saturday night.
Current financial members have been emailed a discount code. If you didn't receive the code, please email membership [at] omegawriters [dot] org.
If you're not currently a member of Omega Writers, click here to join.
Click here to find out more about the Retreat, register, and book your accommodation. Note that accommodation is separate to the Retreat fee. Writers can choose to stay at Peppers Kingscliff (the Retreat venue), at the Mantra (next door), or make their own arrangements in the area.
Scholarships
- Be an Australian or New Zealand resident.
- Be a current Omega Member
- Apply using the Google Form provided
- Include a sample of your writing, up to 500 words.
CALEB Encouragement Award
Nominations are now open for the 2021 Encouragement Awards.
If you’re a current paid member of Omega Writers, we would like to invite you to nominate a fellow Christian writer for an Encouragement Award. This could be:
- A writer who has gone out of their way to support other writers (this will be a NEW CALEB award launched at this year’s Retreat)
- A writer who you believe needs encouragement.
We have three simple guidelines for the writers you nominate for either award:
- Nominees must be Christian writers currently living in Australia, New Zealand, or the South Pacific.
- Nominees can be published or unpublished writers in any genre.
- Nominees do not have to be members of Omega Writers.
Please email caleb @ omegawriters.org and tell us:
- The type of Encouragement Award you would like to nominate a writer for
- Your name and email address
- Up to 200 words explaining why you believe this writer should receive this prize.
- The name and email/website address of the author you’d like to nominate (so we can contact them if they win)
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