CWD Highlights - January to March 2019

Christian Writers Downunder is a diverse group of writers, editors, bloggers, illustrators. As a group we support each other through our facebook page and blog.

Today's blog will highlight some of the achievements of our members from January to March 2019

Awards

Raelene Purtill 

Congratulations Raelene Purtill for winning first prize in the Greenleaf Blossoms Writing Competition (first chapter of unpublished YA novel) with Thursday's Child. 

You can visit Raelene's page here.

Submissions

Jenny Glazebrook

Jenny Glazebrook is excited to announce that Elephant Press offered her a six book deal. 

"Very excited to have signed a new publishing agreement. Elephant House Press will be publishing the 6 books in my Bateman Family Series over the next few years with the first one to be released in December this year."

Jenny's new author page is here. 

New Releases:

Jenny Woolsey - Amy and Phoenix 

Jenny Woolsey was thrilled to launch her latest children's book, Amy and Phoenix

Title - Amy and Phoenix
Author: Jenny Woolsey
Publication date: 2018
Publisher: Pearls of Wisdom Press
Book launch date: 23 February 2019

Blurb:

Eleven-year-old Amy Pringle lives on a farm. She knows all the animals by name and can talk to them like Doctor Doolittle. Amy is looking forward to her favourite ewe, Edna, giving birth. When she sees her dad with his gun, she knows something is wrong.

Amy must think of a way to save Phoenix, the three-legged lamb's life.

After her sister Hannah, posts a video of Phoenix on YouTube and it goes viral, Amy thinks all her problems are solved. Little does she know what is about to happen.

Amy and Phoenix is a heart-warming fantasy story about a caring, strong-willed and determined girl. It explores the themes of disability, advocacy, friendship, farming and agriculture, animal welfare and cyber safety.

Link: http://jennywoolsey.com/Amy-and-Phoenix.php


Bio: Jenny Woolsey is a disabled author and speaker whose passion is for raising awareness and promoting acceptance of difference, diversity and disability.

David Rawlings

David Rawlings debut novel was released last month.

Title: The Baggage Handler

Publication Date: March 5 

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Blurb:

When three people take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, their lives change forever. 

A hothead businessman coming to the city for a showdown meeting to save his job.

A mother of three hoping to survive the days at her sister's house before her niece’s wedding.

And a young artist pursuing his father’s dream so he can keep his own alive.

When David, Gillian, and Michael each take the wrong suitcase from baggage claim, the airline directs them to retrieve their bags at a mysterious facility in a deserted part of the city. There they meet the enigmatic Baggage Handler, who shows them there is more in their baggage than what they have packed, and carrying it with them is slowing them down in ways they can’t imagine. And they must deal with it before they can leave.
In this modern-day parable about the burdens that weigh us down, David Rawlings issues an inspiring invitation to lighten the load.

Other highlights:

• The Baggage Handler has also been signed in Germany and the Netherlands and those language versions will be coming out this year.
• David has also lodged his second novel with Thomas Nelson - The Camera Never Lies. This is due in December.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Baggage-Handler-David-Rawlings/dp/0785224939/

Bio: David Rawlings is a based in South Australia, with a 25-year corporate writing career behind him and stories that look deeper into life in front of him. 

Jeanette O'Hagan - Shadow Crystals

Jeanette O'Hagan  has released the fourth book in the Under the Mountain series.

Title: Shadow Crystals: a novella

Publication Date: March 2019

Publisher: By the Light Books
Blurb:

She will do anything to save her people.

Delvina, Zadeki and the delegation lead by Danel must seek answers from the haughty Vaane, but they find the Lonely Isles in turmoil. Will Delvina find the way to open the Gate in time to prevent her people from starving? Will she be reunited with her twin, Retza. And why are the Forest Folk so secretive? As tensions increase, Delvina must discern friend from foe and defeat the shadows in her own heart.

Join Delvina and her friends on their quest to save the Glittering Realm under the mountain.

Set in the world of Nardva, Shadow Crystals is the fourth novella and penultimate novella in the Under the Mountain series.

Link:  https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B07NDQM8LV

Start the journey with Heart of the Mountain https://www.amazon.com.au/Heart-Mountain-short-novella-Under-ebook/dp/B01J74G9I6/

Bio: Jeanette spun tales in the world of Nardva from the age of eight. She enjoys writing fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, millennia and cultures. Some involve shapeshifters and magic. Others include space stations and cyborgs. She has published over forty stories and poems. Jeanette lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

Events & Opportunities:

Omega Writers Book Fair

Last month, over 30 authors and a bunch of readers got together for the 2019 Omega Writers Book Fair.  Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children's, Young Adult, Adult, memoirs, biographies, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, self-help books and picture books - it was all on display. Authors were mostly from Brisbane but also came from Toowoomba, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, northern NSW, even Victoria. Readers came from as far away as Emerald. There was certainly a buzz happening as people perused the tables. 

Over thirty people attended the two different workshops - Healing Histories by Anne Hamilton & Writing Life Stories by Ruth Bonetti.  Readings by our authors was also enjoyed in the reading lounge. 

We are looking forward to another Book Fair in March 2020.

News from Toowoomba Omega Writers Chapter

The Toowoomba Chapter of Omega Writers was thrilled to host a workshop by up-and-coming author Jessica Kate on 30 March. 

Jess has landed a multi-book deal with Thomas Nelson in the US. Her debut novel Love and Other Mistakes will be released in July 2019, with her second book A Girl’s Guide to the Outback being released in January 2020. Both are in the romantic comedy genre. 

She shared tips about breaking into the US market, making the most of conferences, writing winning book proposals and maintaining a professional mindset. The nine attendees were really appreciative of her input and effervescent enthusiasm. For more information, please check out her author site: https://jessicakatewriting.com/

Rendered Realms at Supernova Gold Coast

Three CWD members, Jeanette O'Hagan, Lynne Stringer and Adele Jones will be at Supernova Gold Coast from Friday, 12-Sunday14th April.

Other News:

The 2019 CALEB awards are open. 

The 2019 CALEB Award is open for entries. There are three ways you can be involved:

• Entry opportunities
• Judging opportunities
• Sponsorship opportunities

Entries are for the Unpublished & Published prizes can be made here.  Closing date is 30 April, 2019. Check eligibility and enter here.

If you would be interested in applying as a Judge for the CALEB prize apply here.

More information is available either on the Omega Writers website, Christian Writers Downunder website or Australasian Christian Writers website. 

Poetica Christi

Entries to the 2019 Poetica Christi Press Poetry Competition are now open. The theme is Love’s Footprint.

From the Poetica Christie entry form:

This topic lends itself to poems about the multi-faceted nature of love and the many ways love forms and shapes us. Love’s footprint can be found in tenderness, delight, devotion, worship, friendship, affection, attachment, courtship, partnership, marriage, regret, forgiveness, reconciliation, God’s love for us. Love can be found in families; in parenthood, childhood, allegiance, involvement, the hurt of disappointment or the practice of discipline, unconditional love and the imprint of pets.

Details:
Competition is open to poets aged 16 or over, residing in Australia.
Closing date April 30th, 2018.

For more information click here.

Stories for Life

From Stories for Life: 

For the fourth consecutive year, Stories of Life is running a short story competition, seeking out true stories of faith and testimony. Our vision is two-fold: to equip Christians to tell their stories well and to share these stories widely.

To this end, we hold free writing workshops and publish all shortlisted entries in an anthology by Christmas. Some of these stories will also be broadcast on LifeFM in Adelaide. Throughout the year we love to celebrate the writing successes of contributors, past and present, by publishing links to their new books and articles.

We are not looking for devotionals or homilies. Rather, we want stories where something happens to someone (could be you or someone else – with their permission). Stories of faith could be so many things - happy, sad, warm, quirky, funny – the unifying theme will be a loving and faithful God at work among his people.

We hope you will consider sending in a story. The submission deadline is 31 July. We’d love to hear from you.

Toowoomba Retreat

The Toowoomba Writers Retreat is on again in from 7-9 June 2019.

The keynote speaker will be the fabulous Jo-Anne Berthelsen. She'll do two sessions relevant to fiction and non-fiction writers. There will be an Indie Publishing Panel; and lots of free time for writing, networking, brainstorming and soaking up the beautiful surrounds. So pop it in your calendars now. This is a great event, well worth attending.

Omega Writers Conference

This year the Omega Writers Conference with be from 11-13 October.

For more information read here.

Congratulations to all our members for your milestones and achievements in start of 2019

Introducing the 2019 CALEB Award from Omega Writers

By Iola Goulton @iolagoulton

The 2019 CALEB Award will soon be open for entries. As the coordinator of the Awards, I'd like to encourage all members of the Australasian Christian Writers community to get involved. Today I'm going to share three ways you can be involved:

• Entry opportunities
• Judging opportunities
• Sponsorship opportunities

Entry Opportunities

Entry to the CALEB Award is open to all Australian and New Zealand Christian writers (wherever they live), or writers living in Australia or New Zealand.

The 2019 Award is open to books with a 2017 or 2018 copyright date, subject to the book not having previously been entered. We will accept entries with a 2016 copyright date only if that title could not have been entered in the last two years because that category was not offered.

The Unpublished Award is for adult fiction across all genres.

We will ask entrants to state their genre so we're able to match them with judges who enjoy and feel capable judging that genre. We don't want to give a romance title to a judge who loathes romance, or a fantasy title to a judge who hates fantasy.

The Published Award will have the following categories:

Picture Books

Picture Books are generally books aged at children under the age of five, and are designed to be read aloud. The best picture books have a story that parents, grandparents, and teachers will willingly read aloud over and over and over. They will also have illustrations which complement the story and interest the child.

Young Adult Fiction

Young Adult fiction can include fiction in any genre, aimed at readers aged between 13 and 18 years old. As such, the language, content, and themes should be consistent with the issues faced by this age group.

Adult Fiction (Mystery, Suspense, Speculative, Women's Fiction)

Adult fiction is fiction aimed at adult readers (i.e. not young adults). Entries can be in any genre except romance or fiction with romantic elements.

Memoir/Biography/Autobiography

Memoir and autobiography are both about the author. The difference is that autobiography tends to cover the author's whole life, while memoir focuses on a specific theme, and only relates events relating to that theme. Biography is written about someone else, and may be a whole of life book, or may focus on a period of their life, or on a specific theme. Books in this category are often referred to as narrative non-fiction, which follows many of the rules of fiction (e.g. showing the story from a single point of view, and avoiding telling).

To find out more and to enter, visit http://www.omegawriters.org/caleb/2019-caleb-open/

The CALEB Award is run by Omega Writers although books don't have to be overtly Christian.

Some of our winners have been "defiantly Christian". Others have been great books by Christian writers with underlying Christian themes like love, honesty, or the importance of family.

While we do accept entries that aren't specifically aimed at the Christian market, we do ask that all entrants state their agreement with the Omega Writers Statement of Belief. We also remind entrants that we are judging books based on a Christian world view, so general market titles are unlikely to score well.

Judging Opportunities

Writing contests need entrants, but they also need judges. Some contests require entrants to judge in another category. We don't, but judging is a great way of giving back to the Australasian Christian writing community.

• If you're entering the Unpublished award, then we'd love to have you judge the Published award—Young Adult or Adult fiction.
• If you write fiction and you're entering one of the Published awards, then we'd love to have you judge the Unpublished award.

If you're not entering the CALEB, then we'd love to have you judge whatever category you like!

What qualifications do I need to be a judge?

You need to be a keen reader of the genre you're offering to judge. That's pretty much it.

No, you don't have to be a writer. No, you don't have to be a member of Omega Writers.

If you're applying to judge the Unpublished contest, then it would be great if you're also a writer, editor, or publisher, as we want to give our Unpublished entrants quality feedback.

Also, the CALEB Award is a Christian contest, so we do ask that judges agree with the Omega Writers Statement of Belief.

What do judges have to do?

First-round judges will have approximately two months to judge between three and ten entries in the category and genre of their choice (so if you hate reading young adult romance, we'll do our best to ensure you don't get any romance entries. If you can only judge three entries, we'll send you three. If you can judge more, we'll send you more).

The Unpublished contest is the first 10,000 words of the manuscript, plus a 1,000-word synopsis.

Depending on how fast you read, judging should take between 30 and 60 minutes per entry.

Those judging the Unpublished contest will be asked to provide written feedback to support their scores, and this feedback will be given to the entrants. Feedback is one of the main reasons to enter an Unpublished contest, so we do ask that judges give fair, considered, and prayerful feedback. Click here to download a draft score sheet.

The first round of the Published contest is based on the full book for Picture books, or the first 50 pages (or 25%) of the book for other categories (although you're welcome to read the entire book). Judges will be asked to complete a score sheet for each entry, but will not have to provide written feedback, and score sheets will not be returned to the entrants.

Second-round judges will have approximately two months to pick a winner from between three and five finalists. They will be asked to read the full book or manuscript (entries are capped at 120,000 words).

Click here to sign up as a judge.

Sponsorship Opportunities

If you or your business would like to sponsor a category of the CALEB Award by offering a category prize (of either cash or a service), then please click here to contact the Omega Writers Sponsorship team.

How are you planning on being involved in the 2019 CALEB Award?

Do you have any questions I haven't answered? If so, please leave a comment (or click here to email me via the contact form on my website if you'd prefer).