(no subject)

Since I can't get to Sydney's Freecon this year, I asked Garry what I could do to help. Here's info about their short story compeittion (except I deleted Garry's personal details - LJ is not the right place to put anyone's address and phone number! - if you either email me or give me your email address I can send you that bit of the information forthwith):

"The 2007 Sydney Freecon Short Story competition is open until Wednesday October 31, 2007. The competition is a simplified and transparent competition to intended to encourage Freecon members to write and to encourage SF&F writers to attend the Freecon. Entrants who attend the Freecon will have the opportunity to see how their entry/s compare with the displayed entries, to discuss them and network etc. (and to vote for their own story!).

You get to choose your own font, spacings and topic, there is no upper word limit, but the story as supplied must be on one or two A4 pages.

To enter, you send in your story (or poem) and six $0.50 stamps for each entry to Garry at the address below. The best ten or so stories received by October 31, 2007 will be displayed during the Freecon. All present at the Freecon will get to read and vote on the displayed stories. If a story or poem receives 30% of the vote then it will receive a cash prize equal to 30% of the prize pool. The prize pool will be (at least $50 or) the proceeds of the Freecon, ($80 was distributed last Freecon), I.e. rather than a 'winner takes all' First prize, there will be small cash prizes for most minor placings that attract some votes.

The 2007 Sydney Freecon takes place at Bankstown City Library, 8.30 to 4 pm on Saturday November 3, 2007. All are welcome to attend the Freecon, but please let me know you are coming?

If you are from outside of NSW and the ACT, you may enter the competition by email, for Free. You will be notified of how your entry went (boasting rights!), but the cash prize you would have received will be returned to the prize pool."

Garry also tells me that guests this year include Pamela Freeman and Richard Harland. I'm sorry to miss it!

(no subject)

I had incredibly wise things to say today, but I can't remember a single one of them. This is one of those occasions where I shall call on all of you to exercise your own minds and fill in the gaps. I'll leave a couple of blank paragraphs and you can add anything wise that you might have contemplated recently.

If you need more space, then you might need to frame your wisdom in dot point form.





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And that's all the wisdom I have to share today.

24 November

Further to election night votewatch, Nicole says the National Tally Room is happening but that this may be its last hurrah. This makes the evening a tad more dificult to organise but *way* more fun. RSVPs wildly desirable.

I'll blog a reminder in a couple of weeks.

Gillian-avoidance: an update

This should take you safely through to the end of November. Unless I've forgotten something.

In case you were wondering, I'm posting extra today because it gives me an excuse to listen to some of the Conflux podcasts - some great panels happened when I wasn't paying attention and I'm determined not to miss them. My favourite of the second is Zen and the Art of Anthology Making.

So, how to avoid me?

I'm teaching my Wednesday morning classes through Open Arts ACT throughout the term. It started this week with my students celebrating their annual publication. Don't go to Tuggeranong Wednesday mornings.

From 30 October I'm teaching stuff about living in London in the Middle Ages every Tuesday at the ANU. I have plans to make meat pie jokes. This isn't for writers at all: it's pure Medieval history. Given the potential awfulness inherent in meat pie jokes, you may still want to avoid it.

In November on Sundays I am teaching worldwide. Gillian spread thin. Hard to avoid, but not too much of me at once. This is an online version of my infamous 'writing using the five senses' sessions. Because it's online, no essential oils will be harmed. You can find out exactly which bits of the Net to avoid here.

On November 24 there is election watch at my place and (for a while) in the National Tally Rooms.

This makes November a really comfortable place on the whole. I'm particularly easy to avoid and your lives are safe from my corrosive influence.

Why is November so quiet? Mostly because I really, really need writing time. Also, to not travel. I've been to Melbourne twice and Sydney three times already this year. I was supposed to go to Sydney for the Freecon (4 November) and later in the month for an academic conference. My paper will be at the academic conference without me, because this week I was honest with myself about just how tired Melbourne then Conflux then Sydney have left me. Besides, I need to write my highwayman.