Shortlisting judging

Being a shortlist judge for the Ada Cambridge Prize was a remarkable experience. As a writing student you can never underestimate the value of these sorts of opportunities. When I first heard about the offer it sounded like something that would really be great. But then I got cold feet. Being a mere student and nowhere near the level of a true professional writer I wondered whether or not I had the right to judge other people's work. I mean, in figurative terms, I’m basically in the same boat as the entries: all trying to get our laboured work out there, continually scratching through to the other side of that great brick wall where book deals and high paid writing jobs are just a skip and a jump away.

But luckily for me my thoughts soon settled when I realised that’s not what this writing thing is about. I’ve been told that if you’re a writer, a true writer, you write because you love to. Not because you want fame, money or a fan base of loyal subjects. If you’re a writer you're always continually going to be perfecting your craft, trying to be get better and better, and anyone can help you do that, writing student or not.

If your stories are good, they will shine through no matter what.

That thought eased me into the judging role. Of course I looked at the grammar and punctuation and all that technical stuff. But most importantly I looked at the story. And at the end of the day that’s the most vital thing.

Reading through more than forty short stories can be a tedious task, especially when you only have a couple weeks to do it in. So if the story caught your attention it usually was a good sign.

Each piece was given a grading from A to D, which was marked down for when we shortlist judges got together and made our final selection. When it came to that point I was amazed to see how one story I thought deserved a giant A rating received a horrid D from another judge. Luckily we had a score system in place that worked with the grading; otherwise we’d still be sitting in that small room, arguing away until the world’s ending.

It was a pleasure to read all the stories entered and to work alongside the other judges in determining who went forth to the final ten. It was an experience that not only enriched my own writing but also made me hopeful for the thriving writing culture we have.

Andrew Roberts

Novel 2 Student

Williamstown Literary Festival

VU have a close association with the Williamstown Literary Festival as sponsors, but also through associations with various courses, ours being one of these. Each year we encourage our students to attend the festival, and indeed this forms part of our Industry Overview subject for our on-campus students. (We also run this subject online, but as many of the students who do it online are remote, we can't use this festival as part of our coursework for these students.) I know last year's students had a great time, and many will be returning again. Our Novel 2 class work as shortlisting judges for the Ada Cambridge competition, and past students have worked on placements with the festival committee or as volunteers. It's a great festival -- and I know feedback has often been about how friendly it is compared to some of the other festivals that are around.

For more information about the festival, including the program, have a look at their website -- you can download entries there for the Seagull Poetry Prize and for the Ada Cambridge Prize for short biographical writing. Entering competitions is a great way of beginning to build your writing CV -- you never know what you might win. Last year three of our students -- Lucia Nardo, Hugh Deacon and Denise Hughes -- either won prizes or were shortlisted (and published) in these competitions. (Remember, we have competition entry forms for both competitions in the office (10.248). Closing date is 1 March, so if you're interested, you'd better get onto it quickly.

Tracey Rolfe

Plenty happening in PWE

Welcome back to all our existing students, and a big welcome to all of our new students. All the staff at PWE hope you'll have a productive, exciting and challenging year studying here with us.

Whew! Is it only Week 2? Classes are under way, and already my head is spinning with all the different things that are happening, especially in the office. Our online classes are beginning this week, or in some cases (Picture Books) began last week. Bruno's got Rotunda up and rolling. Students are settling in to their new classes. News is coming in of current and past student successes: Tarryn Reid, Fiona Browning and Remo Pitisano are the new editors of SEED magazine and are calling for contributions; Matthew Naqvi has been appointed editor of Offset. Well done, everyone. It's really exciting for us to see you all doing so well.

In the meantime, six members of our Novel 2 class have just volunteered to be part of this year's Ada Cambridge Prize (for a short biographical or autobiographical piece of information), which is part of the Williamstown Literary Festival. Past students who have done this will tell them what a rich and rewarding experience this will be. (And if you'd like to enter either the Ada Cambridge or the Seagull Poetry Prize, we have entry forms in the office.)

All I can say is that I'm excited to be here as part of such a dynamic course!

Tracey Rolfe