Scarlet Stiletto

Sisters in Crime Short Story Competition

Article by: Mandy Wrangles

<   <   <   Hey, wouldn’t you love one of these?

Oh, no – it’s not just an ordinary, yet fabulous red shoe. It’s a Scarlet Stiletto trophy, one of only seventeen in existence, and it’s mine, all mine <cue evil, possessive laughter>.

Each year, Sisters in Crime Australia runs a short story competition for female crime writers, with the coveted shoe being the first prize, along with nice big cheque. The competition is open to everyone (as long as you’re a woman, of course) and is a fantastic springboard to fame and fortune in the crime-writing world. Ok, maybe just fame, or at least a little cred.

Past winners and category winners who’ve gone on to publication include Cate Kennedy (1^st place twice!), Josephine Pennicot, Angela Savage, Alex Palmer and Liz Filluel. Even Tara Moss, Australia’s most popular crime writer, won the Young Writer’s Award in 1998. Our own Kylie Fox, the Tara Sharp Site Manager, won the Dorothy Porter Prize for Innovation last year, with her brilliant story ‘Poppies’ – a crime told in verse.

And yeah, I was lucky enough to win first place back in 2009 for my story ‘Persia Bloom’; and a Special Commendation last year for ‘Annie at the Beach’. Personally, I have to say winning the award changed my life in a huge way. So many doors in the publishing world were suddenly opened, as well as other opportunities like speaking engagements, radio and writing blogs and reviews for particular websites J

This year, submissions for entries are closing a month earlier than usual due to Sisters in Crime’s 20^th Anniversary Convention – SheKilda Melbourne 2011. So here’s your warning girls… get writing NOW. Your story needs to be in by July 30^th 2011.

So, how does it all work? Well, first and foremost, you need to come up with a crime story that’s 5000 words or less. It has to have a female protagonist (main character). And… that’s about it.

Apart from the HarperCollins Publishers 1^st Prize, the Kill City 2^nd Prize and the Readings 3^rd Prize, (valid for all entries), there are a number of categories you can write for, such as:

• The Allen & Unwin Young Writer’s Award, for writers 18 and under (proof of age is required with entry).
• The Kerry Greenwood Malice Domestic Award.
• The Cate Kennedy Award or for Best New Talent (for writers who are unpublished, or have not won a category prize in the past).
• The Dorothy Porter Award for Innovation.
• Benn’s Books Best Investigative Award.
• Pulp Fiction Funniest Crime Award.
• Scriptworks Great Film Idea Award.
• The Olvar Wood Late Starter’s Award, for writers 50+ (proof of age is required with entry).

… and announcing a brand new one for this year…

• The Clan Destine Press Award for Cross-Genre.

You can download the entry form and terms and conditions here – www.sistersincrime.org.au

My advice?

• Get started now. A good story isn’t generally born overnight or in one or two drafts.
• Always, always get someone else to read your work. No, not your mum. Someone who isn’t scared to point out flaws in the plot, or typos. Read your story aloud – it’s easier to find mistakes that way.
• Never written crime before? Not to worry, neither had I before ‘Persia Bloom’. Write what you do know, and weave a crime into it.
• Protagonist does not mean victim – as in a woman is murdered and a male cop solves the crime. Protagonist means main character / hero(ine) / anti-hero of the story. So yes, you can have a female victim – but the cop/whoever who solves the crime should be a woman or women; and of course you can have a female criminal – if she’s the main character.
• Be original. The judging panel are intelligent and are very widely read in the area of crime fiction. They don’t take lightly to plagiarism, even if it’s an episode of CSI.
• Always remember, it’s easier to divorce him than stab him with kitchen scissors. Make your story believable. That being said, Clan Destine Press have their new Cross-Genre Award this year. Think vampires and zombies and time travel with a twist.
• You can enter two stories per year and those stories can be ‘entered’ in as many categories as you think your story is eligible for. The chance of winning one of them gets better!

The award night itself is a blast, and each year SinC-Oz have a special guest presenter, last year it was Nadine Garner from City Homicide, and the year before it was Catherine McClements from Rush.

Finally, what are you waiting for? Get writing and good luck! (but not too much good luck, because, you know – I’d like to win a second shoe!)

Bookmark It

Hands-on inspiration for crime writers

On 26 February, Queensland Writers Centre’s brand new workshop, Research for Crime Fiction with Meg Vann, will give participants unprecedented access to the State Library of Queensland’s hidden holdings.

In Australia, crime fiction is more popular than any other genre. The latest Nielsen Book Scan data shows that of the top 10 fiction book sales this week, eight were crime fiction or thrillers.

And Queensland is a state of crime writing, with Katherine Howell, J.J. Cooper, Marianne Delacourt, and Hélène Young all well-established on the Australian crime fiction scene. A new wave of crime writing from or about Queensland is gathering momentum, and this workshop is all about getting this new generation of writers mobilised and inspired to write!

Guided by experienced teacher, crime writer and researcher Meg Vann, participants will do their own real-life sleuthing in the Fox Family White Gloves Room, and get intimate with documents from real crimes in Queensland’s history, finding new stories and handling real pieces of history.

“This is an opportunity for participants to explore actual evidence used in real crimes in Queensland, and bring that realism to their work, says Meg Vann.

“These pieces are not in collections that are open to the public, so this is a one-off opportunity to touch these documents and discover their ties to real people. It’s a truly transporting experience, students will really get inside the minds of victims and perpetrators of crime.”

Great ideas are one thing, pulling them together into a great story is another. The workshop also focuses on creative writing and research techniques, and participants will develop their own research action plan to take away with them.

Don’t miss out on this one-off opportunity to develop and enhance your crime writing.

10:30am-4:30pm, Saturday 26 February

QWC, Level 2, State library of Queensland
Members $110, Concession $100, Non-members $160

Bookings online at www.qwc.asn.au or call (07) 3842 9922

Meg Vann is manager of The Australian Writer’s Marketplace and her first novel is
under consideration with an Australian Publisher.

Queensland Writers Centre is the premier literature organisation in Queensland, supporting the development of Australian authors and promoting books, reading and literature. We are a non-profit association with more than 2,400 members across the state. Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) supports the development and opportunities of writers and celebrates Queensland’s vibrant literary culture. QWC is located at new, custom built premises on Level 2 of the State Library of Queensland (SLQ), as a strategic partner of SLQ and allied writing organisations: Queensland Poetry Festival, Book Links, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (Qld Branch) and if:book Australia.

www.qwc.asn.au.

Enquiries

Imogen Smith

Marketing and Communications Manager

e. ismith@qwc.asn.au

p. 07 3842 9956  |  f. 07 3842 9920  |  m. 0430 744 129

Imogen Smith

Marketing and Communications Manager

Queensland Writers Centre

e. ismith@qwc.asn.au

w. www.qwc.asn.au

p. 07 3842 9956  | f. 07 3842 9920  | m. 0430 744 129

Level 2, State Library of Queensland, Cultural Centre,  Stanley Place, South Brisbane

PO Box 3488 South Brisbane QLD 4101

QWC: media | programs & projects | shop | blog | twitter | facebook |

Publishers of The Australian Writer’s Marketplace:AWMOnline | blog |

Bookmark It

Friday 11^th February

Article by: Mandy Wrangles

Sisters in Crime Australia kicked off the year with a bang on Friday night. As usual, Kylie and I attended the event along with a packed room of keen crime readers and writers at Bell’s Hotel in South Melbourne.

After a scrummy dinner and catch up with crime-loving friends, it was down to the important stuff; Ann Byrne, national co-convenor of SinC interviewing two of Australia’s top female crime authors – Kathryn Fox and Katherine Howell.

These authors have a lot of similarities: both have been involved in the medical field in their ‘past lives’ – Kathryn Fox as a doctor, and Katherine Howell as a paramedic, their fictional characters reflecting their time spent and knowledge in these fields. Both have on-going series, with Kathryn Fox recently releasing ‘Death Mask’ and Katherine Howell ‘Violent Exposure’ and both are widely published internationally.

It’s always fascinating to hear authors speak about the process they go through to write a novel, and Friday night was no exception (hooray for the whiteboard!). Although the subject matters Kathryn and Katherine write about are serious and often violent, they were both very entertaining and funny when it came to describing how they go about their craft. It seems the frantic meeting of deadlines, editing the edits on time, translations from Australian English to US English (think footpath to pavement, thongs to flip-flops), lack of sleep, sleep swearing(!!) and balancing ‘real’ life with a fictional one (thank goodness for calm, patient partners and families) is a universal link for writers. Kathryn Fox had some sage advice for all of us… never underestimate ‘thinking’ time – it’s not *really* procrastination – even if that thinking does go on for months and months before the words start to flow!

After Ann finished up grilling our guests, it was time for the traditional raffle of stacks of crime novels (dammit, missed out again), questions from the audience and book signing time. Everyone gets a chance to speak to the authors at this time and Katherine
and Kathryn were extremely gracious with photo ops!

Thanks to Sisters in Crime for what is always a great evening, and to Katherine and Kathryn for travelling cross-country to join us. We can’t wait to catch up with them again in October for SinC’s 20^th anniversary convention – SheKilda – where they will be joined by an incredible list of female crime writers from around the world, including of course, our very own Marianne Delacourt. In the meantime, watch this space for Kylie’s interviews with Katherine and Kathryn and more reviews of their books.

Bookmark It

Just heard about this really awesome sounding writer’s course that’s coming to Australia and am helping Allen and Unwin get word out about it. I’ve had a look through the course program and it seems very comprehensive and in depth. There will be guest spots from David Malouf, Kate Grenville, Bernard Cohen and Charlotte Wood and individual consultations as well.

After great success in London, Paris, Dublin and Toronto, Faber has partnered with Allen & Unwin in Australia to offer courses in creative writing. The first is ‘Writing a Novel’ which will be taught by Kathryn Heyman and James Bradley and will run from March to August 2011 at Allen & Unwin’s Crows Nest offices. What’s exciting about it is the hands-on nature of the classes, the publishers and agents reading night and the expectation that participants will finish the course with a complete first draft of their novel. There’s more information about the course outline on our website: www.allenandunwin.com/faberacademy

And to celebrate the Academy coming to our fair shores, I have one copy of The Reversal by Michael Connelly to giveaway. All you have to do is email me through this website with the name of the course, using either the contact form or the comments section to reply. Easy Peasy!

Bookmark It

8pm Friday November 26, 2010: Sisters in Crime

Nadine Garner presents the 17th Scarlet Stiletto Awards

& talks to Sue Turnbull about her life in crime

Nadine Garner stars as Detective Senior Constable Jennifer  Mapplethorpe in Seven’s drama City Homicide (2007-). Her other crime credits include The Bill, Stingers, Water Rats, Good Guys Bad Guys, Prisoner, and the telemovies, Heroes’ Mountain and The Feds: Deception. Garner first came to public attention in 1985, as Tamara Henderson in the Australian TV series, The Henderson  Kids and then in her debut film, The Still Point. She has worked    extensively in film, theatre and TV (both in Australia and the UK) and received awards and nominations for performances in each field.

Also interested in writing, Garner wrote and performed in the stage work Birds Eye View in Sydney, 2002. In 2002-3 she played in a national tour of the musical Cabaret and received enthusiastic reviews— as well as two theatre awards— for her performance as Fraulein Kost/Fritzi. She was won the AFI Best Actress award in 1988 for her role in Mull.

This year, 145 short stories compete for the coveted Scarlet Stiletto trophy and $4750 in prize money. Prizes kindly donated by HarperCollins, Kill City, Readings Books & Music, Allen & Unwin, Olvar Wood Writers Retreat, Scriptworks, Benn’s Book Shop, Pulp Fiction Book Shop, Kerry Greenwood, Cate Kennedy, and Andrea Goldsmith. The awards are also supported by Spinifex Press.

Fashionista Sally Brown is the Scarlet Stilettos’ patron, offering an on-going supply of  scarlet stilettos in which she’s been photographed in all over the world, including the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro.  She will briefly introduce the awards with a story of one of the photos.

Bell’s Hotel, 157 Moray St., South Melbourne (cnr Coventry). Mel 57, G1.

Try 112, 55 or St Kilda Road trams. Free on-street parking after 6pm.

$5/$10 (non-members) 10% discount from BennsBooks stall. ‘Brothers-in-Law’ welcome.

Please book for both dinner (from 6.30pm) and event (8pm) as each table is being decorated by a flower-filled Scarlet Stiletto loaned by Sally Browne.

Bookings: Rose Mercer on 03 8060 2737 or rose@grahammercer.com.au

Info: Carmel Shute on 0412 569 356 or go to http://www.sistersincrime.org.au/

Bookmark It