Getting Published

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Published in Perth

 I honestly believe that Perth gets a bad rap from the rest of Australia. I have lived in Perth for almost eight years now and am tired of hearing comparisons to the more established eastern states of Sydney and Melbourne. Out of curiosities sake, I took a trip to Sydney in my previous uni holidays just to see what all the fuss was about. I was expecting London nightlife, New York traffic and Parisian shopping. Instead of the cosmopolitan paradise I was told to expect, I was disappointed with concrete jungles, derelict houses and park benches loaded with the homeless and the hopeless. Needless to say, I was far from impressed.

You will have to excuse me for being slightly more patriotic to my home state than usual. As I write this, I am scrunched up on a pile of feathery pillows on my cousin’s bed in Manchester, the only quiet place in a house of endless chatter and family popping in and out all day long. My clothes are creased from living out of a suitcase, I have gained about four kilos from sampling all this British food and my nose is running in torrents from the endless summer showers. I have just finished talking to my mom via virtual chat and received my fill of news from home. My brother is now working with my dad. My little sister has just started home-schooling and loving it. My little Siamese fighter fish is struggling with the cooler weather but is still alive….somehow. My en suite bathroom is in the process of being fitted. With my laptop balancing on my lap, a pile of tissues on the floor and a cantankerous Yorkshire terrier lying on my feet, I am missing my beloved Perth more than ever.

The assumption that Perth is ten miles behind Sydney or Melbourne is no different in the publishing world. Regardless of the fact that Tim Winton, one of Australia’s greatest living writers came from Perth, people still think that success lies in the east. When I began my degree in creative writing, it was a natural assumption by everyone I talked to that I would move to the eastern states to find work once I graduated. While it is true that the more established publishing houses and literary agencies are located in Sydney and Melbourne, it is still possible to find publishing opportunities without having to leave the sandy state.

Probably the most highly recognised publishing house in Western Australia is the Fremantle Arts Centre Press. The centre has been around since 1976 and has published work by distinguished authors such as AB Facey, Kate McCaffrey and Sally Morgan. The aim of the centre is to advance the work of Western Australian writers and artists and the centre is happy to accept unsolicited manuscripts for appraisal from writers either from or living in Western Australia.

As unfair as it may be, getting ahead in life does not boil down to what you know. It’s all in who you know and this is especially true of the literary world. Networking is vital to the livelihood of the writer and the only way to do this is to surround oneself with fellow writers. What better way to meet other writers than by joining a writer’s centre. Not only are writers centres a fantastic means of polishing your skills and learning new tricks of the trade, they are also an Aladdin’s cave of publishing information and literary contacts.

Perth is the home of three flourishing writer’s centres, which are spread throughout the state. These are the Peter Cowan Writers Centre (PCWC), the Katherine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre (KSP) and the Fellowship of Australian Writers Western Australia (FAWWA). The Katherine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre, which is actually the oldest writers’ centre in Australia, is situated in the Perth hills and hosts a wide variety of writing groups including the Science Fiction and Fantasy Group, the Karibu Women’s Writing Group and the Writing for the Theatre Group.

The FAWWA meets at the Tom Collins House in Swanbourne, Perth. They frequently hold workshops and master classes on subjects such as memoir, food and music writing, poetry and prose. They even host the occasional party or two!

My personal favourite, however, is the Peter Cowan Writers Centre. In my third year of university, I had to do six months of practical experience at a writing establishment of some sort and I was assigned to work at the Peter Cowan Writer’s Centre. The centre is a charming heritage building situated on the lawns of the Edith Cowan University Joondalup campus. Nestled beneath towering pines on the edge of the Joondalup Lake, the centre could easily be mistaken for a fairytale cottage out in the woods. You almost expect Hansel and Gretel to come strolling hand in hand through the creaking front door. The centre offers some fantastic writing workshops and I would encourage any writers in the area to treat themselves to an afternoon of creative stimulation and the opportunity to meet fellow writers. In regards to my own writing, I find that surrounding myself with creative people encourages my own creative juices to start flowing. Here is an opportunity to immerse oneself in creativity.