Sam van Zweden

Just a quick heads-up! The good people at Express Media have just started up this HOLOGRAM publishing venture, and they’re looking for long-form manuscripts – ie 20-60,000 words. Even better, this opportunity is only open to writers under 30 years of age. I know everyone missed out on the Vogel this year, so don’t let this one pass you by.

I love Express Media – over the years, they’ve given me many opportunities. They’ve had me along for their workshop workshops (where we learned how to run workshops – meta!), writing workshops with some of my favourite writers ever, had me nominated for an award, and published a poem of mine. They’re a very active organization giving opportunities to young people in a business where it’s often confusing and difficult to know where to start.

I personally know more than one reader of this blog who has a manuscript lying dormant in their bottom drawer. Don’t let it just sit there – send it in!

Last night I got home to a gift from a friend: the pen pictured above.

I’ve been in a bit of an awful place lately… Sometimes small things make a huge difference, and this is one of them. It’s the only weapon I need – thanks for the reminder.

I’ve just finished Hannah Kent’s much-anticipated debut novel, Burial Rites. I read the acknowledgements, and the author’s note; I even flick to the publication details to see if there’s anything else in there – the literary equivalent of licking the bowl. I wipe away the tears I shed during the final pages, and I sit still for a while, because this is a book that has moved me.

Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland, in 1829. After it is deemed too expensive to keep Agnes in a proper prison, she is sent to the valley in which she grew up, to be kept in the home of the District Officer until her execution date. She elects a young clergyman, Toti, to help her prepare to meet death, and it is through a combination of conversations with Toti, fragmented memories, and eventual conversation with Margret, the lady of the house, that we come to know Agnes’ story.

This story is based on fact. As Kent discusses in her piece in the latest Kill Your Darlings, the facts available about Agnes Magnusdottir and her alleged crime were sparse, and the research required to create the skeleton of this book was quite arduous and demanding. The way that that skeleton has been fleshed out and fully clothed makes for an enjoyable and moving read. While I knew that the story had to end with Agnes’ execution, by the time I’d spent a few hundred pages with this character, I really felt wronged by her eventual arrival at the chopping block.

The writing is fantastic – right from the prologue, the chill of Iceland can be felt. The prose is pared right back, but this doesn’t make the story any less visceral. Kent also manages the distinguish between three different voices, right throughout the novel.

Hannah Kent’s project here is admirable, and it speaks to my own interests and priorities. There are gaps in histories, in legends and tales that get handed down through ages. As stated in Burial Rites’ author’s note, Agnes Magnusdottir was commonly seen “as ‘an inhumane witch, stirring up murder.'” Kent wrote Burial Rites “to supply a more ambiguous portrayal of this woman”, and I feel that she well and truly delivered in that aim. She has given a voice to a woman who has threatened to disappear in history as one-sided: bad.

This book is currently in the Dymocks Top 10 Bestsellers, and I’ll certainly be making an effort to get it out to as many people as possible. It’s a page-turner, it’s literary and well written, and it does an important job: it reconsiders history, and gives a voice to the unheard.

Hannah Kent will also be appearing at Readings in Hawthorn on Monday night, in conversation with Angela Meyer.

As a baby-writer, I’ve noticed that sometimes there are HEAPS of opportunities that are perfect for me, and at other times there are heaps of opportunities that are perfect for everyone else: those people who have books published, or higher education qualifications I can only dream of… Right now is a time when there are heaps of opportunities around for emerging writers, and I’d hate them to fly under the radar for people in the same position, so here are some of the big exciting ones.

SOYA are a great initiative funded by Qantas. SOYA stands for “Spirit of Youth Awards”, and is a scheme that gives writers under 30 years old the opportunity to be mentored, and fly anywhere they want under the guise of research. This year’s mentor is none other than Lisa Dempster (most busy lady in the world). There’s only two days left to apply for this, so you might have to pull an all-nighter, but it’s not impossible.

Another not-to-be-sneezed-at chance comes from the good people at the Australian Book Review, who have the coolest internship (after EWF and MWF, of course!) going round. Most internships are unpaid, but ABR are looking for a part-time intern who will be paid a wage which includes super and leave entitlements. The job involves “digitising” ABR – from the job description, this seems to include a bit of everything. An awesome foot in the door at a great publication.

Finally, I had my attention called to this one a few days ago, and while it’s not quite right for my interests, I know a lot of people a bit cooler than me will swoon at this one. Meanjin are offering $3000 to early career and emerging arts critics, to write extended pieces about “new arts” – meaning all the very cool things that exist because of digitisation. This 3-4 months mentorship will also contribute to the forthcoming Meanjin podcasts. Meanjin is a publication that strikes a beautiful balance between intellect and fun, and is a fantastic place to get yourself heard. 

So don’t say that it’s hard to catch a break. People are throwing cash at us; go chase it.

I love a good mix tape. I still have the mix tape that one of my oldest friends dropped off to me on my sixteenth birthday. He decorated the cover with stars, and wrote Descendents lyrics on it; the ones about making a mix tape and decorating it with stars. There’s something about the process of making a mix tape – especially in the nineties. Sitting down, and playing all your favourite songs, and pressing the play button. You’d have to sit with it for the whole duration of the tape. It’s a real-time act of love and dedication. And it tells you a lot about a person, and the relationship they have with whoever the music’s dedicated to.

In the lead up to the next issue of The Lifted Brow (The Music Issue), they’ve started a MixCloud space, where all these amazing writers have been making mix tapes. It’s a good idea, yeah, but it’s made a billion times better by all the rad people who’ve contributed. While the physical process of making a mix tape is different now, most of these tapes really speak volumes about the people who made them. Some seem to speak about their writing process, and others about the cheeky indulgences they hide from the world.

Here’s a few of my favourites:

Monica Dux outs her love of musical theatre, and I tell ya what, she’s a lady after my own heart. Into The Woods! West Side Story!

Sean M Whelan‘s given his mix tape the best theme ever: “Songs That Do Me In, In The Dead Of Night”. We all have those songs, and this mix is a doozy.

David Shields‘ mix tape is nothing like I would’ve expected, and that’s somehow endearing. I don’t know what I expected him to listen to… Something a bit more dad-ish, I guess.

Hannah Kent and I appear to share our music taste. I’ve spent some time writing to this one, and it’s perfect.

Tom Cho‘s tape is beautifully eclectic and broad, just like his writing.

And look! It’s Tang Time! Estelle Tang’s mix tape‘s themed “She’s Always Been Your Lover”. You can tell these tapes belong to writers. Nobody else would theme them so wonderfully.

Enjoy.

It’s that time again! For the last few years, Melbourne lit journal Kill Your Darlings have done an annual launch and trivia night in Carlton. The competition’s always fierce, and the questions are hard and literature-themed, and the prizes are fantastic. The vino does flow, the grandest of times is had.

In previous years, I’ve been on the winning team, the door prize team, the second-placing team. This year, with one of our membership absent on a European Trip Of A Lifetime, we’ve got a pretty different Dream Team. We won’t need to cross our fingers though, because we’re all pretty brilliant anyway.

You should come to the stoush. 

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

“A wave of nausea drove a sour, bitter liquid up from her stomach into her throat, and at that moment, she understood everything. The colt’s severed leg showed her what death was all about, and a sense of horror made her quake, made her teeth chatter.”

– from Big Breasts and Wide Hips, by Mo Yan.