Thursday 17 February 2022

Competitions and an agent

2021 was a big year for me and poetry. Since my last blog update in October, I was delighted that two more poems from my verse novel Dancing with Empty Prams, submitted as one entry under the title “The intimacy of needles; the poise of liquid nitrogen” were Commended on Sunday in the Woorilla Poetry Prize 2021. Judge Nathan Curnow commented: “This is an honest account of IVF treatment. It’s a long journey of a couple who are yearning for pregnancy, who are managing amid expectation and exhaustion. It’s finely handled; it’s a sensitive piece about hope, patience, absence and anticipation.” You can listen to the comments and hear Nathan read the poems (from the 1:42:30 mark on the replay of the live-stream video of the award presentation below.) https://www.facebook.com/woorillapoetryprize/videos/195652459334347

 


In November I was excited to announce that I signed a contract with a literary agent, Fiona Johnson from Beyond Words Literary Agency, to guide my verse novel manuscript Dancing with Empty Prams out into the world. https://www.beyondwordsagency.com/

And I was happy to round out the year with the news that one of my poems, “and then I catch myself”, received a Special Mention in the 2021 Colin and Norma Knight Memorial Poetry Award competition facilitated by the Fellowship of Australian Writers Tasmania. Judge Karen Witek (Knight) commented that my poem had a “Great title, descriptive imagery, reminiscent of some of Whitman’s thought processes." She also wrote: "I liked how the writer took us into their private world of short term escapism, a walk through mindfulness, memories and beauty.”




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