Want to appear at the 2012 Emerging Writers’ Festival?

The Emerging Writers’ Festival is an independent arts organisation based in Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas. Their aim is to promote the interests of emerging writers – to improve their opportunities for professional development as well as their engagement with the broader public.

Each year the Festival brings writers, editors, publishers and literary performers together with the reading public for a festival that is fast becoming an essential part of Australia’s literary calendar.

The EWF works with a small group of writers and industry professionals with strong local and national networks to ensure that festival programming remains relevant to the needs of emerging writers, and that appropriate writers are invited to the festival. The 2012 Program Advisory Committee is: Alex Adsett (QLD) Anna Barnes (VIC) Dr Sally Breen (QLD) Marisa Pintado (VIC) Tim Sinclair (NSW) Laurie Steed (WA) Sam Twyford-Moore (NSW) Marcus Westbury (VIC)

The EWF is now looking for writers to join their Open Panel for this year’s Festival to be held from May 22nd – June 3rd in Melbourne. The call-out details from EWF are below so get your application in!

The Emerging Writers’ Festival open panellist callout is an opportunity for you to let us know what is happening in your writing world. It helps us to discover new writers and new projects that might not (yet!) be on our radar. We love finding new writers, and we’re proud to be one of the few writers’ festivals in Australia that actively encourages writers of all stripes and career-stages to apply to be in our festival. Yes, we have great networks, chat often with publishers and agents, read widely, and have an excellent Program Advisory Committee but our open panellist callout ensures that we can touch base with the maximum number of writers possible.
You may not know this, but each and every event at the Emerging Writers’ Festival features a writer in their first-ever festival appearance – and one more who is well advanced in their career. Although we are called the Emerging Writers’ Festival, we are a festival for all writers at all stages of their career, and we don’t put arbitrary benchmarks on what is or isn’t considered ‘emerging’ or ‘established’. Our main requirement for writers taking part in the festival is: passion and commitment. We are looking for writers who are opinionated, informed, informative and inspiring… not to mention happy to speak in front of a large (but friendly!) audience.

If you’d like to be a considered as a festival guest in 2012, simply email (writers @ emergingwritersfestival.org.au) with a simple explanation of:
1. what you write; and
2. why you write it.