Emerging Writers’ Festival – Hobart Roadshow 2013
By the end of the Digital Writers Conference, part of the Emerging Writers’ Festival Hobart roadshow, I was utterly overwhelmed. I walked out needing some air, a drink, and a moment alone with my thoughts – so it was nice that this first event of the Emerging Writers Festival Roadshow took place at MONA. I sat outside the café with a glass of pinot noir and a lovely view, and started to decompress all the new ideas and information I’d just received.
The aim of the conference was to ‘equip writers with new ideas and inspiration about how to share their stories and words with audiences online.’ The afternoon consisted of four panel discussions, each about a different aspect of digital writing. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the conference. I was prepared to hear the same information I’d received at other workshops about engaging with the online audience, participating in the writing community and online professionalism. All of these were touched on but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of new ideas, concepts and people speaking from their own personal experience. With so many writers online it was nice to have the opportunity to gain helpful information directed at writers emerging within the digital space; to develop opportunities, find their place and contribute professionally.
After keynote speeches by Jennifer Mills (fiction editor, Overland) and Kelly Lee Hickey (writer and performer), they both sat down with Chad Parkhill (writer and editor) to discuss staying connected as a writer online. It is no longer necessary for creative types to move to the perceived ‘cultural centres’ of Melbourne and Sydney. I hadn’t realised that this was actually a thing but it was the second time I’d heard of it in as many weeks. Both made the case that there is in fact more culture outside of these centres and the digital landscape helps to realise that. Regional writers can participate from the fringes and contribute to discussions on complex cultural issues by giving a different and much needed perspective. It is then possible to ‘write what you know’ without having to move away from your own experience. Distance and place is no longer a barrier to participation and being a part of a wider community.
Fiona Dunne (Seizure) introduced different ways of presenting stories and poetry online with Benjamin Laird (computer programmer and poet), Connor Tomas O’Brien (Tomely.com). This blew my mind. Benjamin’s digital poetry had shape and movement making it visually interactive, and was shown in a form totally different to what would be possible in the traditional sense. He deconstructed his digital poem by showing us the fine detail of code involved in how the poem looked and behaved. Computer talk is over my head so I sat back and enjoyed being shown something completely new and different. Connor Tomas O’Brien is the creator of Tomely, a website designed so that authors and publishers can sell ebooks directly to the reader. This idea widens the scope of availability and helps writers to get paid.
Kate McKenzie (Emerging Writers Festival) discussed freelancing and blogging with Rachel Edwards (reader and editor) and Bethanie Blanchard (Crikey, The Guardian). Though I’d heard a lot of this information before, for me, it reiterates that there are certain ways to participate in a space where anything is possible. It’s about finding the best fit for your idea
s and the possibilities of having different forms of the one idea. Participating and creating a conversation in the digital space is important. This session encouraged the most participation, with a lot of questions and ideas being discussed between the panel and the audience. Hearing about Bethanie’s experiences answered a few questions I’d been asking myself as I’ve recently reassessed my own presence online.
The final panel was the one I was most looking forward to. Zora Sanders (Meanjin, editor), Jacinda Woodhead (Overland, deputy editor) and Island editor Matt Lamb discussed how their magazines are planning to engage in the online space. Matt opened the discussion with his views on literature and literacy, putting more focus on engaging with the reader rather than with writers. He suggested that websites and blogs provide the frame in which people can engage with the print magazine, and that there can be a relationship between old and new media. I wouldn’t be the only one that thinks Overland does this well. Being a literary journal for the radical left, it presents subjects that are more topical – and the online space becomes a place that facilitates discussion and live comment. In a sense it is two sides of the same coin, giving readers of the print mag a reason to go online and introducing online readers to further content and ideas through print. The panel agreed that certain types of pieces succeed online which may not have a place in the print mag. The online space is able to capture the tone of the publication and spark conversation, debate and participation.
I left with my head spinning. Being presented with so many new ideas and possibilities made me reassess my place in the digital space, how I want to contribute and participate, and where I want to take my own writing. The session directly after the conference was Graphic Content: An Evening of Visual Storytelling. I had intended to go to this as it was Halloween and the concept intrigued me – but I ended up getting side-tracked with wine and conversation. I did poke my head in before leaving to see a dark room with comic art being projected on the wall; the story being narrated by the writer. It looked fascinating and the room was full … but I had lots of ideas to process and an overwhelming need to escape and write everything down.
MA Blake is an emerging writer and intrepid intern at Island.
Check out the video Day One of the EWF Hobart Roadshow Day One by filmmaker Joel Checkley
Images courtesy of Connor Tomas O’Brien