Image from Getty Open Content Program
Dear writers, readers and friends,
For most of us, life remains under some kind of lockdown and things feel pretty overwhelming. So, this month we have decided to focus on three good news items close to home.
Firstly, earlier this year our Deputy Editor, Lucie Stevens (http://www.luciestevens.com/) , won a residency at Varuna National Writer’s House (https://www.varuna.com.au/) in Australia. She was able to participate just before the lockdown came into force and now that she is back in Europe, Lucie has co-curated this month’s issue to highlight some of the finest voices of this prestigious residency programme. We are celebrating not just three great writers, but also Lucie who is a truly stellar writer (and VV editor) in her own right.
Our June writers are responding to a collage by an unknown artist, circa 1880, courtesy of Getty’s open content programme. This image was discovered by Judy Moore (https://twitter.com/ignatzhoch) , co-curator of our Daily Visual writing challenge on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/visualverseanthology/) . So our second good news item is that Judy has been releasing a brilliant weekly web-comic, Everything is Somewhat Repaired, which is a trans non-binary memoir. This has been the best thing in our inbox during the pandemic. You can get a pre-release of the comic by subscribing to their Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tomorjudy) page.
And finally, our state-side Editorial Assistant Luke Smith has accepted a place in the University of Montana’s Fiction MFA program and has been awarded a Truman Capote Scholarship. Luke has been an incredible asset to Visual Verse, volunteering several hours each month to publish your pieces. He will no doubt be a great asset to the MFA programme too and we can’t wait to read a book with his name on the cover.
Lucie, Judy and Luke, this issue is dedicated to you.
And now to our Veruna writers. On page one we feature Audrey Molloy (http://audreymolloy.com/) , an Irish poet based in Sydney. Her debut pamphlet, Satyress, was published in 2020 by Southword Editions. Her work has appeared in international publications including The North, Magma, Mslexia, The Moth and Meanjin. In 2019 she received the Hennessy Award for Emerging Poetry, the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award and the An Post Irish Book Award for Irish Poem of the Year.
Vanessa O’Neill (https://www.bundanon.com.au/residents/vanessa-oneill/) is a playwright, performer and arts educator. She received a Fellowship from the University of Melbourne to write a play based upon the Germaine Greer Archive at the University. The play, The Greer Effect, has just been completed. It was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Drama Award and received the Eric Dark Fellowship for an outstanding work of non-fiction from Varuna National Writer’s House.
Lyn Yeowart (https://twitter.com/yeowartlyn?lang=en) is a Melbourne-based freelance writer, editor, manuscript assessor and mentor. Her debut novel, The Silent Listener, will be published by Penguin Random House Australia in February 2021. Set in the gothic heart of Australia, it explores themes of family secrets, revenge and the long-term ramifications of violence.
So, as June sees the midpoint of the year, what messages do you fancy sending us? You know the rules: write 50-500 words in response to our image and in the space of an hour, and send it to us by 15th June. We publish up to 100 of the best. The image is the starting point, the text is up to you…
Lucie, Preti, Kristen and Luke
Connect with us
@visual_verse (https://twitter.com/visual_verse?lang=en)
@VarunaWriters (https://twitter.com/VarunaWriters)
@Audrey_Molloy (https://twitter.com/Audrey_Molloy)
@YeowartLyn (https://twitter.com/YeowartLyn)
@ONeillVanessa (https://twitter.com/ONeillVanessa)
Start Timer (https://vclock.com/timer/#countdown=01:00:00&enabled=0&seconds=3600&title=Visual+Verse%3A+One+image.+One+Hour.+50-500+Words.+)
Submit (https://visualverse.org/submit/)
** #DailyVisual
————————————————————
Don’t forget you can join us every day on Instagram for a 15-minute, 5-50 word writing challenge.
Visit Visual Verse Anthology on Instagram now… (https://www.instagram.com/visualverseanthology/)
mailto:visualverse@thecurvedhouse.com
https://www.facebook.com/visualverseanthology
Tweets by visual_verse