Writing Archives | Page 7 of 12 | Michelle Scott Tucker

HARDCOPY Writing Program 2017

HARDCOPY 2017 is now open for applications. The main reason I have a book publishing deal is because of HARDCOPY 2015 and I simply can't recommend this program enough. Don't think too hard about it - just put your application in! Apply here. Established in 2014, HARDCOPY is a national professional development program that helps build the capacities, aptitudes and resources emerging Australian writers need to reach their potential. By creating an environment that is educative, vigorous and nurturing, HARDCOPY: helps writers develop their manuscripts; increases industry knowledge; facilitates relationships [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T11:47:58+11:00February 13th, 2017|Writing|10 Comments

Stella Prize 2017 Longlist

Wow - this might be the strongest Stella Prize field I've ever seen. Congratulations to all. This year’s longlisted titles are: Victoria: The Queen (Julia Baird, HarperCollins) Between a Wolf and a Dog (Georgia Blain, Scribe) The Hate Race (Maxine Beneba Clarke, Hachette) Poum and Alexandre (Catherine de Saint Phalle, Transit Lounge) Offshore: Behind the Wire on Manus and Nauru (Madeline Gleeson, NewSouth) Avalanche (Julia Leigh, Hamish Hamilton) An Isolated Incident (Emily Maguire, Picador) The High Places (Fiona McFarlane, Hamish Hamilton) Wasted: A Story of Alcohol, Grief and a Death [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-24T01:52:27+11:00February 7th, 2017|Writing|14 Comments

The people you meet…

Given that writing is such a solitary act, I had no idea how many people I would meet in the process of writing my book. And what wonderful, friendly and helpful people they would turn out to be. In England, when I visited Elizabeth Macarthur's birthplace (a tiny village in north Devon) I met Sheila Cholwill, her husband Colin and her good friend Rose Hitchings. For two days they showed me around, fed me, introduced me, and generally just made me feel extraordinarily welcome. Octogenarian Mr Bowden showed me through [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T12:51:45+11:00December 10th, 2016|Life, Writing|4 Comments

People Watching

State Library of Victoria. Source: wikicommons The grassy forecourt of the State Library of Victoria is a lively place where people gather to rest, eat, play and observe. At a recent writing workshop (which I will write more about in the days to come) we participants were asked to spend fifteen minutes observing someone, and writing about them. One woman wrote about two children playing chasing games. Several wrote about a pair of chess players. Another described a kiss in telling detail. No-one who knows me (my lovely [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T13:04:30+11:00November 26th, 2016|Writing|7 Comments

The Art of Time Travel by Tom Griffiths – Book Review

Australian historian Tom Griffiths was hiking a pilgrimage route in rural France when he met three fellow walkers, all of them French - a salesman, a nurse and a counsellor. When they discovered Griffiths was a historian there was: ... a chorus of approval, even, dare I say it, a frisson of serious regard - something unexpected for scholars in Australia. And, as proud French citizens, they were ready with their next natural question: 'Who are your favourite French historians?' Griffiths replied; the French engaged and the heady conversation only [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T13:05:10+11:00November 14th, 2016|Book Review, Writing|17 Comments

Georgette Heyer and Genre

I'm afraid I've been bingeing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Poldark. Outlander. And the inimitable Georgette Heyer's regency romances. Women Rejecting Marriage Proposals in Western Art History what no i'm totally listening this is my listening guitar i'm playing my listening song Source: https://the-toast.net/2014/11/06/women-rejecting-marriage-proposals-western-art-history/ I could explain it away as research, of course. Trying to immerse myself in the subtleties of the period so as to better to convey the context in which Elizabeth Macarthur lived. But lets not kid ourselves. I'm just swept away by the [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T13:07:00+11:00October 17th, 2016|Book Review, Writing|30 Comments

Vale Inga Clendinnen

Inga Vivienne Clendinnen AO, FAHA, author, historian, anthropologist and academic died yesterday aged 82. What a sad loss to the Australian life of the mind. Clendinnen's sharp insights and beautiful prose were (for me) best displayed in Dancing with Strangers: Europeans and Australians at First Contact (2003, Text Publishing). This small but perfectly formed exploration of the relationships and interactions between the Europeans and the first Australians in the earliest years of white settlement in NSW is a book I have returned to many times. Clendinnen illuminates without failing to [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T13:03:51+11:00September 9th, 2016|Life, Writing|8 Comments

Had a coffee with my publisher yesterday…

Wow. It feels unbelievably good to say/write that out loud. After much deliberation and a lengthy discussion with my agent (ok, yes, it was over lunch but we both drank water - honest!) I decided to go with Text Publishing. In the end I was lucky enough to receive seven generous offers for the manuscript. I can't imagine that will ever happen again so I was careful to enjoy every minute! And speaking at length with the wise, intelligent and enthusiastic editors from each of those houses has been a [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T13:15:49+11:00August 12th, 2016|Life, Work in Progress, Writing|25 Comments

Offers from publishers

Right now I have written offers from six different publishers (so far). Yes, six. Yes, all of them well-known publishing houses. I know, I'm gobsmacked too. I've spent the last few weeks talking with each of them, on the phone and face-to-face - wonderful and lengthy conversations about writing, editing, history and Elizabeth Macarthur. I must say that everyone I've spoken with has been incredibly friendly and nice. And all very keen to win me over. I've never heard so many people say so many lovely things about my writing! [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-27T19:45:28+11:00July 22nd, 2016|Elizabeth Macarthur, Work in Progress, Writing|0 Comments

Online Discussion with Lucy Treloar, author of Salt Creek

Last night HARDCOPY participants (past and present) were lucky enough to take part in an online Facebook discussion with Australian novelist Lucy Treloar. Here are some of the highlights of Lucy’s responses (reproduced with the permission of Lucy, and of the HARDCOPY project officer Nigel Featherstone.) For 90 minutes Lucy was inundated with questions and she gamely fielded them with good cheer and fascinating insights. Lucy’s debut novel Salt Creek, was published by Picador in August 2015 (click through for my review). Salt Creek has been shortlisted for the 2016 [...]

Michelle Scott Tucker2018-03-25T13:25:59+11:00July 13th, 2016|Author Interviews, Writing|0 Comments