June 2026 Newsletter

The June Meeting

 Welcome back! The June meeting was lively as ever. Our prompt word was Glow, which inspired stories nautical, tropical, and extra-terrestrial. Some brilliant pieces emerged, and some are up on the website; more to follow!

We met at Bostin Brew. The venue worked well overall, though audibility remains a challenge.

People travelled from far and wide again, and we were delighted to welcome some new faces and fresh talent. We hope to see them again soon. Meanwhile, far-flung member Michael is considering starting up a satellite group in Jindabyne once the warmer weather arrives. That would be an exciting development, and a real sign that the group is thriving.

Website maintenance

At the meeting we collected contributions of $20 towards website maintenance costs. Team member and Mavern Computers owner Michael has generously covered website fees for years, and has kindly volunteered to continue supporting the domain hosting. Many thanks to Michael for his ongoing help.

Although this year’s fees are already paid, our aim is to reimburse current sponsor Ricci and become fully self-funding moving forward. If you pay Ricci directly by bank transfer, please let me know so I don’t accidentally chase you for cash afterwards. We’ll run contributions on a calendar-year basis, with the next round beginning in January ahead of the March 2027 renewal.

We had considered jettisoning the paid model of the website altogether, but creating a new site of similar impact on a free platform proved challenging – at least for the moment. As detailed below, our website is a key point of difference from other local writing groups; so the model change is tabled in the short term. 

Following a lively debate in the group chat on issue of whether or not to put trigger warnings on stories, we put the matter to the vote in the meeting. The result was overwhelmingly in favour of maintaining the current status: that of not taxing the author with putting warnings on pieces. While we all want to be considerate of one another, the group strongly felt that mandatory warnings could inhibit creativity by encouraging writers to second-guess how every piece might be interpreted. Members participate at their own discretion, and we will continue to remind new members of this across all venues.

That said, we have added a discretionary note to both the website and Facebook page stating that material ‘may contain mature or challenging themes’. After all, writing that never challenges anyone is unlikely to leave much of an impression.

Comparison with other groups

Last month I attended a talk entitled ‘Thinking about Joining a Writing Group?’ run by Lake Macquarie Council. It was an enlightening presentation with representatives from the UoN Writers Club, a subgroup of Hunter Writer’s Centre, the FAW Lake Macquarie branch, and The Newcastle Romance Writers. It prompted me to compile an informal list of currently available writers’ groups in the area.

One striking trend across many groups is that in-person meetings are often full, waitlisted, or closed to new members altogether. However, the sheer variety of groups available is encouraging, and speaks to the depth of literary interest and talent across the region.

Our own group’s points of difference are:

o   no waitlist

o   outstanding high digital visibility for very little effort

o   extremely inclusive, not genre-specialised 

o   Weekly prompts, lively chat for members.

Increase in reach

The group is gradually increasing readership and reach. Publicising in community newsletters, and regular FB posts, is having incremental impact. We are now top of the Google search for Newcastle Creative Writers. Sharing the Prompt of the Week on social media, along with featuring members’ work, is increasing engagement while also showcasing the excellent writing emerging from the group.

Talking of which…

Member News

Congratulations to team member Matt, who this month won second prize at the UoN Sci-Fi competition! It is Matt’s first ever competition win, and he is justly stoked! I am hoping that the piece will be available soon on a shareable platform, so that everyone can read it.

Meanwhile, team member Ricci is aiming to enter the Country Women’s Association writing competition – we will all be cheering her on.

Much of the excitement of entering competitions is the build-up to submission, so if you have a competition in your sights, feel free to toot your horn and ask the group for feedback. We’ll all get out our pom-poms and form a raucous backing-group.

In non-writing fields, team member Jeanette recently performed on piano to a standing-room-only performance with the Lake Macquarie U3A Orchestra and Westlakes Senior Swing Band; a resounding success. Meanwhile Ricci has been treating us to some truly stunning wildlife photography from her recent travels. It is a reminder that writers are rarely merely writers; they so often have deep creative interests in a broad sweep of areas.

Upcoming competitions and events

Check out the upcoming competitions and awards closing in July 2026. As always, there are plenty of opportunities available, including several free-to-enter options.

Next Meeting

13 July 2026, 12 noon for 12:30, Café Inu, Carrington.

There have been calls to take a table outside next time to enjoy both sunshine and reduced background noise. At this time of year this option could be chilly, so don’t forget your jacket, just in case. We’ll see what the weather thinks of that plan.

Happy writing!