The CSFG/Conflux Short Story competition is back for Conflux 12 We want your stories of 4000 words or under, in any speculative fiction genre, on this year’s theme, which is: red fire monkey. The competition is open to all Australian residents and members of either the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild or Conflux 12. [...]
Awards The Australian Horror Writers Association recently announced the winners for the 2015 Australian Shadows Awards, representing the very best in horror works produced by Australian and New Zealand writers in the calendar year of 2015. CSFG members taking home the incredibly cool Shadow Award statues this year included: Best [...]
CSFG is really excited to announce we have been given a bunch of free passes to THE WITCH! To win one, you need to write us a flash fiction piece in 200 words or less on the theme below and post it to the CSFG mailing list. (Only CSFG members [...]
Update: Edited to correct the spelling of Rivqa's name - sorry Rivqa! Awards Season Several of the major Australian genre awards are upon us, with nominations recently announced for the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards. CSFG members were well-represented on the shortlists: In the Aurealis Awards shortlist: Kimberley Gaal featured with [...]
Over at her Earl Grey Editing blog, Elizabeth Fitzgerald is providing a few recommendations for introductory reading in speculative works that double as a gateway to the romance genre (or vice versa). As anyone who has attended the multidimensional GenreCon convention in recent years can attest, there's a lot for [...]
Due to the renovations going on at the Gorman House Arts Centre, the February general meeting will be held in a new location: The Academy of Interactive Entertainment 49 Phillip Avenue, Watson (You might also know it as the Canberra Technology park). The timing is still 7:30 pm on Wednesday [...]
Canberra and Canberra-adjacent members should check out the newly-updated Workshops and Courses page. You will find details of a number of short courses for writers being offered in the first half of 2016 by CSFG members Chris Andrews, Ian McHugh and Gillian Polack.
CSFG member Simon Dewar, currently editing the Suspended in Dusk 2 anthology, has been reading a lot of slush lately. He offer this very useful advice on tightening up your prose by hunting down and eliminating filter words: One of the worst culprits for weakening your prose, distancing our reader [...]
CSFG members may be interested in this upcoming course at ANU's Centre for Continuing Education. The course is called "Search for Life" and covers the progress science has made on answering the question "Are we alone in the universe?" The course is aimed at the general public and will consist [...]
CSFG members have been busy as usual – here’s the latest news. Congratulations in particular to everyone who picked up various awards and gongs! And here’s to a bountiful and successful writing year in 2016! Short story Alan Baxter has enjoyed a few publications in an end-of-year rush: “How Father [...]