Queensland Writers Fellowship

Dr Stuart Glover, Kris Olsson, Patrick Holland, Dr Angela Slatter, Minister Ian Walker

So, this morning I went over to the State Library of Queensland for the awarding of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships, which is an initiative of the Queensland Literary Awards and funded by Arts Queensland.

I was fortunate enough to get one of the Fellowships, which is an honour and a shock – I’m still waiting for someone to tell me it’s a mistake.

Dr Stuart Glover and Minister Walker kindly handled the presentations, then Kris Olsson and Patrick Holland (the other recipients) and I went off to have our photos taken – which was great because we got to be inside in the warmth, instead of out on the Queensland Terrace freezing!

My Beloved Patron

It was a lovely morning and my speech (without the extempore blurts) is below. Thanks to my sis for the photos. And it’s a relief not to have to keep this a secret anymore!!

Here we talk to Terri from ABC Radio.

Acceptance Speech:

I essentially have a long list of thank yous, which may start to sound like a Christmas list.

First of all, I would like to thank the Board of the Queensland Literary Awards for having the vision to create these Fellowships, and Arts Qld and the Queensland Government for having the generosity to provide the funding.

This is a most heartening step forward for Queensland’s arts community.

Cyclone hands – poor Sky from 4ZZZ

Thank you to:

• my best friend, Dr Lisa Bennett, who yelled at me until I applied
• Drs Kim Wilkins and Donna Hancox, for their encouragement and feedback
• Brisbane Writers Festival Director, Kate Eltham, for her wisdom and friendship
• the Queensland Writers Centre, for being a writers organisation without equal
• QLA’s, Claire Booth, who’s been such a great manager and soldiering on though suffering from a revolting lurgy.

I’d particularly like to thank the Fellowships’ judging panel for this unexpected and deeply appreciated honour.

Joan Didion says that “We tell ourselves stories in order to live”, and the Fellowships will give three of us the chance to buy time in order to write those stories.

And poor Terri from the ABC gets the same whirlwind

Last but definitely not least, I must thank my parents, sister and nephew for always being my cheer quad, and especial thanks to my wonderful partner David who not only provides constant emotional support, but also financial support, and keeps me in sundries when my writer’s income is simply too skimpy to stretch to a new pair of socks.