The Society of Women Writers WA

30/04/2026

Are you getting your Bronze Quill entries ready? May is the perfect month to prepare. Our guest speaker at the our May monthly meeting is Veronica Lake.

Veronica lives in Western Australia and is a Churchill Fellow, awarded in 2010, for the Study of Shakespeare. She edited and collated Primo Lux, a high school student poetry journal and did so for twenty years. In 2018 her poem Twigs and Sand, won first prize in the Mornington Peninsular Poetry Competition. Her first poetry collection, Dragonfly Wing, published by Sunline Press, was released in 2019. Her poems have been published in local, national and international journals.

Tuesday, May 19
Citiplace Community Centre
12 — 12:15 pm: General Meeting
12:15 — 2 pm: Guest Speaker

The cost per meeting for members is $5.00, and for non-members / visitors is $6.00.

Refreshments are provided.

20/04/2026

Are you coming to our monthly meeting tomorrow? The guest speaker after the general meeting is the fabulous Lakshmi Kanchi.

Lakshmi Kanchi is an Indian-Australian poet on a mission to make poetry accessible. She is the Chair of WA Poets Inc., WA’s peak poetry body. Her debut collection is Lakesong (Centre for Stories, 2023). Her writing anatomises the complex links between language, culture, history, perception. She won the 2023 Ros Spencer Poetry Prize and 2021 Pocketry Prize, and presented LAND (WORD) JOURNEY, a visual poetry exhibition at MJAC. Her poem suite—Wayfinding, was featured at Fremantle Biennale’s Sanctuary in November’25.

Tuesday, April 21
General Meeting 12 - 12:15pm
Guest Speaker 12:15 - 2 pm
Citiplace Community Centre
$5 members
$6 non-members

15/04/2026

The Society of Women Writers WA
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲

Jacqueline (Jacqui) Kelly lives in Fremantle Western Australia where she is free to write whenever and whatever she likes. She likes to write short stories, children’s novels, poems, film scripts, theatre plays and, more recently, song lyrics. In a previous trammelled life, she wrote reports, programmes and more reports. However, (and there is always a however) she does belong to a writing group and is obliged to write a short story or poem or something every week, so she isn’t quite so free after all.

Jacqui recently published a book of short stories, 𝘊𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, using the pseudonym JM Kelly.

She writes:

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦-𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘛𝘝 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤-𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴/𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯/𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥/𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵?

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 26 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘺.

Cemetery of Short Stories is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/Cemetery-Short-Stories-JM-KELLY/dp/B0G4RHLMH1.

08/04/2026

Feedback on our Saturday Creative writing session in March:

‘[W]e started on our "Crime" journey, towards writing our contributions for this year's anthology. It was my first time at the monthly sessions, and I was really happy to be amongst other writers, being given excellent direction, and an opportunity to discuss our writing. Kathleen was so well prepared, and relaxed enough to allow the whole session to glide along without being rigid in her timetable, whilst also getting all of her planned exercises completed. It was fun and instructive, which is what we all love.’ —Nicki De Hoog

This coming Saturday’s session will focus on writing memoir, led by tutor Kathleen Knight who holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Creative Writing and Professional Writing and Piblication. Her passion is sharing the joy, fun and techniques of all forms of writing.

Details here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CeKscWKGq/

21/03/2026

The Furphy Literary Award is taking submissions from Australian writers of short stories up to 5,000 words until 30 April. The prize pool is generous. Check it out!

Open Short Story Competition Entries open 1st February 2026 1st Prize $15,000 2nd Prize $3,000 3rdPrize $2,000 Short story max. 5000-word limit Australia wide, 18+ *Details of residency to be finalised after completion of awards event. Entries close: April 30, 2026, 11.59PM Conditions of Entry Regis...

19/03/2026

If you are a beginner writer in the northern suburbs of Perth (or near a train line), this course may be of interest to you.

If you can’t commit to a month of Saturdays, check out our monthly Saturday creative writing sessions; listed under our Events.

I'm running a new four-week course for beginner writers in May 2026 at the Peter Cowan Writers' Centre.

If you want to know where to start, or learn the basics of creating characters, plotting your novel, of how to use show don't tell and point-of-view, then this short course is for you.

See the flyer for details, or learn more at the PCWC website: https://www.pcwc.org.au/creative-writing-for-beginners-a-four-week-course-with-andrew-levett

19/03/2026

The Society of Women Writers WA
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡

June was born in Waterlooville, near Portsmouth, England. She came to WA with her family when she was seven and moved to Perth from Yarloop when she was 16 to start work, first as a Secretary, then in the Supreme Court as a Dictaphone operator.

She married her childhood sweetheart, and has two children and three grandchildren - her grandson, Adam, 13, ran second in the 2019 Tim Winton Award for Young Writers, writing in the same genre as June.

Joining SWWWA in 1986, June has been on the committee for many years and for eight years wrote the newsletter on her old Imperial typewriter. She won the Bronze Quill Award (judged by Tim Winton) for her short story In Another Place in 1986; won first prize in a competition for the Australian Pacific Region in 1996. She has had stories read on radio and articles published in the Travel and Habitat magazine.

Her favourite genre is supernatural/fantasy/horror (and maybe romance) and she published her first book with Linellen Press, Perth - Stories From Another Place, which includes her Bronze Quill and ITC entries.

The book is available from June, from Planet Books and Beaufort Street Books in Mt Lawley, and on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Another-Place-Kingston-Smith-ebook/dp/B07R6T2DS6.

18/03/2026

For writers of short stories: The Mattie Furphy short story competition closes on 30 April 2026. Prizes range from $1000 for first prize, $300 for second prize and $100 for third.

For more information and to enter:

1. All work must be previously unpublished. Work broadcast or published online in any way shall be considered, for the purpose of the Mattie Furphy Short Story Competition, to have been previously published, and may not be submitted. Any story that has been awarded or commended in any previous compe...

08/12/2025

The Society of Women Writers WA
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞

Born and educated in Perth, Western Australia, June has been a member of The Society of Women Writers for over twenty-five years, and is the current Vice Chairperson.

Her articles, short stories and poems have been published in many of the Society's anthologies.

June's series of Adventures of a Far Away Bear, a nine book series, is available through her publisher Linellen Press, Perth, Western Australia, and on all good online bookstores. Her travel articles and photos have been published in the West Australian Newspaper, Rodeo article and photos in The Boddington News and a short story in Woman’s Day.

A qualified photographer, June earned her stripes rising from dark room editing to printing and now digital photography. June has gained relevant certificates through TAFE, worked in the field with professional photographers, and at Kingsway Portrait Studio until Digital cameras took over.

Before her retirement, June had photographed weddings, silver weddings, anniversaries, pets, children, babies, food and W A Police Pipe Band. Over her lifetime she has worked as a sales, person, receptionist, photographer and florist. While in England she photographed a Joust for the Royal Armouries at Berkley Castle.

June is now working on her next publication and is content with her life being a motorhome traveller and events photographer for The Society of Women Writers whose valued support she cannot speak of highly enough.

Her current list of B B and Dusty adventures are popular with adults and children alike.

The Travel Bug Bites
Look Out, London!
Ireland Intrusion
Wandering in Wales
Discovering England's Heritage
Highland Fling
Winter in Scotland
Do Bluebells Ring?
A Happy Ending?

They are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/June-Earle/author/B07D6JXB9Q

01/12/2025

The Society of Women Writers WA
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫

Bernadette was born in Western Australia and lived in a small country town, Wongan Hills, as a child. Those days were full of adventures running wild and barefoot in the bush. When she moved to Perth, she was educated at a Catholic Girls' School and worked from the age of fifteen in various office environments, meeting many wonderful people.

After several failed attempts, she managed to save enough to backpack around Europe in the Seventies before coming home to raise a family. She now has three grown children and three delightful grandchildren, and is back into writing.

Bernadette likes to travel. Her youngest lived in Berlin for several years, and she travelled there and discovered many stories hidden in the walls and cobblestone streets. He has now moved to Melbourne, so Bernadette will be looking for stories there.

Bernadette writes tender, romantic stories from an Australian perspective and lives in Secret Harbour, Western Australia.

Bernadette's titles, available on Amazon, are:

Tomorrow's Roses
Tomorrow's Promise
A Holiday Promise

https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/author/B0B4V8TL8Y/allbooks

24/11/2025

The Society of Women Writers WA
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 𝐋𝐲𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐭

Lyn is the author of three books, two being family histories, and one fictional novel.

𝐀 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝

A Rough Road is a migrant story where an English soldier falls in love with a Catholic Irish girl. Before being destroyed by The Troubles, the couple decide to flee to a country on the other side of the World. The army provide a cheap house on a remote beach in Western Australia in the 1920’s and so the couple begin the lonely life of migrants in this isolated primitive fishing village. Amidst bouts of homesickness and poverty, A Rough Road describes their struggle to survive between the two world wars, eventually moving to Perth. Many children later and a broken marriage, Flo reflects on her life as it had, indeed, been a rough road. Lyn Bodycoat writes about the life of her grandparents in this ghost memoir.

𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧

Moments at Marathon describes a chapter from Western Australian history- from the 1930’s to the end of the war. It is a coming-of-age story, a memoir, set in the Northern Wheatbelt on a farm called Marathon, near Wi******er, a few miles south of Carnamah. Even the names of places have echoes of a colonial past when settlers bestowed names which remain until this present day.

During this era, Wi******er supported a school, a store, railway facilities and various sporting facilities. This was typical of settlements every ten miles or so. The nearby town of Carnamah supported a hospital with two doctors and staff, three banks, various stock agents and several fuel supplies, machinery dealerships, food stores. It was a thriving metropolis.

What happened to change this now in 2022? It is called mechanization and population decline. So, someone recorded this era when farms thrived, and Lyn Bodycoat’s book Moments at Marathon describes a moment in history when life on the farm was constantly enriched through the efforts of farmers on their land. These farmers had families with social needs and so life prospered during these times when acreages were comparatively small. On the farm called Marathon, author Lyn Bodycoat describes the moments enjoyed by her ancestors.

𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞

Sometimes random conversations spark ideas for writing and this happened to me when I created Jane’s Justice. The beginning was easy but as the story progressed, I needed to ensure all red herrings served a purpose. But were they red herrings? I don’t think so. All characters and their actions served a purpose. According to our laws, Jane’s actions were unlawful and misguided, but she was a mother protecting her son. Don’t all mothers do that? Or is there a point where ethics intervene. In Jane’s Justice the line is blurred and not only by Jane. This is a suspenseful crime story where family members protect each other, often sliding close to raising questions on ethics. What is right is questioned as suspicion shifts between different characters. No-one is immune from questions in Jane’s Justice.