Would you like to join us in sunny Newcastle, NSW for the nation’s premier literary party? We’re currently on the lookout for talented and wonderful artists to populate our panels, give workshops, and come up with mindbending event ideas. Or if you like rolling your sleeves up, you can join us as a volunteer. If you’ve never heard of our festival before and want to know what you’re getting yourself into, check out last year’s festival and get excited.
NYWF 2013: It’s gonna be good. We promise.
— Angela, Antonia, and Alice, Co-Directors, NYWF 2013
P.S. If you’d like to know more, you can keep up with us on Twitter and Facebook, or you can sign up for our email newsletter.
Festival artist applications closed on April 2, 2013. We will get back to all festival applicants soon.
Did you miss the deadline? You can still get involved with the festival as a volunteer. If you’ve never been to the festival before, check out the video below to get a taste of who we are and what we do.
The National Young Writers’ Festival is a volunteer-run organisation. The 2013 festival will be put together by:
Angela is a co-director of event collective Even Books, freelance writer; and sometime illustrator and stylist. Previously she has acted as Arts Editor for Alternative Media Group, Associate Editor for Das Platforms and Fashion Editor for TwoThousand. She has a BA in Communications and was awarded a First Class Honours on liminal spaces in Japan at UTS. Her hero is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Email: angela@youngwritersfestival.org
Instagram: @lalargh
Alice is a founder and director of Even Books and Co-Editor of Cuttings, a digital anthology of Australian writing published by The Nest. Alice was Creative Director of FBi 94.5 FM for two years, and prior to that she was the Editor of TwoThousand. She’s currently completing a Master of Teaching.
Email: alice@youngwritersfestival.org
Twitter: @alice_bf
Antonia is a Sydney-based writer and has written for publications all over the world, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and Vingt Paris. In 2009 she attended the first Faber Academy novel writing course in London, and she has previously worked as a book publicist for Random House Australia. Antonia has also told stories on the radio on FBi’s All the Best and ABC’s Conversations with Richard Fidler.
Email: antonia@youngwritersfestival.org
Twitter: @antoniahayes
Chad is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. His work has recently appeared in The Australian, Killings (the blog of Kill Your Darlings), The Lifted Brow, Meanjin and The Quietus among others.
Email: chad@youngwritersfestival.org
Twitter: @chadparkhill
Aimée is a cultural producer, writer, and editor based in Brisbane. She has a long history of supporting and promoting community arts, working with industrial organisations, community orchestras, and state and national cultural producers. Aimée is the Program and Services Manager at Queensland Writers Centre, and tutors in creative writing and editing at QWC and The University of Queensland.
Email: aimee@youngwritersfestival.org
Twitter: @insomniacscafe
Zoya Patel is the editor-in-chief of Lip Magazine, an independent magazine for young women. She also blogs at The Coconut Chronicles, is studying a Masters of Communication, and is a member of the Australian Social Inclusion Board, among other things.
Email: zoya@youngwritersfestival.org
Twitter: @zoyajpatel
It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a team of awesome people to put on the National Young Writers’ Festival. If you’d like to help out, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for:
Other roles may be announced as necessary. If youʼre interested in any of these positions, or would like to offer your assistance in any other way, please email Chad Parkhill at chad@youngwritersfestival.org.
Our 2012 festival was one of the biggest and best yet, with over 80 artists, over 60 events, and record audience attendance. We’d like to thank Co-Directors Ben Jenkins, Geoff Lemon, and Pip Smith, Festival Manager Zoe Norton Lodge, and our team of volunteers for taking the festival to the next level.
Couldn’t make it to the 2012 festival? Check out the festival coverage at our Express Media Award–nominated Press Room site, or visit the archived 2012 NYWF website.
The National Young Writers’ Festival (NYWF) occurs annually in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, over the New South Wales’ Labour Day Holiday Weekend in late September/early October. The 2013 festival will take place between October 3 and 6.
It is the country’s largest gathering of young and innovative writers working in both new and traditional forms including zines, comics, blogging, screenwriting, poetry, spoken word, hip hop music, journalism, autobiography, comedy, songwriting and prose.
NYWF presents ‘writing’ in its broadest sense through panels, discussions, workshops, launches, performances and readings.
NYWF gives young writers a place to present their work and share ideas, to learn about the industry in which they write and to meet with like-minded people in a friendly festival atmosphere.
If you would like to contact the festival, please email the appropriate staff member. If you’re unsure about which staff member to contact, please email info@youngwritersfestival.org. If you’d simply like to keep up with what we’re doing, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our mailing list by clicking the buttons below.
Is there an age limit to NWYF? (In other words, how young is ‘young’?)
The focus of the National Young Writers’ Festival is creating opportunities for young writers (18 to 35, as a rough guide); however, artists and festival-goers of all ages are encouraged to get involved. Having some more experienced writers and industry folk on our panels and in our audiences is an invaluable part of the NYWF experience.
If you are under 18 years of age, you may be interested in our Younger Young Writers’ Program.
Please note that some events do take place in licensed venues.
Can I apply as an individual, or do I have to be part of an organisation?
You can definitely apply to be part of the festival as an individual. We accept applications from individuals, groups, collectives, gangs, squads or mobs—it doesn’t matter, as long as you love writing and are full of exciting ideas about what you can bring to the table.
I really want to be involved, but don’t have a specific event idea in mind. Can I still apply?
Of course! Tell us what areas you’re particularly knowledgeable about, or what sort of events you might be best suited to (i.e. workshops/panels/readings etc), and we’ll try our best to match you to existing events, or make new ones up for you.
How much does the festival cost?
Nothing. Seriously, nothing. Every NYWF event is free. (Last year we charged a modest fee to cover the cost of food at the Australia 2050 Dinner event. It was a bargain.)
What exactly is This is Not Art (TiNA)?
TiNA is comprised of three subfestivals: Crack Theatre Festival, Critical Animals and the National Young Writers’ Festival. It is a supercharged convergence of writers, performers, thinkers, independent and industry musicians, creative researchers, electronic artists, dilettantes, and DIY culture makers in a showcase featuring over 400 local, national and international artists. The three festivals run alongside, underneath, on top of and interwoven with each other in a mish-mash of collaborative multi-art goodness.
For more info see the This is Not Art website.
How long has NYWF been running?
We are now in our 15th year. We’ve enjoyed discovering punk rock, making out, and The Catcher in the Rye.
The deadline for submissions has passed and I’ve only just discovered NYWF. Is it too late to get involved?
We are unable to accept submissions after the deadline; however, as we shape the program we sometimes come across gaps in events (especially some niche topics) where we think we could really use another artist. In that case we may put a special call out for submissions to fill that gap.
As we get closer to the festival, we’ll be recruiting coordinators in various roles. You can also get involved with the seamy underbelly of the organisation by joining our team of volunteers. NYWF volunteers are extremely valuable to us and are generally promised our first-born children.
Sign up to our newsletter and stay tuned!
When will this year’s program be released?
The full program for NYWF (and TiNA) is scheduled for release in August. However, we often drop sneak peeks along the way—keep checking this site, follow our Twitter account, like our Facebook page, or sign up to our newsletter.
You haven’t answered my weirdly specific question! I hate you!
Before you drink a gallon of haterade, shoot one of our staff members an email. They’ll help you out.
Our festival would not exist without our sponsors and supporters: This is Not Art, The Octapod, the Australia Council for the Arts Literature Board, Arts NSW, the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, the Consulate General of the United States Sydney, Australia, The NSW Writers Centre, and Ipera Communications.
