SUSAN PAUL & REBECCA CLAY

Susan Paul
Susan Paul has dabbled around writing fragments of short stories in between jobs as a copywriter, associate editor and journalist (for an industry magazine). She has just completed an Associate Degree of Arts (Writing). During her studies she wrote a variety of short stories, articles, scripts and a short play*. One of these short stories is being considered for an anthology.

Susan is currently working on her first novel (fantasy/new age) and also does
volunteer work for her local radio station. She has had one short story
broadcast on the 'Words and Music' program for a community radio station in Queensland. Susan is a member of the Macarthur Regional FAW.

Rebecca Clay
Rebecca Clay is experienced and trained in theatre, film and television. She has appeared in many independant feature films and was recently seen onscreen in the commercial hit Suburban Mayhem. She will be seen on the small screen next year in the ABC Mini Series, The Bastard Boys and the Channel 10 Telemovie, The Joanne Lees Story, To Catch a Killer. Her most recent theatre production was the successful run of Wayne Tunks' play Birthday, Christmas and Other Family Disasters.

CYNTHIA ROWE
Cynthia Rowe was born in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating from Melbourne University in French and Philosophy, she lived briefly in England before embarking on her working life. While teaching in high schools from country Victoria to inner-city Melbourne, she spent time in France and the French territories, getting to know these places well. She was awarded a Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française by the French Ministry of Education and, although only writing sporadically at that stage, was accepted for publication in magazines in both English and French.

In 1999, she moved to Sydney where she taught English in her role as a consultant to a government department. Two years later, she commenced the novel, Our Hollow Sofa, the first title in her Young Adult series. Whilst in the throes of her second book, Ants in My Dreadlocks, she wrote romance stories and was published in magazines such as Woman’s Day and That’s Life!. Now waiting for her third novel, Stinger in a Sugar Jar, to be published, she has started a fourth book in the series. Despite having also completed a mature adult novel set in bayside Melbourne, Cynthia does not think of herself as a writer. Writing is simply something she does, a harmless obsession!

KAREN-JANE EYRE
Karen-Jane Eyre (aka ‘kj’) has 20 years publishing experience, the last 12 of which were at the helm of multi-award winning photographic arts magazines Black+White and Blue. In addition to editing Black+White and Blue, as Editor-in-Chief of the Studio Magazine Group, Eyre was responsible for the look, feel and content of dozens of magazines across divergent markets from children’s fashion, to bridal, to art books and cuisine titles. Prior to Studio, Eyre was Publisher and Editor of the innovative Culture magazine. She also has extensive book publishing experience gained as a Managing Editor for John Ferguson Publishers. Eyre relishes any opportunity to combine her two great passions: writing and photography. She currently works as a coach helping creative people transform their visions into financially viable projects – and as a media consultant and writer.

JOY ATKIN
Joy Atkin is a writer, creativity coach and publisher based in Leichhardt, Sydney. Passionate about assisting others to unleash their creative potential, Joy’s most recent book, So, What’s Today’s Brilliant Excuse? addresses the issue of procrastination and self-doubt in the creative process. 

In 2001 Joy pioneered Creativity Coaching, working one-on-one with clients because it was more effective and satisfying than working with groups. Several of her clients have been published internationally and in 2005, five were signed by literary agents. More importantly to Joy, hundreds of others have known the thrill of achieving their creative dream.

Gulp!Fiction, her online fiction writing course with coaching feedback, is very popular as the eight stand-alone modules give the participant the flexibility to fit     

exercises around the demands of family and career. It is available through Joy’s websites www.writewellwritenow.com and www.brilliantexcuse.com or through the NSW Writers Centre.

Joy has a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Diploma of Teaching and is an Accredited Coach. She is an accomplished speaker. A former President of Dynamic North Shore Toastmasters, she is a CTM and CL.

Originally a secondary school teacher, Joy taught adult writing courses through Manly-Warringah and Mosman Community Colleges for many years. She also ran highly successful writing groups from her home and established her own advertising agency, specializing in magazines, websites and marketing campaigns for the property industry.

Joy is a past Editor and feature writer for BMW magazine, Torque of the Town. She wrote a lifestyle column in Northside magazine for some years and is a regular contributor to Shining Bright. In 2005 Joy traded her skills as a ghostwriter (recent titles include Open For Inspection: Inside the Minds of Australia’s Leading Real Estate Agents and Black Belt of the Mind) to focus on her publishing company, A&A Publishing Pty Ltd., coaching and her own writing. In its first year of operation A&A Publishing has published seven books. For more information, go to www.aampersanda.com. Joy is currently writing a book about relationships to be released in early 2007.

Joy’s message on her email signature says it all:
‘Whatever you can imagine you can create. What have you created today?’
Contact Joy on:
joy@writewellwritenow.com or joy@aampersanda.com
Mobile: 0417 821 260

LLOYD KING
Lloyd King began his working life as an actor with the Queensland Theatre Company. Before leaving his home town of Brisbane, Lloyd also worked for La Boite and TN Theatre Companies as well as the Queensland Lyric Opera Company.

In Sydney he has acted for the Sydney and New Theatre Companies, as well as performing at the Stables and Belvoir Street Theatres.

Lloyd has also performed at the Edinburgh and the London Fringe Festivals.

As a director he has worked on several shows at the New Theatre, Newtown, and earlier this year he directed Gavin Austin's play,"The Colour Red", which took third place in the Short & Sweet Wildcard division at The Seymour Centre. In 2005 Lloyd directed Melbourne group, Cabaret Latte’s sell out premier season.

Lloyd is currently working as the assistant to the Head of Factual Entertainment, ABC TV and is one of the producers for "Writing Well", a Fellowship of Australian Writers’ initiative for TVS.

Actors who read for us on the day were: Alice Livingstone, Kim Knuckey, Kay Watson, Hugh Watson, Jennie Dibley, Kim Smith, Sara Payne, Neil Phipps, Matt Young and Lloyd King.

ADAM GIBSON
Adam is the author of a newly published book of poetry inspired by Bondi and surrounds.

CHRISTINE GREENOUGH & NEIL PHIPPS

Christine Greenough
Experienced Actor/Director/Storyteller, Christine Greenough, has recent stage credits in "Navigating" as Bea (New Theatre), in "Seagulls" as Valery (Cat and Fiddle), Dawn in "Vicious Streaks" (Darlinghurst Theatre), as well as several plays in Short and Sweet Festival. She won the Best Actress award for Short and Sweet in 2004. She has appeared in "All Saints", "Home and Away" and several short films.

Christine is a member of the Australian Storytelling Guild and is one of the founders of "The Talespinners" a storytelling company formed in 1997. They began by developing awareness of the ancient tradition of oral telling with children and have expanded into devising reminiscence programs for the elderly. The Talespinners have toured their shows throughout Metropolitan Sydney, Regional NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Asia.

Neil Phipps
Neil was first cast as a singing lamb in his local church production of something that involved talking animals. Subsequently securing the coveted roles of 'Humpty Dumpty' and the 'King of Persia' during primary school ensured Neil's career as a character actor from an early age. Moving upwards from playing 'Puck', 'Nicely-Nicely Johnson' and Diane Keaton in high school, Neil majored in Theatre and Sociology at UNSW - where he had two of his own plays produced and most notably starred in the Australian premiere of Nicky Silver's "Fat Men In Skirts".

Neil has appeared in "Balm In Gilead" with the Group Theatre, "Metropolitan Operas" at the Old Fitzroy, "There And Back" with the Australian Theatre of the Deaf, "Nether" at Whaft 2 STC, and most recently "Any Port In A Storm" at the New Theatre as part of the Cracker Comedy Festival. He can also be seen in some random episodes of "Farscape" and "All Saints" where he was oddly enough cast as a singing lamb.

Born in Sydney, Alex has enjoyed considerable success in theatre, television and film as a writer, actor and director. He has also worked extensively as an activist for refugee rights with the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC).

Recent directing credits include: Assistant Director to George Ogilvie on Bellini’s “Norma” for the Australian Opera in Melbourne and Sydney; Director, world premiere of Alan Seymour’s new play “The End” for The 2004 Short & Sweet Festival (also starring Alan Seymour), Assistant Director to George Ogilvie again on David Auburn’s “Proof” at the Sydney Theatre Company (Drama Theatre, Opera House and Glen Street Theatre) and Resident Director on John Breen’s “Alone It Stands”, originally directed by Wayne Harrison for Mollisons.

As a writer he has had many plays performed in the USA, South Africa, England and Australia. A specialist in short plays, in recent years he has had 14 ten minute plays produced in 25 productions in Australia and the USA.

Recently he has co-produced “Refugitive”, a one man play which toured nationally, by Iranian refugee, actor and playwright Shahin Shafaei about his experiences in the Curtin Detention Centre.

Alex is the Artistic Co-ordinator of Short & Sweet, the largest ten minute play festival in the world, a position he has held since 2003. He has also worked extensively as a journalist/broadcaster in Rugby Union.

Michael Newman has had a checkered career. He started his working life as a journalist with the Sydney morning Herald and the Sun newspapers, then went to London (driving a car from Colombo before there were surfaced road all the way!) in 1962 and tried his hand at acting and film making in England. He wrote for Oz magazine there, sold some short stories, made two short films and acted in a kind of minor-major role in one feature movie, but had to teach English in a language school to stay alive. There he met his partner Joelle and they got married amidst the riots in Paris in 1968.

They lived in London for the next fourteen years, where Mike worked as a community education worker in the Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith areas of inner London. The area had a population made up of West Indians, Irish, West Africans, Asians and English from all but the most exalted classes. During the seventies Mike published two books on community action and education with English publishers.

In 1979 he became Warden of the Working Men's College in London, an elderly institution set up in 1854 by the Christian Socialists (including Charles Kingsley ('The Water Babies" and a whole set of socialist novels) and Tom Hughes ("Tom Brown's Schooldays"). The first art teachers were Ruskin and Rosetti! The college was housed in a heritage listed Edwardian building of five stories and just after Mike started his job the roof burnt off and he had to spend a couple of years getting the bloody thing restored. From there Mike and his family returned to Australia. He was Director of the WEA in Sydney, then a national trainer for the Australian Trade Union Training Authority, then a senior lecturer in adult education at UTS. He retired from there in 2001.

Mike has published seven books in all, all of them on issues of social action, political action and education. His main theme is the use of learning as a tool in struggle. In 1993 he had a dispute with an American publisher, withdrew from the contract and with a friend set up a small publishing partnership. In effect he self-published his next three books, two of which nonetheless won an international prize for books in his field so it can be done. He has a book called "Teaching Defiance: Stories and Strategies for Activist Educators" (and with a byline "A book written in wartime") coming out in May and published by Jossey-Bass Publishing in San Francisco.

Melbourne-born photographer Geoffrey McGeachin has had a varied and interesting career shooting pictures for advertising, travel, theatre and feature films. His work has taken him all over the world including stints living in New York and Hong Kong. He is now based in Sydney where he teaches photography and writes. His first novel, FAT, FIFTY & F***ED!  won the inaugural Australian Popular Fiction competition and was published by Penguin in August 2004. His second novel, D-E-D DEAD! was published by Penguin under the Viking imprint in August 2005 and he is about to deliver a third book for publication in late 2006.
For more on Geoff and reviews of his books please visit www.geoffreymcgeachin.com. 

University, Otago, New Zealand, B.A. and Music Bachelor.
Studied acting and directing at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
British Rep then trained as a TV director with BBC
Directed series and serials for BBCTV
To Australia, working for ABC.
Directed: Serpent in the Rainbow, Redheap, Pig in a Poke, Operas, etc.
Wrote: Libretto for Peter Sculthorpe's Quirtos, The Dean Case, Episodes of Homicide, Sullivans, Carsons Law, Seekers, How About a Cup of Twa at Your Place?
Stage Plays: Ghost Games, Master Plan, The Saints and Mister Paul, Good on you Guy.
Novel: Outside Looking In.