CHRISTMAS PARTY

BEVERLEY GEORGE

Beverley George is President of the Australian Haiku Society and a Writing Fellow of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.

Her short stories have been commercially published. Recently she came second in the Society of Women Writers NSW biennial national short story competition 2009.

Beverley George’s free verse won the WB Yeats Poetry Prize for Australia and New Zealand in 2004 and 2005; the Vera Newsom Poetry Prize 2005 and the Society of Women Writers NSW Competition 2006. A small collection, Drawing God and other Pastimes, has been recently published by Picaro Press

Her haiku and tanka have won seven first places and three second places in international competition. These include the British Haiku Society JW Hackett Award (UK); the third Ashiya 2004 and the Genkissu haiku contest 2009 in Japan; and the Tanka Society of America’s International Competition 2006.

Beverley edited Yellow Moon 2000-2006; the Society of Women Writers (NSW) newsletter 2004-2006 and is the current editor of Eucalypt, Australia’s first journal for tanka only. She convened the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference, Terrigal September 22-25, 2009 and was an invited speaker at the 6th International Tanka Festival October 10-12, 2009

Publications:

• Sneeze Power Blake Education 2006 [a book for children]
• empty garden [tanka] Yellow Moon, 2006
• Spinifex [haiku] Pardalote Press, 2006
• Four Tellings A collaborative haibun-renga with J Preston, O Bullock & J Harpeng. Teneriffe, PostPressed 2009
• Walking into Autumn a haiku collaboration by John Bird and Beverley George illustrated by Carl Ripphausen. Eucalypt, 2009
• Drawing God and other Pastimes Picaro Press 2009

PUBLIC READING

AGM

This month will be our Annual General Meeting. Bondi Writers’ Group is celebrating its fifth anniversary and the meeting will be more loosely structured. We will discuss our finances, where the group is heading, what we have achieved in our writing endeavours – and there have been some outstanding successes in 2009. Members are invited to bring with them any writing [poetry or prose] they would like to read aloud in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

CARMEL SUMMERS

Although Carmel Summers' writing career started as a technical writer, writing manuals for companies such as IBM, GEC-Marconi and Unisys, about twenty years ago she started writing creatively with her first published work, an article in Parents magazine. Since then she has won prizes for poetry and short stories, with first or second places in competitions run by Yellow Moon, Fellowship of Australian Writers, Society of Women Writers and FreeXpresSion. Carmel is currently completing an MA in Creative Writing at Macquarie University and working on a general fiction novel.

INFORMAL DAY

This month we have decided to have an informal day when members read aloud their work and the rest of the group gives feedback.

SYDNEY PEMBERTON

English born Syd moved to Australia in the seventies and started up Pemberton's Travelling Fare, a catering company specializing in TV and film. She has also catered for many private and corporate clients and after many requests from clients and friends, Syd started writing cookbooks and presenting cooking classes. Syd runs Pemberton’s FOOD WORKSHOP to provide growers market tours, Sydney food tours and hands on cooking classes for adults and children, as well as team building events and specialty classes.

Out of her love of all things practical, Sydney has written hugely successful household hint books (How to Clean Practically Anything 2nd Edition) as well as 15 cookbooks the latest book The Jams and Preserves Book for Penguin Australia Publishing. She has also contributed to several food magazines such as Australian Table Magazine and Australian Good Taste. Syd has also presented some of her culinary magic on several TV lifestyle shows such as Burkes Backyard, The Midday Show, and Agony Aunts.

Syd’s passion is to inspire through sharing her wealth of culinary knowledge and skills by creating memorable food workshop experiences and books. She is a member of Slow Food Sydney which promotes slow, clean and fair promoting a lifestyle in relation to food and the environment.

She is currently looking at producing a new version of her High Calcium Cooking published 10 years ago by Penguin Australia.

DAWN BRUCE

Dawn Bruce has been writing short stories and free verse for twelve years, haiku, tanka and haibun for about six years and haiga for two. Her work has been published in many journals, magazines, anthologies and newspapers. She has won numerous poetry and short story prizes, leads poetry and creative writing classes and has three free verse and haiku collections, ‘Stinging the Silence’, ‘Tangible Shadows’ and ‘Sketching Light’ published by Ginninderra Press. Dawn is Vice-president of the Australian Haiku Society, member of the Society of Women Writers and a member of Red Dragonflies, a Sydney based haiku group.

NARELLE NICOL

Nell is an artist, amateur actor and writer. Her work has been shown at exhibitions in: Tap gallery, 2004; Soho Galleries, 2004; Art fusion, Pyrmont and Jackson's Gallery, 2007; Opal Fields Gallery and currently at the Cronulla Art Gallery.

Her art work is held by private collectors in Sydney and Brisbane. Nell was short listed for the Cromwells Art Prize 2006. She received the People's choice award, 2004, Archibald Real Refuses Tap Gallery and is currently working towards a new exhibition.

She studied drama at Gold Coast TAFE where she achieved honours in Practical and Theory. She has played at the Mouse Trap Theatre, Queensland; Wanganui Rep Theatre, New Zealand and Cronulla Arts Theatre, Cronulla. Her performances have been in Cowardy Custard, A collection of Noel Coward Skits [Wanganui]; Mischievous Character in Charlie Girl; Brilliant Lies by David Williamson; Taming of the Shrew; Helena in Midsummer Nights Dream; lead role in Dead Guilty; Short and Sweet Wildcard, ‘Turning the Tide’, 2008.

AMELIA KERR

Amelia graduated from the acting course at Theatre Nepean in 2005 and has since appeared in many plays for Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Wildfire Theatre Company, Kudos Gallery, Acting Factory and New Theatre. She has also acted in many short films. A trained singer, dancer and voice artist, Amelia’s latest project (for a change) was directing Plans and Peccadilloes for the Short & Sweet's Top 100 this year. The feature film Hobby Farm, in which Amelia appeared as a Russian sex slave, won Best Feature Drama at the New York Independent International Film Festival and is due for an independent cinema/DVD release in Australian this year.

CAROLIN DAHLMAN
The Love Coach

Carolin Dahlman, an international author and love coach, is guiding people all over the world to find love and stay in love. She helps singles to prepare for successful dating and couples who want their relationships to be happier.

Her coaching style is strong and addresses serious issues, presented in a positive and energetic way. She goes deep into people’s hearts to heal, but do this in a fun and light hearted way.

Her fourth book “Find love” has been published in Sweden, Norway, Australia and New Zeeland. The fifth book will be released in Sweden in September 2009.

Carolin is a certified coach and does one-on-one coaching with people who want to improve their relationships. She holds inspiring talks and writes blogs, articles and books. Her next book is out in Sweden in September 2009.

Carolin Dahlman is the love coach at Yahoo 7 and the love expert of Cosmopolitan.com.au and has appeared on The Morning Show, in the Body + soul radio, Empower magazine, Sydney Morning Herald etc in Australia and in media all around the world.

www.coaching2love.com

CAROLYN GERRISH

Carolyn Gerrish is a Sydney poet. She teaches Creative Writing and often performs her work. She is interested in all forms of writing, particularly short forms such as haiku and epigram; as well as the cross-over between poetry and prose. She hopes one day satirical writing will save the world. Her fifth collection of poetry will be published soon by Island Press.

NO MEETING