Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Publication Paths

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing four alumni of Queensland University of Technology, where I teach creative writing and literary studies, on the topic of 'how to get published'.

The panelists were Sarah Ridout (author of The Chateau), Brett Michael Orr (The Bureau of Time), Melina Mallos (Catch That Cat), and Cass Moriarty (The Promise Seed). We talked about their quite varied paths to publication - experiences of writing and publishing that naturally reflect their different lives and career paths.

As I said at the start of the session, asking somehow how they got published can feel a little like asking them their age. It's a bit awkward, for most authors face their share of rejection before getting a break in the publishing industry.

But the panelists spoke openly about the choices they'd made, from self-publishing online, working with community groups, studying creative writing and entering competitions, to what we might think of as more traditional avenues of submitting to publishing houses.

The discussion is available in full on YouTube.  

From left: Sarah Ridout, Brett Michael Orr, Melina Mallos, Cass Moriarty, me