News and Events

News

This website was launched on 6 July 2020 by Bayside U3A Program Coordinator Sue Steele. The launch took place during a Bayside U3A Writers Group session held online during lockdown amid the covid pandemic. Joining U3A writers at the online launch were Bayside U3A President Tony Aplin, pioneer of local radio plays Terri Adams OAM, Newsletter Editor Deb Stephenson, 88.3 Southern FM Broadcaster Pauline O’Brien and radio play Technical Producer Raymond Simms. At launch date, this site contained 23 stories, 14 radio plays and 16 poems, a total of 53 works written by 23 different authors. All radio plays have recorded audio files of the play as well as written scripts. The site also includes a new prize-winning work by Geoffrey Dobbs called ‘Blood and Bone’. In May, 2022, the site was further updated and enlarged with articles on literary techniques in the Writing Resources page. Topics in these articles to assist writers include Editing Techniques (Martin Playne), Writing Radio Plays (Cheryl Threadgold), Teaching Haiku and The Nature of Haiku (Stephen Le Page), The Structure of Sonnets (Norah Dempster) and Useful Editing Terms (Evelyn Cronk).  Three new pages have been added for articles on (a) Historical Fiction (historical creative non-fiction); (b) Local History (including the history of Bayside, your neighbourhood, your street, or your house and its earlier inhabitants) and (c) Military Conflict stories. More information can be found on those pages.

updated 16 May 2022

Late News

A new group photograph of the Bayside U3A Writers can be found on the Home page and the Members Works and Author Index webpage. Our thanks to Malcolm Threadgold for the photograph and to Andrew Morse for image editing. A few of our members are missing from the photograph as they were not able to be present. The photograph replaces an earlier one taken in 2018. As you can see it was a cold and windy winter’s day.

published 11 June 2022

Short Story Competition

The Boroondara Literary Awards aim to encourage creative writing in schools and the general community. Entries for its 2022 Open Short Story Competition close on 29 July 2022. Entries can be between 1500 and 300 words in length. The Awards are made possible by the joint efforts of the Rotary Club of Balwyn and the City of Boroondara. For further details, please visit  www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/literary-awards, contact Boroondara Library Service on (03) 9278 4666, or email bla@boroondara.vic.gov.au.

updated 16 May 2022

Submission of Works for Publication

It has been decided that each member of the Bayside U3A Writers Group may publish three of their works in any one calendar year. This limit is designed to ensure that we do not make the website too large and cumbersome.

Editing

All works submitted for publication are subject to review and editing and/or workshopping. Editors for the different categories are:

Military Conflict Stories: Tom Valenta and Norm Beck

Poems: Margaret Boyes-Pringle and Vivienne Player

Stories: Geoffrey Dobbs and Norah Dempster

Word of the Month: Juliet Charles and Carol West

Radio Plays: Joy Meekings and Cheryl Threadgold

Historical Fiction: Martin Playne and Jan Storey

Local History: Helen Graham and Evelyn Cronk

Suggested Word Length of Articles and Poems

Poems: 500 words

Word of the Month: 500 words

Stories: 1500 words

Historical Fiction: 2000 words

Local History: 2000 words

Military Conflict Stories: 1500 words

Flexibility: No absolute maximum word length restrictions have ever been dictated by anyone in the group – there is always flexibility. The word limits above are only for guidance, in order for the website not to become too cumbersome for the user.

Author’s authorisation

All works are to be submitted in the first instance to the Convenor of this Group, Dr Cheryl Threadgold, and must be accompanied by the author’s signed authorisation that the work can be published on the Bayside U3A Writers website. She will pass the article on to the relevant editor/s. The authorisation text is shown on the page Members Works and Author Index

updated 16 May 2022

More News on Radio Plays

About Bayside U3A Writers Group Radio Plays

Former professional radio presenter Terri Adams OAM pioneered the radio play genre in the Bayside and Kingston areas at community radio station 88.3 Southern FM. The  completed plays were presented in her weekly Kaleidoscope radio program. Retired ABC technician Raymond Simms still skilfully assists with editing the recordings and adding music and sound effects.

In 2013, Terri Adams and I co-tutored the first How to Write Radio Plays course when Bayside U3A commenced. We were fortunate that a splendid small group of writers joined our course and four of these core members still attend the Writers Group sessions today: Jan Storey, Colleen Dewis, Norah Dempster and Joy Meekings. Together with radio play writers such as Geraldine Colson, Juliet Charles and Sandra Sterling, these talented playwrights have produced some first-class radio plays.

In 2020, Bayside U3A Writers Group members Helen Graham and John Maddick have achieved writing their first radio plays. These plays have been workshopped by the group and will be recorded, when possible, featuring local actors.

Radio plays written by the Bayside U3A Writers Group are presented on the third Tuesday morning of each month on Pauline O’Brien’s ‘Community Capers’ program on 88.3 Southern FM, and each playwright attends the studio for the broadcast.

As well as broadcasting the radio plays monthly on 88.3 Southern FM, Bayside U3A radio plays have also been presented as live performances at U3A events, at two special Radio Theatre events at Beaumaris Theatre with cabaret-style seated audiences, and a Seniors’ Week Festival at Federation Square, Melbourne in 2019 [contributed by Cheryl Threadgold]

published 9 April 2021

Coming Events

Members can list literary events here – just contact the Convenor

DATE	TIME	NAME OF EVENT	LOCATION