A party. Haven’t done that for a while. But last night I wanted to, I REALLY wanted to. Listening to somebody else’s party on a summer’s night always gives me an ache. Especially when, in amongst the LMFAO, they play stuff like this:

No doubt, most of you already know this, but just in case you’re not up to speed yet  … I was checking out the latest newsletter from the Australian Society of Authors, and it says that three of the major publishers are now accepting submissions on a regular basis:

Manuscript Monday
Pitching opportunity from PanMacmillan. Submit the first chapter of your manuscript, plus synopsis, electronically between 10am and 4pm every Monday, and have your work read within one month. Full details at the website.

The Friday Pitch

Allen & Unwin have an electronic submission process in place, and you can submit work via their long-running Friday Pitch program. Submit the first chapter of your manuscript, plus synopsis, each Friday. Full details at the website.

The Monthly Catch

Penguin Australia has just started accepting unsolicited manuscripts. For the first week of every month, they will accept manuscripts, in electronic form only. Send your full manuscript plus synopsis. Full details at the website.

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This is fantastic news. If you’re going to do it, my fingers are crossed for you. The only thing I’d say is make sure you follow the submission guidelines. Don’t deviate, not even in a tiny way. Just trust your writing and stick to the requirements. Good luck!!!

Hey, I just found this article in The Guardian where Margaret Atwood talks about the writing of The Handmaid’s Tale. This book had a huge impact on me – the set up, the story, the way it was honed to the bone, how she made Scrabble a sensual experience … OH – and the twist near the end …

The bonus in the article were snippets from the journal she kept at the time:

I feel sucked hollow. But functional.

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The illustration above is by Anna and Elena Balbusso, who have illustrated a new edition of the book (found this in a story also courtesy of the Guardian)

It’s up on the good ship Penguin’s website, like so:

To this song is good! But not while it’s raining … And the clip? This is what I’m like when we’ve run out of coffee.

Yesterday I sent the next round of edits for NIGHT BEACH (feeling bold today) zinging back through cyberspace to my lovely editor, Amy, who is currently overseas, and was enjoying Chinese New Year in style.

It felt good. I like dragons.

And for you, wherever you are, I hope your year of the dragon turns out to be a cracker.

When the book is out in the world, I will do another post with Amy on editing. She’s too good not to share …

Hey the Wall of Hands is in its last few weeks – it’s a program run by the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation which aims to teach people in marginalised communities how to read and write. At the moment they’ve raised $174,502 and they are hoping to reach $300,000. So if it’s something you’d like to contribute to, go and put your palm up there.

So good. Chill giving. I will be listening to this late tonight – edits!

Is now showing! Admission price? A minute of your time.

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Update: I forgot the plug! It’ll be published by Penguin Australia on 26 April, 2012. Boom, boom!