Entries close on 31 January for the 2012 Black Dog Institute Writing Competition that his year throws the spotlight on people caring for someone with depression or bipolar disorder. The carers are the unsung heroes in helping people with mood disorders while at the same time exposing themselves to an increased risk of facing a similar fate. The theme is Walking the Tightrope - Caring for Someone with Depression of Bipolar Disorder. Essays are to be no longer than 1500 words with at least two recomminedations which will be collected into a list of tips to help all carers. And at least two useful strategies such as the type of support services or websites that proved the most helpful and practical. Prizes will be awarded for the three best essays. For details and entry forms go to www.blackdoginstitute.org.au or call 9382 4523.

A packed Sydney Theatre chose Luka Lesson (pictured) to be Australia's Slam Champion on Sunday 27 November. Two poets from each state and territory bound onto the stage. They poured out their wit, substance and powerful emotions in a competition judged by randomly selected audience members. A crowd of over 400 offered wild screams, applause and people leaping to their feet shouting, "yeah, that's right". Reminder: this is at a poetry event. We heard an 85 year old woman from Launceston discuss her online relationship with a Mr. N. Large Ment, an ode to a female parking inspector, a brilliant assessment by an indigenous woman of issues in Alice Springs, moving rant on the fate of Palestine and two strong pieces from runner-up Nadine Browne, a school teacher from Perth. Congratulations to Luka "Lesson" Haralampou. Australia's Poetry Slam Champion! Check out http://australianpoetryslam.com/ for youtube clips of Poetry Slam performances!

This is for writers! The Spring Central West Writers' Centre Words Out West Newsletter is now available. It has all the latest news on upcoming workshops including our Crime Writing Workshop with Peter Doyle and Moment Behind The Photo Workshop with ABC Open producer Luke Wong as well as writing competitions, opportunities, and lots more....To read and subscribe, head to the Central West Writers' Centre Words Out West Home Page: www.wordsoutwest.com.au Enjoy!

Regional Classics Pty Ltd have created a new event in Parkes called the 1901 Fest. The festival will be held in December and January with funds raised going to support a new indoor swimming pool in Parkes. The festival includes activities such as illustration and story writing competitions. To enter school students are required to write a story from the perspective of a person living in Parkes during Federation. For the illustration - do what you feel is a reflection of what a person living in Parkes during Federation would be exposed to. Students can also write or illustrate a picture about the town they live in - if they want to - but remember it must reflect the year 1901. There are some great prizes to be won. The entry fee is $5 and one entry per person. For details collect an entry form at Orange City Library or Forbes Library. Or for more details go to the web: www.regionalclassics.com.au. For further enquiries call 1300 393 013. Good Luck.

"It's never too late ... to learn to read" - a short story competition for unpublished, new, emerging and established Australian writers in Adult Learners Week winners have been announced. The National Year of Reading 2012, in partnership with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and Writing Australia, supported by the NT Writers Centre, Queensland Writers Centre and writingWA, was given a grant by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), to run a writing competition as part of Adult Learners' Week 2011 (ALW). The aim was for the creation of exciting, inspiring and challenging stories to support and encourage adult learning, and to highlight the fact that "It's never too late ... to learn to read".

You will find the names of the 21 winners, who share a prize pool of $45,000, and the six highly commended entrants, on the Lovetoread website. Some of the stories are sad, some are funny, all are inspirational. Why not download them and find out what made them the judges' top choices? Go to http://www.love2read.org.au/never-too-late.cfm

What a great way to start Poetry Week - with a Poetry Slam in Forbes! Congrats to Keith Rawsthorne, of Forbes, and Ted Webber, of Young, (pictured wearing a hat) the two winners from the Australian Poetry Slam held at Forbes as part of the Kalari-Lachlan River Arts Festival on Sunday. Host Miles Merrill is pictured announcing Keith as the winner. Keith was quite modest in his acceptance speech joking that his grandchildren were judges in the audience.

Five poets performed their works on the Festival's Main Stage in front of large audience on the Lake Forbes Foreshore.

Judges, selected at random from the audience during the afternoon, scored Keith first place with Ted not far behind for their bush poet inspired performances.

The scores were very close for the other three contestants, Glenn Couchman, of Orange, Dulcie Mclean of Orange, and young Marisha Downey, of Forbes. Miles is pictured with Ted, Dulcie, Glenn, Marisha, and Keith. Both winners now have the opportunity to compete in the Australian Poetry Slam State Final to be held at the Sydney Theatre Company, Walsh Bay, Sydney on Friday 4th November, 2011.

Host Miles Merrill also had a great time performing and was impressed by the poets and enthusiastic audience. And Ted did an encore performance of another bush poem about farm machinery (pictured). Stay tuned for more images from the Festival. Loud applause and cheers to all involved.

Open until November 14th. The contest is aimed at getting a book that is actually up to publishing standard. We want to be able to promote the winner not only here in Australia but showcase the book at The London and Frankfurt international book fairs. The contest is open to anyone living in the ACT region which includes Eurobodalla shire, Goulburn area, down to Tumit and the entire South coast of NSW and the Orange region, for fiction and non-fiction. There is a nominal entry fee of $40 per book to cover the judging of the books.

Every entry will get a short critique on their book on how to bring it up to publishing standard, if they do not win a prize. 1. The first prize is an $ 11000 publishing package which includes a complete publishing contract, distribution and marketing of the winning book. This includes distribution to an Australian bookshop chain, (plus talking the book to the London and Frankfurt Book Fair to be presented to the world).

2.Second Prize: Book/ manuscript taken to London Book Fair and offered to publishers, agents and distributors. Plus Full book/manuscript evaluation to publishing standards. Value $1500. Vouchers from Daltons Books Canberra city. Vouchers from Co-op Bookshop University of Canberra. . Value $100.

3.Third Prize: Full book/manuscript evaluation to publishing standards. Valued $800 Vouchers from Daltons Books Canberra city Vouchers from Co-op Bookshop University of Canberra. Value $60.

For more entry details go to: http://australianselfpublishinggroup.com/competition Australian Self Publishing Group Pty Ltd. 29 Goldfinch Cct, Theodore ACT 2905 William and Dr Irina Webster. Phone: 02 62912904 b/h Mob: 0414467500 Email: publishaspg@gmail.com Website: www.australianselfpublishingroup.com

If you are interested in history why not give this short story competition a go. Stringybark Stories invites you to write a short story that explores any aspect of Australian history. It may be a short story set sometime in the past with history being but a backdrop. It may be a story set in the midst of the battle for the Eureka Stockade or perhaps a story exploring post war migration or maybe the home front during World War I or the trials of a pioneering wife out the back o' Bourke, or, or, or... We give you 1800 words to write the winning story. A$500 in prize money available, plus publication for place-getters and highly commended stories. Entry fee of $9.50 (discounts for multiple entries) Closing date 14 October 2011. Details: www.stringybarkstories.net Good Luck!

Finch Publishing will accept entries for the 2012 Finch Memoir Prize between 1 September and 14 October. The prize is for an unpublished non-fiction manuscript in the form of a memoir. The winning manuscript will be published by Finch and the author will receive prize money of $10,000.

The judges for this year's competition are: Jacqui Kent, author of The Making of Julia Gillard; Susan Duncan, author of Salvation Creek; and Richard Glover, author of Why Men Are Necessary and broadcaster with ABC 702 Sydney.

The winner of the 2010 prize was Elizabeth Lancaster for her memoir Marzipan and Magnolias. No prize was awarded in 2011.

For terms and conditions of entry, please visit the Finch Publishing website, www.finch.com.au

Macquarie Regional Library is calling on all budding authors and poets to submit entries in the annual Rolf Boldrewood Literary Awards which aim to foster the writing of prose and poetry with an Australian content.

The Awards - which began in 2006 - are named in honour of the Dubbo-based author of the famous 19th century Australian novel Robbery Under Arms, and is a collaboration between Macquarie Regional Library and the Outback Writers' Centre.

Rolf Boldrewood was the pen name of Thomas Alexander Browne who wrote Robbery Under Arms during his term as Police Magistrate in Dubbo between 1881 and 1884. Browne's term as the Magistrate provided the facts to write the fictional account of Captain Starlight, the hero of the story.

Robbery Under Arms was first published in 1888 and is considered one of Australia's three great colonial novels. It has never been out of print, has been translated into 13 languages and made into five films.

The competition categories include: •Prose - fiction or family history memoir; and •Poetry - in any form or style.

Both must have an Australian theme.

A cash prize of $500 will be awarded to the first place winners in both competition categories. Entries close Friday, 16 September 2011 with the presentation of the Awards to be held at the Dubbo Branch Library on 5 November 2011.

For more information contact Council's Director Macquarie Regional Library John Bayliss on 6801 4501.