Sally Hall - Writing and other stuff...: YA writing competition

About Me

Hi. My name is Sally Hall and I write YA. In 2019 I was shortlisted for the Varuna Publisher Introduction Program (I was also shortlisted in 2016). In 2014 I won a PIP Fellowship for a young adult manuscript. In 2013 I was awarded the CBCA NSW Charlotte Waring Barton Award which included a mentorship with Penguin Books Australia. I've had magazine and short stories published in various anthologies and placed in many competitions. I also write in a corporate capacity for my 'day job'. My website is www.sallyhall.com.au.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

CYA Conference

The CYA Conference competition for aspiring writers is now open for 2015.

There are categories for:

Picture Book - Preschool aged children
Picture Book - Primary aged children
Picture Book - Non Fiction (for primary aged children)
Chapter Book - Young primary aged children & older children categories
Young Adult

Get writing people!

This is an excellent competition to enter because unlike many others you are provided with feedback on your work.

Feedback is generated for entries in the form of judges marking sheets and are emailed to all entrants. Getting an opinion from a judge is invaluable to a writer, especially for people just starting out.

I was lucky enough to receive third placing in 2011 and a highly commended in 2012 and attended the conference in 2012. The confidence boost from receiving a place is incredible and it gives you something to include on your writing CV but even if you aren't selected in the short list it is a good experience just to get your manuscript polished and follow the entry instructions.

The entry fee is $18. For more information check out the link below.

http://www.cyaconference.com/program-2014/competition-2015/aspiring-unpublished-2015/

Good luck everyone!

Books I've enjoyed

The Rosie Project
Reviewed by: Sally Hall
Author: Graeme Simsion
Publisher: Text

Don Tillman is getting married. He just doesn’t know who to yet. But he has designed the Wife Project, using a sixteen-page questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent and beautiful. And on a quest of her own to find her biological father—a search that Don, a professor of genetics, might just be able to help her with.

The Wife Project teaches Don some unexpected things. Why earlobe length is an inadequate predictor of sexual attraction. Why quick-dry clothes aren’t appropriate attire in New York. Why he’s never been on a second date. And why, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love: love finds you.Don is brilliant, methodical and super organised. He has a timetable that cuts the day into perfect amounts of sleep, exercise and nutrition. He has a very clear differentiation between right and wrong and is not swayed by emotion nor able to read social cues. He knows his failings as well as his strengths and accepts them.

When Don decides it's time to find a life partner he enlists the help of his friend Gene (one of only two friends, the other being Gene's wife), a sleazy professor. The method? A questionnaire designed to weed out any undesirable features like a low IQ, smoker or someone who is overweight or doesn't value other people's time.

With Gene's help Don finds several applicants but none of them affect him like the red-haired Rosie. She is totally unacceptable for the Wife Project but he wants to spend time with her any way. Rosie is searching for her biological father and Don decides to help.

Scenes in this book range from hilarious, heart-warming to down right embarrassing but they definitely draw you in. I was desperate to see if Don and Rosie would end up together.The Rosie Project is an interesting romantic tale that shows that the perfect list of attributes can't compete with instinct and attraction.

Sometimes you just don't know what you want until you find it.A great read. Highly recommended.You can even take the questionnaire that Don wrote to see if you are compatible: http://quiz.therosieproject.com.au/compat.html Fore more information see: http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/the-rosie-project/ or http://graemesimsion.com/

Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Read about this haunting YA tale by visiting http://www.needtoreadthis.com/ book reviews.

Where she went by Gale Foreman
Where she went by Gayle Forman
YA novel

This book is fantastic! It is a sequel to the New York Best Seller If I Stay, told from the perspective of Adam, a young musician denying his broken heart.

I read it in one afternoon a few weeks ago and I think I might just read it again.

Check out the website which includes interviews with Gayle. http://www.ifistay.com/ And Gayle's website http://www.gayleforman.com/

It is published in Australia by Random House (DoubleDay). I would love to give it a great review on my website http://www.needtoreadthis.com/ but unfortunately it's not Australian.

Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella

I loved, loved, loved this book. The second I finished it I wanted to turn back to the first page and start reading it again.

About Me

Saturday, January 17, 2015

CYA Conference

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