Short and Twisted - 2013

Submission Guidelines

Short and Twisted - 2013 is an Anthology of short stories and poetry to be released in June 2013. Contributions from Australian and overseas writers are welcome, however, Short and Twisted aims to publish predominantly Australian writers. All stories and poems must have a twist at the end.
The following submissions will be considered.
Short stories
Max of 2000 words
Super Shorts
Max of 500 words
Mini Shorts
Max of 100 words
Poetry
Max of 20 lines
Black and White Images
photos and illustrations

Submissions will be accepted between 1 September 2012 and 30 November 2012.
Submission guidelines
Stories should be:

• Double spaced
• Times New Roman, 12 point
• If email, attach as Word document, or send in body of email
• If posting, please print on 1 side of page only and include SSAE
• Images can be submitted as:
• Hard copy
• On CD as a high quality jpg, no less than 1500 pixels
• Email submissions to shortandtwisted@celapenepress.com.au
• Hard copies and images can be sent to Short and Twisted, 2 Bonview Court, Knoxfield, VIC, 3180
• General Guidelines
• Submissions must be in English and the original work of the contributor.
• Submissions should not have been published, or under consideration elsewhere.
• Copyright of submissions remains with the contributor, however copyright of Short and Twisted remains with Celapene Press.
• Please include your name, email address, mailing address and phone number.
• By submitting your work to Short and Twisted, you are granting authority to Celapene Press to publish that submission in Short and Twisted.
• Successful contributors receive one complimentary copy of the issue their work appears in regardless of how many stories/poems/images they have selected. No payment will be made for successful contributions.

Short and Twisted is published by Celapene Press.

www.celapenepress.com.au

6th Englyn 3rd draft

sisters of mercy, with none to show

throw aside the orphan's right

no God looks upon this poor mite

I missed posting/drafting yesterday as I was conducting the fifth session - Character Meets Setting - of the longitudinal novel writing workshop for the Wordsmiths of Melton writing group. 

6th Englyn 2nd draft

sisters of mercy, with none to show

know throw aside the orphan's have no right

no God looks on this poor mite

to feel God's love day or night

Falling into March

Whew! I have just finished updating writing and poetry competition details for March, April, May 2012 so be sure to check these out.

I am pleased to say I have now completed the digital photography course with a final grade of 97%. This course taught me so much about my camera and its various functions that I don't think I would ever have learnt on my own - manuals being printed in the smallest type they are almost impossible to read.


What I learnt:

Lesson 1 What Is Digital Photography? Digital technology evolved from and is related to the same technology as television cameras. The Bing Crosby Laboratories and a research team funded by Crosby created the first videotape recorder.

Lesson 2 Understanding Your Camera Digital cameras have opened up a world of artistic expression not possible with conventional film photography. For this reason, the more you understand about the sophisticated parts of your camera, the better a photographer you will become.

Lesson 3 Digital Photography and Your Desktop Computer At a minimum, your computer should load your pictures onto its hard drive and print them out onto a higher grade paper. This is pretty simple and requires minimum practice to perfect the techniques.

Lesson 4 The Power of Light Daylight photos taken indoors are challenging for the best of photographers. You can improve your daylight photos by keeping a few things in mind.

Lesson 5 Still Life, Group, and Landscape Photography Still life has been described as a composition of several lifeless objects brought together by a certain theme. It can include arranging things on a tabletop and using lighting techniques or other still life methods.

Lesson 6 Exposure and Shutter Speed In this lesson, we will focus on the technical knowledge necessary for you to take professional-looking pictures. The digital camera, as a technical device, brings many functions into play. One function is digital camera metering.

Lesson 7: People and the Environment Think about what happens when you page through an album of photos. Those photographs grab your attention if they have a subject and interesting surroundings.

Lesson 8: Magical Water Photography We all love to see a rushing stream, a cascading waterfall, or the silky white look of rushing water. There are many layers involved to shooting a great water picture, or for that matter, any great picture.

Lesson 9: Improving Your Camera Techniques You have owned a digital camera for quite a while, yet you are just not satisfied with the way your photos are turning out. You think it could have something to do with your camera techniques.

Lesson 10: Understanding Image Quality Some of you are probably thinking, "What the heck are CMYK and RGB?" To explain, this is something you would need to be aware of if you decide to become a professional photographer and have a need to deliver "press-ready" digital photos.

Lesson 11: Black and White Is Back In a digital camera world, if you do not want the sky to be plain blue, you can change the color in a digital imaging program. There are photographers who would not even consider using camera filters as an option.

Lesson 12: Portraits Portrait lenses are designed for the photographer who is passionate about people. Before you set out to buy a portrait lens, you need to own a digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera.

Lesson 13: Creative Tips for Your Photography Hobby or Career

I  have also learnt not to undertake too many different courses of study at the one time when I have so many other tasks to complete, because it is important to me that I enjoy the study process and not feel under the pump all the time. A downside of networking is the time one must put in to be effective - and to respond to the reaching out by others - having social networks linked is a time saver, but this can never take the place of a personal comment or acknowledgement of appreciation of the efforts of others.

Gone

friendships turns sour
when seasoned with lies
self deception
aided by position
expose feet of clay
sinking
into morass of delusion

(c) Merlene Fawdry

19 April 2009

Youth
seducer
of our golden years
a siren that calls to us
across an everwidening chasm

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Times of change

17 April 2009

The wheels fell off
the old skating rink
before rebirth
as adult entertainment
yet novices still wobble
before the beat
of a new generation

(c) Merlene Fawdry

The driving test

16 April 2009

she drove with care
on the way
to the licence tester
hoping to pass the test
for another year
indicating her intention to turn
at every bend in the road
and veering right
onto the wrong side
of a traffic island
at the exit
of the car park
where she froze
purpose of her errand
forgotten

(c) Merlene Fawdry

The race of life

15 April 2009

we run the race
the marathon of life
rushing
toward the finish line
our name etched in marble

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Madness

14 April 2009

madness
like misery
seeks the company
of converts
distorted reality
the new norm

(c) Merlene Fawdry

flawed personality

13 April 2009

flawed personality
driven to destory
the ordinariness
of other people's lives

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Spite

12 April 2009

Spite
a character flaw
volcanic in nature
spewing its lava
in violent eruption
to burn those
who live in its shadow

(c) Merlene Fawdry

The houri

11 April 2009

eighty-five this year
she lights the twinkle
in her eye
with an alcohol infuser
forgoing meals
for the liquid gold
a duplicitous
foutain of youth
that transforms the harridan
into a houri

(c) Merlene Fawdry

The exception

10 April 2009

My mother
is the exception
turning growing old
disgracefully
into an art form
no fresh baked scones
allowed to defile
her beery table
no genteel chatter
allowed to fill the gap
between expletives
she counts her conquests
in present tense currency
her magic mirro
programmed to a distant past

(c) Merlene Fawdry

The meeting

8 April 2009

my dearest girl
we meet again
scuff marks of life
polished
in anticipation
of blending
the past and the present

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Red wine

7 April 2009

Red wine and fish and chips
bring forth old memories
of damp candlewick

(c) Merlene Fawdry

In an alien place

6 April 2009

In an alien place
their girlhood memories
paint pictures of comfort

(c) Merlene Fawdry

Older girls

5 April 2009

Girls come together
in the guise of older age
to speak of their youth

(c) Merlene Fawdry

On a clear day

4 April 2009

on a clear day
life stretches beyond horizons
before storm clouds roll in
to obscure the vision


(c) Merlene Fawdry

Grandparent's day 1

3 April 2009

Grandparent's day at school
highlights generational changes
as students rule

(c) Merlene Fawdry