Kindle books by an Australian publisher are now available on Amazon. These titles are

1: Sailing To Cairns or Little Ship - Big Trip by Diane Andrews

Sail from Sydney to Cairns in a sixteen foot long boat - little more than a surfboard with a cover - with two mad people having another mid-life crisis.

2: Dingo Trapper by Philip Fitzpatrick

Learn about the facts of the Aranda stolen generation - though this is a fictionalised version.

3: Bougainville Blue by Brian Darcey

Brian delivered a fridge to a remote mountain in Bougainville with his Cessna when he was growing coffee and cocoa in Bougainville. That site became the Panguna Mine - subsequently closed by the BRA. Brian saw it all, though he has fictionalised the event.

4: Bamahuta Leaving Papua by Philip Fitzpatrick

Fellow was a kiap in PNG during the time it was administered by Australia. He writes about his adv entures falling in love with the country and people and catching a few cannibals along the way.

5:The Speed Of Darke by Diane Andrews

This is a collection of fiction pieces published online or in print, over a period of 5 years. I have been told my writing resmbles that of Virginia Woolf - though I never read her work before I started writing.

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Diane being interviewed by Red Room Company and ABC Radio National in Cairns

This article may seem to be ‘all about me’, but I am just trying to help you see how to get publicity for yourself. I could be a ‘nobody’ or a ‘worker ant’ in a larger organisation - however have decided to dig my own road. So, here is my advice to you. I hope it helps you.

Recently I heard about a poetry project which was carrying duffle bags of poems up both Australian coast on ships. I fully researched every inch of the project and worked out how I could fit into it. The project was run by the Red Room Company and involved ABC Radio National. I am a sailor and write poems SO… I searched out my best poem and bought a new set of clothes and got a haircut.  I uploaded several poems to the website at Pool. I told my fellow poets about it. I contacted the organisers and offered local knowledge and as much help as was needed (from photos of the venue beforehand to my husband rushing off to buy camera batteries at the event etc) and then turned up at the drop off point - on time.

I got into the documentary and was interviewed for Radio National. I got the photo. It is on my CV. My poems were featured on the front page of Pool. Poetry may be a niche in society but these insider secrets to getting publicity can apply to greater areas. it is a win-win for all because now I am publicising the Red Room Company, who support poetry and are a wonderful group of people.

It is necessary, if you want to get publicity, to organise it beforehand. The media does not know by esp what is happening. Make contacts and put your work out there to be viewed. I did not get into the local paper in the above example - but could have, had I made the connections beforehand. This is the key. I have been featured in the local paper many times previously, and once again I had to go out (ensuring my work is of a high standard first) and put myself and my acheivements in front of the relevant person.

Just search the internet and find that contact. You have to turn yourself into your own ‘agent’. If you are starving in a garrett bemoaning your lack of publicity, realise you have to DO it just as you had to DO it when you sat down to create your art work, of whatever persuasion. If you don’t want to - find an ‘agent’ to do it for you. Join a group that is doing it. However - this way you will have less control over the ‘outcome’, less profit from your craft and maybe only a passing nameless mention as a ‘contributor’. It is up to you to decide the best road.

You are a writer. Your mother, father, brother and best friend all think you are good enough to win a Nobel prize. This will not guarantee you a thing.

Get a grant. This is the way to do it - some inside secrets. First you need to be an incorporated organisation; that’s a big stumbling block. Find your local friendly incorporated writers’ group and join it, or join an arts group if no writers group exists and invite fellow writers of all persuasions in as a sub-group. Put out your invitation to all ethnic and disadvantaged people. A lot of good can come from the interactions between different strata of society - on both sides. Real gems can be discovered.

Once you have workshopped, trained under a tutor, assessed and polished you works and have about 200 A5 pages worth, write your grant to publish an anthology. This does not need to be expensive. A small request is more likely to get approved. get quotes and do a very good budget.

With computers and the internet you can easily do all the work in-house including ISBN from ThorpeBowker. You can print small amounts through Digital Printing Australia, go to your local printer and get a bulk lot to resell or upload to Lulu.com and distribute at book signings etc.

If you are a community group catering to all ages and genre - supporting marginalised persons as well, you will get the grant. You will be enhanced by your new relationships as well. Yours and others’ writing will greatly improve by human interaction.

Eventually you can expand your reach into joining the local festivals. Well-known authors can be invited and this will benefit those lesser-known names within the group.

Grants can be obtained from many sources. I suggest you google literature grants Australia or contact your local council concerning RADF. Some organisations may also give in-kind support such as meeting rooms or performance spaces.

1: Writing historical fiction in March  and Editing for writers in May,  from the Queensland Writers Centre

2: Queensland Premier’s Writing Awards Entry Forms and details are available in May - go to the website

3: The Freshwater QCWA is having a Poetry and Pasta on the 29th of May at 6.30pm at their hall (Next to the tennis courts on Kamerunga Road Freshwater)

4: ABC Radio far North Bush Poetry Competition entries open - check the website for dates

5: The Tropical Writers Festival is on in October in Cairns at the ShangriLa

Add or update your event by filling in the comments form

I use Duotropes Digest for market search. It is a free searchable database fro poetry and prose. You can sign up for a newsletter of poetry or prose - which sends you handy clickthrough links. While you are on the site donate to help them along. You can see by my CV I have done well using Duotropes.

They have criteria which weeds out markets that are not good for the writer (scams set to fleece you). I use it in two ways. I check the submissions calendar and write for a particular market and I search for markets that might suit something I have written. I have had a large amount of work published by finding ‘my’ markets. There are plenty of other market databases around and they are all useful. I just find Duotropes can be tailored to my needs by that little search engine they have.