New novella competition

MEANJIN, one of Australia's premier literary journals, is running a novella competition; ­ its first since it started publication in 1940, providing a rare opportunity for a neglected form.

Entries to the inaugural Meanjin & Readings Novella Competition are open until June 30. All writers in Australia and overseas, new and established, are invited to submit. Manuscripts are to be between 12,000 and 20,000 words on any aspect of the theme 'love and desire', and must be a work of unpublished fiction. The names of the authors will not be disclosed to the judges. The winner, to be advised by mail during December 2006, will receive a prize of $1500. The prize will be announced in January 2007 at a celebratory event at Readings, Carlton. The winning novella will be considered for publication in Meanjin.

Editor of Meanjin Ian Britain, one of the three judges for the competition (with novelist and Meanjin Fiction Editor Carmel Bird and Readings bookstore director Mark Rubbo) observes that "There are plenty of short story or poetry competitions but no novella competition for Australian writers. The novella as a form is quite popular with writers because of its length. However, publishers can sometimes neglect it as it's too long for a short story and too short for a novel."

Britain explains he has chosen the theme 'love and desire' in order to provide a focus for writers that will correspond to an issue of the magazine in 2007 that will be devoted to that theme. "We are calling for competitors to interpret 'love and desire' in the broadest sense, so that this could refer to animals or places or objects as well as people."

Carmel Bird welcomes the opportunity to be involved in the novella competition: "As fiction editor I especially love discovering new writers and working with them in order to publish their work. I expect many writers of all backgrounds and locations will enter. Experienced writers may have already written an unpublished novella or they may take this opportunity as stimulus to write one. I also expect emerging writers will see this as a possible way to showcase their work."

Mark Rubbo of Readings says he is thrilled to be involved in the competition: "It will provide a unique prize in literature. Readings is especially pleased to be part of such a wonderful initiative and I¹m especially excited to be a judge of the competition. Readings looks forward to announcing the winner at a special event next January."

Meanjin was founded in Brisbane by Clem Christesen in 1940. The magazine moved to Melbourne in 1945 at the invitation of the University of Melbourne. Each issue regularly contains fiction and poetry by leading contemporary authors and exciting new writers. Contributors to Meanjin down the decades include Patrick White, Arthur Miller, Anaïs Nin, Ezra Pound, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Dylan Thomas, Judith Wright, Frank Moorhouse, David Malouf, Les Murray, Peter Porter, Alex Miller, Helen Garner, Nikki Gemmell, Jessica Anderson and J.M. Coetzee.

Meanjin currently receives funding from the University of Melbourne, the Literature Board of the Australia Council and Arts Victoria as well as receiving vital support through subscriptions and other sales.

Entries for the Meanjin/Readings Novella Competition 2006 are open until June 30. An entry fee of $20 will be charged for each submission. For submission details go to www.meanjin.unimelb.edu.au or telephone Meanjin on 03 8344 9995.