Meet the Summer guest editor

Meet Lisa Ford our Summer issue guest editor. She has previously written articles for the hillscene so I was very pleased when she decided to be our guest editor. She’s decided to donate her earnings from doing the hillscene to the bushfire fundraising efforts. What a legend.

Tell us a little bit about your writing journey?

It all started when I was just a slip of a girl at school: I used to write my older sister’s English essays and was encouraged by the As ‘we’ used to get!. I majored in English Literature at university and worked as a journalist before the 1990s recession took my career down a different path. Two decades and three children later, my withering creative urge prompted me to study creative writing for a couple of years at Coonara Community House, where I wrote for the Foothills mag before jumping to hillscene.

Why did you want to become an editor/writer?

I love words and working with them in any capacity. After my toe-dip into writing, being an editor was always on the bucket list to satisfy my passions for grammar and spelling (nerd alert!) and for a sense of finally being the conductor of the orchestra.

What is an editor’s role in this era of fake news and alternative facts?

Ah, the era of fake news and alternative facts is a logical outcome of the seemingly benign Age of Relativism, in which the truth is now just one of many casualties of humankind’s mad march to idiocracy, along with the planet’s environment, most species except our own, democracy, science, reason etc. (don’t get me started!) In short, it should be the editor’s role to ensure the truth is told. 

How did you become involved with the hillscene?

 I have always enjoyed reading hillscene at local cafes and am a huge fan of the arts, the performing arts and Burrinja. It seemed like a great fit for me. 

In what ways, if any, do you engage with the hills community?

Our kids went to school locally for 12 years, played various sports, joined voluntary organisations such as scouts and CFA Juniors. I have also joined writing groups, tai chi and yoga classes and am an avid fan of plays, performances and art shows at Burrinja, the 1812 and Cloudehill.  Every experience deepens my connection with the community. But even more than that, I love the human scale of the hills, where I can exchange ‘Good mornings’ with a stranger in the street to fleetingly recognise our shared humanity.

What do you wish you knew about being a writer/editor before you got started?

I wish I had the hillscene style guide, because I missed a few things – sorry! 

Who are your creative heroes?

It has to be Shakespeare for literature and Puccini for opera. Both make me swoon.

What do you enjoy about living in the Dandenong Ranges?

Nature, wildlife, the earthy arty people and our fabulous townships 

What are your plans for the future (immediate or long term)?

I want to do a 10 day Vipassana silent retreat this year.   It’s time. 

Something else you want us to know? Here is your chance!

My hero is Greta Thunberg. We need young people like her to save the world. 

Meet the Spring guest editor

Meet Melanie Bateson, our Spring guest editor. We met many years ago when I had a clothes swapping party at my house. Her humour comes out in her writing and I’m glad she has joined our team as an editor.

Tell us a little bit about your writing journey?

I have always loved writing and reading stories.  My Mum read to us as children, which fired my imagination up. I still have a couple of little stories and poems that I wrote in primary school, which are pretty cute. I was encouraged by two particular teachers at secondary school, and enjoyed developing my style while at Monash Uni in the 1990s, particularly through the study of film. Having teachers who see your talent and know how to tease it out of you is an amazing gift, so thank you to Mrs Jones, Ms Bruzzese and Liz and Heather!

Why did you want to become a writer/editor?

Being a writer is not a conscious decision, it just is. I was encouraged to apply for the guest editorship earlier this year and was successful in my application. I suspect I was the only applicant…I have found myself glowing a little since undertaking this role, which is all kinds of lovely.

What is an editor’s role in this era of fake news and alternative facts?

Keeping content genuine and grass roots is a passion of mine. Getting to the kernel of truth via the human story is my idea of real news and actual facts. The human story is everything.

How did you become involved with the hillscene?

After having children, I realised that writing was a compulsion for me, and was provided an opportunity to write for the Hillscene by Adriana as a result of our offspring attending the same local kinder. After a bit of a hiatus, and a loss of self-belief, I decided at the beginning of this year to get back into it. As a result, I have had an article picked up by the AFL website, and online magazine Mamamia. None of this would have happened had I not been encouraged by Adriana.

In what ways, if any, do you engage with the hills community?

Most of my engagement with the Hills community has been via my children, and the people I have met through their kinder, primary school and sporting exploits. Meeting artists, of all ilks, this way is a wonderful point of commonality, lending itself to a connection that is personal rather than professional. Half the time, none of us know what the other “does” until a lengthy time into the friendship.

What do you wish you knew about being a writer/editor before you got started?

Everything! I feel so lost in this world, as I have only recently decided to give it a real crack, and there is much to learn and navigate. A glaring example is how do writers get paid? This appears to be largely arbitrary. Why is this not already sorted out? The best part of it, however, is the support and encouragement afforded by other writers. They are utterly generous.

Who are your creative hero’s?

Stephen King, Danny Katz, Catherine Deveny, and anyone who has made their creative endeavour their profession.

What do you enjoy about living in the Dandenong Ranges?

The close knit community

Where can people find more information about you?

poopnbumpublishing.com

What are your plans for the future (immediate or long term)?

To continue writing articles, submitting them to various publications for publication, and observing the world through my own lens.

Something else you want us to know? Here is your chance!

Be yourself, maintain your sense of humour, it may even save your life.

The writer within

Hillscene mag in partnership with Writers Victoria presents “Unleash the writer”.

Write an essay. My stomach clenches and I wonder why I would volunteer to say yes to that. Like me the essay format may be one you associate with long word counts, looming deadlines and late nights studying to get your degree. Not all essays are created equal. Essays are also ways to tell your story, or another’s story, or the tale of an experience, or express a deep insight into a problem in the world. Essays expand us and our knowledge, they open doorways into experiences and ideas expressed by real people, in real life. They have the potential to give light to a seemingly mundane and ordinary observance, to unleash the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

Here is your chance to explore the form of the essay, to learn from award winning writer Fiona Murphy at this exclusive workshop on writing personal essays and stories. Master the art of getting started, how to research your idea and how to pitch your work to the right people. This insightful three hour workshop will provide practical insight and skills to all writers, whether you’re emerging, emerged or somewhere in between, it is bound to get you inspired.

Fiona Murphy

The workshop is presented by the hillscene maga’zine’ in partnership with Writer’s Victoria, thanks to funding from Yarra Ranges Council. The past few years has seen a bevy of special guest editors and designers taking the reins at the hillscene and creating some really great issues. The hillscene, with the support of Writer’s Victoria, is now opening its doors to offer local writers and writing enthusiasts the opportunity to participate in this insightful workshop with an award winning writer. Re-invigorate your creative practice, dispel your writers block and be inspired by Fiona Murphy.

Fiona Murphy is a Deaf poet and essayist. Her work has been published in the Griffith Review, Overland and Kill Your Darlings, amongst others. In 2019, she was awarded The Monash Prize for creative writing. In 2018, her non-fiction manuscript, ‘The Shape of Sound’, was shortlisted in the Richell Prize and highly commended in the Next Chapter Fellowship.

Writers Victoria is the state’s peak body for writers and writing, a leading provider of information, resources and skills development for the literary community. With 3,000 members, Writers Victoria is the largest of Australia’s writers’ centres and a significant employer of Australian authors and industry professionals.

This incredible workshop is free, but bookings are essential. This worlshop was so popular it is already booked out, it filled up within an hour of it being advertised. However, we will be taking names for a waiting list and you will be contacted if a spot becomes available.

When: Saturday 14 September 1:00 – 4.00pm
Where: The Black Box, Burrinja

To add your name to the waiting list, head to the Burrinja website http://www.burrinja.org.au/art

Proudly supported by Yarra Ranges Council.

calling all designers and editors!

Post by Adriana Alvarez.

WE’RE SO EXCITED!

In 2019 thanks to a grant from Yarra Ranges council the hillscene is extending it’s guest editor and designer program. Providing an opportunity to designers and editors to be part of our team. Are you interested in editing, writing, or self-publication? Or are you a graphic designer keen to get creating? This is your chance to be a part of a cherished local magazine and gain some experience in publishing.

For each issue this year, there will be a different guest editor & designer. You will be provided with templates, mentoring and a team of volunteer writers & photographers. There will be a small fee paid for each of the roles. There are four issues each year, one for each season!

In 2018 we began this journey and produced three issues with guest editors and designers. Each editor and designer adding their own unique ideas to each issue giving the hillscene a fresh look and feel. Anna James, who had worked with us before on the hillscene, was the editor and designer of the Autumn issue. Cameron Semmens produced the Winter issue adding his poetic expertise and flavour to that issue. The Summer issue was a collaborative effort between Stephanie Lightfoot as the editor and Amelia Campbell as the designer, which proves that working on the hillscene is an opportunity to create great connections within the artistic community as well. Working with each editor and designer has been a real pleasure and a great learning experience for me and the editorial team. It’s good to see the new ideas and energy that each new collaboration brings, broadening our vision a little further each time.

Cameron said of the experience “It was a treat to work on hillscene. Curating the stories, collaborating with other creatives and simply making something beautiful and meaningful for this community that I love. It was a challenge, but a good challenge and a worthwhile challenge.”

Clockwise from top left: Anna James, Cameron Semmens, Stephanie Lightfoot & Amelia Campbell.

If you are interested in either opportunity, please complete the expression of interest form by Feb 1, 2019. Editors and designers at all stages of their career are encouraged to apply. Apply here.

Important Information:
Each issue of the hillscene takes approximately 6 weeks to create, from the first editorial meeting to the distribution of the printed mag. You will need to be available for one of the following times:
Autumn issue: Feb – Mar
Winter issue: May – Jun
Spring issue: Aug – Sept
Summer issue: Oct – Nov

Meet our Summer guest editor

Post by Adriana Alvarez.

Our Summer guest editor and talented wordsmith, Stephanie Lightfoot, has graced us with her quiet, calm demeanour this issue. Stephanie is a recent graduate who has joined us this season to edit and write articles for the hillscene. She has worked with other hills’ publications so she understands our local community’s fondness for showcasing stories that are like little hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Here she shares her experiences of editing, writing and her passion for words.

Why did you want to become an editor?

I’ve been an avid reader from the tender age of four, at which I convinced myself (but not my parents) that I had learnt to read the picture book ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell – as many kids do, I had simply memorised the tale, word for word. This appetite continued – albeit slightly less fraudulently – into primary school, when I would consume the material on the back of milk cartons and Vegemite jars along with my breakfast. In my teen years, I became enamoured of the dictionary, and would look up and transcribe the meaning of any word I encountered that I did not know. By this time, I had also reached peak spelling confidence and would inappropriately point out teachers’ errors on the whiteboard. I took this voracity into an English degree, and then an interim period of volunteering to proofread friends’ essays and theses. But it was writing for fellow hills publication, The Local Voice, and the experience of working with and being edited by the wonderful Gülsen Öser, that led me to give writing and editing a real crack. I enrolled in the Master of Publishing and Communications at the University of Melbourne, which I’ve just completed. Editing, for me, is the perfect marriage of building and navigating relationships and immersion in the written word and world.

Tell us a little bit about your writing journey?

I’ve had several flirtations with writing, however, find that I am much more comfortable with the role and responsibilities of editing – not least because it is necessarily collaborative. Reflecting on my writing last year, I realised the joy that I find in the medium of cultural criticism and other nonfiction. Most recently, I had the opportunity to contribute to this issue of the hillscene, and interview a number of impressive people: CJ Baxter, Jordan Crook, Pia Nesvara and our cover artist, Georgia Steele. Hearing from or talking to and writing about these locals and their work was an absolute pleasure.

What is an editor’s role in this era of fake news and alternative facts?

The opportunities for publishing are increasingly wide and accessible, and on many counts, this is a good thing – certainly, barriers to entry are often there for less-than-just reasons. The role of the editor is shifting, and sometimes out of the equation altogether, in tandem with sensationalist, fast-paced production schedules. I see an editor’s role as ensuring that truth and impact are given equal weight. Though easy to proliferate, words are extremely powerful, and should be handled with care.

How did you become involved with the hillscene?

The opportunity to guest-edit an issue of the hillscene was passed onto me by my friend, Gareth Hart. Having written for The Local Voice a couple of years ago, as well as being generally charmed with the hills’ cultural scene and community, I felt compelled to throw my hat in the ring. I’m beyond appreciative to Adriana and the team at Burrinja, as well as Amelia, for their support, mentorship and encouragement as we put the issue together. It’s been a team effort through and through, and a privilege to work with such passionate people. I’m especially grateful to have worked closely with Amelia on this issue. and am really proud of what we’ve achieved together.

In what ways, if any, do you engage with the hills community?

For now, my engagement with the hills community is twofold: social, and creative, and I hope that the friendships and connections I have fostered at the hillscene can continue to thrive.

What do you wish you knew about being a writer/editor before you got started?

Every single writing and editing experience is different. Whatever the genre, whether you’re dealing with fiction or nonfiction, it’s always ultimately a creative and human process and your ability to navigate relationships is key. This year has dealt me a number of diverse, steep learning curves – and all of them have reinforced the importance of communicating kindly and respectfully.

Who are your creative heros?

A couple of years ago, hearing from one of the Stella Prize founders, Aviva Tuffield, I resolved to read more writing by women or non-binary folk. Growing up, my favourite writers were probably Charles Dickens and Haruki Murakami, and a good look at my bookshelf and high school and undergraduate reading lists was sobering. I’m infatuated with Isabel Allende, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Mel Campbell, Nayuka Gorrie, Eileen Myles, Alexis Wright, Fiona Wright … the list goes on!

What do you enjoy about living in the Dandenong Ranges?

For now, I live in Coburg, in Melbourne’s north, but I dream of one day settling down in the hills.

What are your plans for the future (immediate or long term)?

Having just finished my degree, the future is suddenly somewhat of an overwhelming concept. At the moment, I’m working in community engagement. In the not-too-distant future I hope to find work in editorial, hopefully in-house, and ideally at one of Melbourne’s small or mid-sized independent publishers. In the longer term, I have my sights set on literary agenting – that’s the dream!