Feminist Book Week

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What is Feminist Book Week?

Feminist Book Week is an initiative launched by YWCA to raise awareness of the sexism, unconscious bias and gender inequity that is still rampant in publishing and media, while celebrating female writers and diverse storytelling. After its inaugural year in 2020, we are excited to bring back Feminist Book Week in 2021 to continue conversations around diversity and the importance of intersectional voices in our to-read lists.

We are excited to partner with publisher Black Inc, Victorian Women’s Trust and the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre in 2021 to deliver a host of events and competitions to inspire and educate budding feminist writers across the country.

Activities planned for YWCA’s Feminist Book Week 2021 include:

  • An online in-conversation webinar between Alice Pung, author of One Hundred Days, and Dr Natalie Kon-yu
  • Write Like a Girl, an online writing workshop for young writers centered around the theme of feminism and lived experience facilitated by Maki Morita from the Victorian Women’s Trust
  • Lunch ‘n’ Learn hosted by Queen Victoria Women’s Centre about feminism and diversity in the Australian literary landscape with Dr Jessamy Gleeson, hosted on Instagram Live
  • #FeministBookWeek writing competitions to win an awesome book pack

It’s sure to be a packed week – so sign up below for updates about Feminist Book Week 2021!


Dr Natalie Kon-yu In-Conversation with Alice Pung

Dr Natalie Kon-yu In-Conversation with Alice Pung

When: Monday 18 October 7 – 8pm AEDT

In-Conversation with Alice Pung is a webinar that seeks to surface meaningful discussion about intersectional feminism, specifically the representation of marginalized communities in books and media, and the lived experience of diverse writers in the publishing industry. This webinar attempts to inspire discussion about the importance of intersectional feminism in the publishing industry to secure gender and diversity parity.

Biographies

Natalie Kon-yu

Natalie Kon-yu is a writer, academic and editor whose work has been published nationally and internationally. She is the co-commissioning editor of #Me Too: Stories from the Australian Women’s Movement (Picador, 2019), Mothers and Others: Why Not All Women are Mothers and All Mothers are Not the Same (Pan Macmillan, 2015) and Just Between Us: Australian Writers Tell the Truth about Female Friendship (Pan Macmillan 2013). Her first monograph, The Cost of Labour, will be published by Affirm Press in 2022.  

Alice Pung

Alice Pung is an award-winning writer based in Melbourne. She is the bestselling author of the memoirs Unpolished Gem and Her Father’s Daughter, and the essay collection Close to Home, as well as the editor of the anthologies Growing Up Asian in Australia and My First Lesson. Her first novel, Laurinda, won the Ethel Turner Prize at the 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. One Hundred Days is her most recent novel.


Write Like A Girl Workshop

Feminist Book Week 2021 Presents:

Write Like a Girl Workshop with Victorian Women’s Trust

When: Thursday 21 October 7 – 8pm AEDT

The Write Like A Girl Workshop is a partnership between the Victorian Women’s Trust and YWCA.

This workshop aims to create a safe and inclusive space where young writers between the ages of 12-25 can platform their voices and nurture their writing skills. Facilitated by Maki Morita, the workshop includes various writing exercises centered around individuals’ experience of feminism and social change. In addition, the workshop aims to open young writers to new publishing opportunities such as with Victorian Women’s Trust’s Rosie program.

Biographies

Maki Morita

Maki Morita is a writer, editor, and performance-maker living and working on unceded Wurundjeri country. Maki joined the Victorian Women’s Trust in 2021 as the editor of Rosie, where she is responsible for managing the Rosie blog, contributing articles, and curating Rosie’s social media platforms. Her writing has appeared in publications including Fashion Journal and ACCLAIM magazine. In 2020, Maki graduated with a Master of Theatre (writing) from the Victorian College of the Arts. She also has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from The University of Melbourne.

YWCA #FeministBookWeek 2021 Feminist Flash Fiction: Intersection Competition

We’re also launching our second Feminist Book Week competition! 
Submit a short fiction piece up to 30 words on the prompt: INTERSECTION to win an awesome prize pack, that includes:

  • A copy of Women and Leadership by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
  • Muddy People by Sara El Sayed 
  • Dissolve by Nikki Gemmell
  • VWT Rosie postcards
  • YWCA Feminist Book Week Tote bag

Entries close 11.59pm Sunday 24 October 2021. Winners will be announced on Friday 29 October 2021!

Terms and Conditions: YWCA #FeministBookWeek 2021 Feminist Flash Fiction: Intersection Competition
  1. The “YWCA #FeministBookWeek 2021 Feminist Flash Fiction: Intersection Competition”, administered by YWCA Australia, is open to anyone who lives in Australia. The Competition is not open to paid employees of YWCA Australia.
  2. The Competition is free to enter, and entry into, and participation in, the promotion itself will not incur any costs whatsoever upon any participant at any time.
  3. The Competition will run from 8:00 am (AEDT) on Monday 18 October 2021 until11:59pm (AEDT) Sunday 24 October 2021 (“The Competition Period”). Entries submitted after the competition period will not be valid.
  4. Entries must be submitted via the YWCA #FeministBookWeek 2021 Feminist Flash Fiction: Intersetion Competition online form. Entries in any other format will not be valid.
  5. Entries must address all mandatory questions in the YWCA #FeministBookWeek 2021 Feminist Flash Fiction: Intsercection Competition online form. 
  6. Participants may only submit one entry.
  7. Valid entries will be included in a prize draw where a winner will be selected by a panel of three YWCA Australia Young Women’s Council members.
  8. The winning entries will be announced on Friday 29 October 2021. The winner will be personally notified via an email, and publicly announced via our Facebook page.
  9. YWCA Australia will liaise with the winner to coordinate delivery of the prize via mail.
  10. The prize is non-transferable, non-refundable and no cash alternatives will be offered.
  11. The approximate value of the prize is $100 (one hundred) AUD.
  12. The Competition, and any contest or promotion featured on this page, in its entirety, is a product of YWCA Australia.
  13. By entering and participating, the entrant agrees to hold harmless, defend and indemnify YWCA Australia from and against any and all claims, demands, liability, damages or causes of action (however named or described), losses, costs or expenses, with respect to or arising out of or related to (i) the entrant’s participation in the Competition, or (ii) the entrant’s participation in any Prize related activities, acceptance of a Prize and/or use or misuse of a Prize (including, without limitation, any property loss, damage, personal injury or death caused to any person(s).
  14. By entering yourself into any contest or promotion on this page you undertake to abide by the terms and conditions.
  15. By entering into the Competition, you acknowledge that any information submitted on the competition question is collected and stored by YWCA Australia and may be used deidentified in the future for marketing or advertising purposes.