2019 Scribe Residency: Assessor Comments

It was a pleasure to review these submissions. There 40 entries covered a wide variety of topics and interesting subjects and stories about well-known (and little known) people, the landscape, food, and our engagement with the environment. It was pleasing to see a few unpublished writers taking a risk and submitting, and to see others flexing their muscles in new genres. 

The authors obviously worked hard to present their most-considered and polished work before submitting and their words were appreciated, as was their passion for their subjects. I would urge aspiring writers to make a case for the consideration of their work in fellowships by being really clear about how their work fits in the selection criteria and where their manuscript might best be placed, and to be very honest with themselves about which books (or movies or films or articles) they might nominate to compare with their manuscripts and, if it is relevant, to use that space to point out where their work might fit in terms of previous writing or scholarship.

The brief we followed was set by Scribe and asked for micro-history, science writing and history from diverse voices. As the historian on the panel, I remind writers that micro-history means asking large questions in small spaces. The manuscripts we considered most closely were those that foregrounded their big questions and tried to demonstrate, despite the confines of the sample word limit, their aspirations for their larger work. Memoir elements help establish connection with the reader (and literature reviews help establish scholarship) but the work should be propelled by the story itself so try to ensure the sample reveals some of the meat of the story. Similarly, family histories for a general readership need to be attached to those larger sorts of questions. Fictional elements are sometimes necessary, but should not be the substance of the writing.

I encourage all the applicants to keep asking questions of themselves and the world and above all keep writing and testing yourself with the submissions process. Craft helps bring passion into form. 

Naomi Parry

I would like to congratulate all the entrants for this Varuna Scribe fellowship for even having taken the courageous step of committing to their book ideas and getting words down on the page.

There were some truly delightful entries that captured my imagination from the very first sentences, and which stood out because they had colour, energy, humour, and a distinctive voice that made them compelling.

They also had a reason for being; something more than just ‘I want to tell this story’. The historical stories that stood out were those that explored a piece of the past that resonates with the present and future. A common question I found myself asking in reading the entries is “why tell this story now?”, and I think it’s a question that anyone interested in writing about history – whether it’s their own or someone else’s – should ask themselves.

I would love to see more non-fiction science, especially written by women or about women. The science entries were so interesting, and the concepts so innovative and important, that I hope this fellowship and call for entries will inspire more people to come up with ideas.

Bianca Nogrady