By Natasha Fujimoto
With a love of word, a clever turn of phrase and an ability to persuade, narrate and/or describe with deft enjoyment, The Goulburn Valley Writers Group (GVWG) is an association of people, from all walks of life, who meet once a month to share their work and to promote the art of quality, creative writing.
Always ready to welcome new members or even a curious visitor, the GVWG aims to provide creative writing opportunities, often with the chance for its members to share their written musings and creative pieces, if they wish, in anticipation of discerning feedback and instructive commentary.
Aside from stimulating the creative imagination, the GVWG also offers the chance for members to practise their craft alongside renown authors in a variety of seminars and workshops as well as receive advice about getting published in various media.
Established 40 years ago, the GVWG consists of a wide variety of experienced and novice writers, including Furphy Literary Award winners, novelists and renowned poets.
Helen Castles is an accomplished poet, who has won several prestigious awards and has had collections of her work published.
Despite her obvious talent and passion for poetry, Helen said it has been the GVWG, along with the mentorship of fellow member and poet, David Kelly, that has given her the self-assurance required to publicly distribute her work.
“Being a member of the GVWG has given me great confidence and I would never have published my poems without it. I have learned to improve my poems and have learnt more importantly, how to finish them; it takes hours and hours of work for publication.”
For enquiries on how to become involved in the GVWG, head to www.gvwritersgroup.com/contact-us or email Robyn at gvwritersgroup@gmail.com.
