QUEENSLAND WRITERS SHOWCASED IN LOS ANGELES
Published Saturday, 23 September, 2006 at 03:00 PM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
The work of 10 Queensland authors will be introduced to a group of powerful Hollywood players next week at a Queensland Writers Showcase in Los Angeles on Thursday 28 September.
Minister for State Development John Mickel said the event, which will be presented by Brisbane author Rebecca Sparrow at the Directors Guild of America building on Sunset Boulevard, is an initiative of the Queensland Government.
“This is a fabulous opportunity for Queensland writers, the audience at the showcase will be made up of film and television producers and agents – the people who make the decisions when it comes to optioning a book,” Mr Mickel said.
“Queensland has some wonderful talent and our Government is committed to build the international profile of these creative professionals.
‘The expectation is that at least two of the 14 books featured will be licensed for film or television as a result of this event and there is a precedent for this.
“The previous Queensland Writers Showcase in Los Angeles in 2004 led to Nick Earls’ book, 48 Shades of Brown, being made into a movie which premiered last month at the Brisbane International Film Festival.”
The Queensland Writers Showcase in New York in 2005 resulted in Rebecca Sparrow and Pamela Rushby gaining representation in the United States and Sparrow has since sold her second book, The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay, to Random House in the US.
The film rights to Sparrow’s first novel, The Girl Most Likely, have been optioned by Icon Shanahan.
“In June this year, we staged another writer’s showcase in New York and authors Louise Cusack and Kim Wilkins were both snapped up by US agent Chris Lotts so these showcases have been remarkably successful,” Mr Mickel said.
“Queensland has the richest literary awards in Australia and it’s our priority to promote and encourage our authors in every way we can.
“The U.S. is the premium market for any English language author to crack and is potentially extremely lucrative.
“To help our authors gain a foothold, last year Premier Peter Beattie launched a Queensland Writers Circle newsletter which provides a quarterly update of developments in writing, featuring details of state based authors and their works.
“At this stage, the newsletter targets the agents and publishers who attended previous showcase events in Los Angeles and New York but will eventually be a tool to promote our authors worldwide.”
The books to be featured in next week’s Queensland Writers Showcase in Los Angeles are:
• After Summer by Nick Earls
• The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay by Rebecca Sparrow
• The Axis of Time Trilogy (Weapons of Choice, Designated Targets and Final Impact) by John Birmingham
• Parrish Plessis series (Nylon Angel, Code Noir and Crash Deluxe) by Marianne de Pierres
• Metro by Alasdair Duncan
• The Line Formation by Pat Flynn
• Influx by JC Jones
• Cosmonaut by Peter McAllister
• The Darkness Within by Jason Nahrung
• Absolutely Faking It by Tiana Templeman
Media inquiries: Chris Brown (07) 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion (07) 3224 6784
State Development Trade and Innovation: Rose Trapnell 322 78483
Minister for State Development John Mickel said the event, which will be presented by Brisbane author Rebecca Sparrow at the Directors Guild of America building on Sunset Boulevard, is an initiative of the Queensland Government.
“This is a fabulous opportunity for Queensland writers, the audience at the showcase will be made up of film and television producers and agents – the people who make the decisions when it comes to optioning a book,” Mr Mickel said.
“Queensland has some wonderful talent and our Government is committed to build the international profile of these creative professionals.
‘The expectation is that at least two of the 14 books featured will be licensed for film or television as a result of this event and there is a precedent for this.
“The previous Queensland Writers Showcase in Los Angeles in 2004 led to Nick Earls’ book, 48 Shades of Brown, being made into a movie which premiered last month at the Brisbane International Film Festival.”
The Queensland Writers Showcase in New York in 2005 resulted in Rebecca Sparrow and Pamela Rushby gaining representation in the United States and Sparrow has since sold her second book, The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay, to Random House in the US.
The film rights to Sparrow’s first novel, The Girl Most Likely, have been optioned by Icon Shanahan.
“In June this year, we staged another writer’s showcase in New York and authors Louise Cusack and Kim Wilkins were both snapped up by US agent Chris Lotts so these showcases have been remarkably successful,” Mr Mickel said.
“Queensland has the richest literary awards in Australia and it’s our priority to promote and encourage our authors in every way we can.
“The U.S. is the premium market for any English language author to crack and is potentially extremely lucrative.
“To help our authors gain a foothold, last year Premier Peter Beattie launched a Queensland Writers Circle newsletter which provides a quarterly update of developments in writing, featuring details of state based authors and their works.
“At this stage, the newsletter targets the agents and publishers who attended previous showcase events in Los Angeles and New York but will eventually be a tool to promote our authors worldwide.”
The books to be featured in next week’s Queensland Writers Showcase in Los Angeles are:
• After Summer by Nick Earls
• The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay by Rebecca Sparrow
• The Axis of Time Trilogy (Weapons of Choice, Designated Targets and Final Impact) by John Birmingham
• Parrish Plessis series (Nylon Angel, Code Noir and Crash Deluxe) by Marianne de Pierres
• Metro by Alasdair Duncan
• The Line Formation by Pat Flynn
• Influx by JC Jones
• Cosmonaut by Peter McAllister
• The Darkness Within by Jason Nahrung
• Absolutely Faking It by Tiana Templeman
Media inquiries: Chris Brown (07) 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion (07) 3224 6784
State Development Trade and Innovation: Rose Trapnell 322 78483