Upper Murray Writers

20/03/2026

Sorry, UMW will not be represented at the library event today…. I am damaged and others are unavailable.
Fear not, I will be there for the book chat on Wednesday, 25/3 at 1:30pm.
I will be the one with a limp!

Corryong, you're invited!

The community is invited to celebrate the reopening of the Corryong Elyne Mitchell Library at a special official opening event.

The recent upgrade has refreshed the space and introduced new meeting areas, creating a more flexible and welcoming hub for learning, community connection and local activities.

📅 Saturday 21 March 2026
🕙 10.00am
📍 Corryong Library

The event will include a Smoking Ceremony, an Acknowledgement of Country, ribbon cutting and speech by the Mayor to mark the reopening of this important community space.

There will also be live music, art activities, face painting and food for the community to enjoy.

17/03/2026

UMW have been invited to have our books available for sale and authors available to chat to readers! Yes, you can borrow them from the library too!

Corryong, you're invited!

The community is invited to celebrate the reopening of the Corryong Elyne Mitchell Library at a special official opening event.

The recent upgrade has refreshed the space and introduced new meeting areas, creating a more flexible and welcoming hub for learning, community connection and local activities.

📅 Saturday 21 March 2026
🕙 10.00am
📍 Corryong Library

The event will include a Smoking Ceremony, an Acknowledgement of Country, ribbon cutting and speech by the Mayor to mark the reopening of this important community space.

There will also be live music, art activities, face painting and food for the community to enjoy.

27/11/2025

🤣🤣🤣🤣

21/11/2025

I found this fabulous little quote today (attached), which aligns perfectly with my call to action for everyone to record at least a portion of their memoir. Please consider writing down, or recording an oral history, to unpack that inner library and put it into a format that your grandchildren can refer to ....or to relieve the curiosity of nosy bods like me, who is forever wondering about the story behind the names on headstones in our Walwa cemetery!

I was talking to Vicki, the librarian in Corryong Library,( Towong Shire CouncilLibrary ) the other day about potentially creating a facilitated program at the library for interested persons to come along and make a determined effort to record their memoir. We considered a 9 week program of meeting once a week with a specific theme to consider for the day. For example, on a particular day we would encourage participants to bring along a few memory prompts (images, books, objects) for a bit of a show and tell and discussion about a common marker in life (eg school years), and then have an opportunity to write, critique work from the week before and research with the goal being to record a chapter of your memoir.

At the end we would discuss how best to collate, edit, format the document .... possibly even publish.

I am wondering what the appetite might be for such a program? I was hoping our UMW might be interested in volunteering for a session as a facilitator/participant...

18/07/2025

Local author alert!!! Great books!!

Step into the world of rural crime fiction with award-winning author Shelley Burr, as she shares the inspiration behind her chilling thrillers 'Wake', 'Ripper', and new release 'Vanish'. Discover how real-life mysteries shape her storytelling and ask your questions in this exclusive author event.

Corryong Library: Friday 25 July, 1.00 pm – 3.00 pm
Tallangatta Library: Saturday 26 July, 10.30am – 12.30pm

Light refreshments provided.

Bookings essential, please email [email protected] or phone 02 6071 2955 to book

Shelley Burr Writes

25/06/2025

Last Friday, I appeared as a guest speaker at a Zoom meeting of the Society of Women Writers Victoria. As usual, my degree of preparation was thwarted by circumstance; my puppy, Boris, woke up as soon as I began speaking and when he realised he was not the focus of my attention, he nicked off with my presentation notes and shredded them. So, I was forced to wing it! Luckily, I was speaking about a subject close to my heart ... writing, my books and my passion for investigating local history, mysteries and true crime. So, I just babbled on organically and with enthusiasm! We had a Q&A session afterwards, which was animated and interesting. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot about the activities of the SWWV, networked, became a member of the SWWV, and virtually met many like-minded women.
Thank you to SWWV president Lindsay Bamfield for inviting me to attend! I met Lindsay at the Mentone Library when I participated in a Historical Writers' Workshop earlier in the year... networking is fabulous for the usually solitary occupation of a writer!
My recommendation is that all women authors in or near Victoria should join the SWWV - there are a number of great resources on the website and having a tribe around you to support you along the pathway to becoming an author is invaluable!

https://www.swwvic.org.au/

11/06/2025

I am off to this event… it sounds great and you can’t go past the combo of books, crime authors and wine!! Would anyone like to come on an excursion?

11/06/2025

Whoo hoo, I would love you to join in on this chat!

Guest Speaker Author Janice Newnham will talk about her novel and other writing. Janice is a veterinarian by profession and also farms in Walwa in the…

11/06/2025

Whoo hoo! I hope you might join me for a chat on this platform!

Guest Speaker Author Janice Newnham will talk about her novel and other writing. Janice is a veterinarian by profession and also farms in Walwa in the…

15/05/2025

Anyone want to come on an excursion? Donna, G*i, Kim?

TicketSearch is a powerful event ticketing, box office management, CRM and fundraising solution providing organisations of any size the tools and support to sell tickets, memberships, merchandise, gift vouchers, subscriptions and manage customer relations. Funds are directed to your bank account dai...

12/02/2025

Local authors and their audience might be interested in contributing to this project!!
Kim Winter, Christine Eccleston, Mad Woman Rocking, Charlie O'Connor

Council is looking at external funding opportunities to adjust and improve the internal design of the Corryong Elyne Mitchell Library and we need your ideas!

To assist in this process we have an architect on board who will be conducting an online survey and hosting a community consultation session. This is an opportunity for community members to share their thoughts and have their say on any improvements.

The survey is now open and will close on Thursday, 20 February at 5 pm.

Online Survey:
towong.vic.gov.au/library-upgrades

Community Consultation Day:
Wednesday, 19 February from 10 am to 2 pm in the Corryong Elyne Mitchell Library with light refreshments provided.

16/01/2025

I have read most of Wilbur Smith’s books! I loved his writing and I align to his philosophy. In whose books do you lose yourself?

Wilbur Smith was born on 9 January 1933 in what was then Northern Rhodesia. His debut novel, WHEN THE LION FEEDS, was published in 1964. He went on to write over 40 books that sold more than 120 million copies worldwide. Wilbur Smith passed away on 13 November 2021.

What follows is from the Wilbur Smith website; memories of conversations with his first publisher, Charles Pick.

“He said, ‘Write only about those things you know well.’ Since then I have written only about Africa.

He said, ‘Do not write for your publishers or for your imagined readers. Write only for yourself.’ This was something that I had learned for myself. Charles merely confirmed it for me. Now, when I sit down to write the first page of a novel, I never give a thought to who will eventually read it.

He said, ‘Don't talk about your books with anybody, even me, until they are written.’ Until it is written a book is merely smoke on the wind. It can be blown away by a careless word. I write my books while other aspiring authors are talking theirs away.

He said, ‘Dedicate yourself to your calling, but read widely and look at the world around you, travel and live your life to the full, so that you will always have something fresh to write about.’ It was advice I have taken very much to heart. I have made it part of my personal philosophy. When it is time to play, I play very hard. I travel and hunt and scuba dive and climb mountains and try to follow the advice of Rudyard Kipling; ‘Fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run.’ When it is time to write, I write with all my heart and all my mind.”