SA Literary Fellowships 2025 & SA History Trust Grants!

I am delighted to share that I have been awarded a mid-career Fellowship with the SA State Library, supported by Writers’ SA, AND a grant from History Trust of South Australia to research and write my magical historical middle-grade novel, A Light on the Rocks. I can’t believe I am going to be a Fellow of the State Library! I will have a desk in the State Library for up to three months, access to the amazing collections in the library and support from the talented librarians.

The SA History Trust grant will enable me to take a research trip along the SA/Vic coastline to visit the Cape Jaffa lighthouse and various sites where relics from the Admella lie. The generous support from all three organisations will enable me to research and write this ambitious story about the fateful last journey of the S.S Admella, the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, built out to sea upon a reef, a giant blue whale connecting the two timelines, the importance of our oceans, and two young people who are learning how to navigate who they are and where they fit in the enormity of our universe.

A Light on the Rocks (working title) centres the history of Cape Jaffa Lighthouse & one of Australia’s worst shipwrecks—the S.S Admella. With a strong ocean conservation focus, dual timelines of 1859 on the fateful last journey of the Admella & 1950 at the lighthouse will weave a story of courage, survival, self-belief, and hope. The Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, built on the Margaret Brock Reef, opened in 1872. Situated west of Cape Jaffa, at the southerly end of the Coorong, the reef sits in the transition between two biogeographical regions. Giant kelp is found on the outer, more exposed parts. Nearby, the seasonal Bonney coast upwelling supports high species diversity. It’s one of 12 widely recognised areas worldwide where blue whales are known to feed in relatively high numbers. The S.S Admella was wrecked off the coast of Carpenter Rocks, southwest of Mount Gambier, on 6 August 1859. Eighty-nine people died. It remains one of the worst maritime disasters in Australia and the greatest loss of life in European settlement in South Australia. This disaster led to the building of Cape Jaffa lighthouse. With a giant blue whale connecting the two timelines, ocean travelling horses, ghosts and celestial navigation, this is an ambitious undertaking, which will be greatly enhanced by spending time at the SA State Library, researching the many relevant collections, visiting museums and sites where relics from the Admella now lie, interviewing experts, and touring the lighthouse.

Writing a book is about spending many hours writing, but just as much about a lot of other things. There’s dreaming, thinking, pondering, discussing ideas with friends and family, and in my case, various animals and birds. Research and reading and a million Google searches. Rabbit holes and dead ends and frustrations. Creating a playlist, drawing characters and settings, and playing with illustrations. Grant applications and pitches. There are a trillion edits and read alouds and discussions with your editor and publisher. Sometimes, you have to let characters go, delete thousands of words, change tense, point of view, and character names. And then change them all again.

Then there’s self-doubt, comparison, and dreaming about awards shortlists. Worrying and wishing. Creating workshops and author talks and travelling to visit schools, bookshops, and libraries. Volunteering for various literacy programmes. Social media and marketing. And the waiting. Waiting to see if it’s going to get a contract. Waiting for feedback. Waiting for edits. Waiting to see covers. Waiting to be allowed to share covers and titles and release details. Waiting for the awards to be announced – longlists and shortlists and winners.

There’s the joy of your writing community and reading all the books from people you come to call friends. Celebrating their wins and achievements, holding each other’s hands when things get tough. Championing reading and literature and the importance of the Arts.

And all the time, there’s hope.

Hope that you’ll create something special.
Hope that a young person will pick up your book and fall into the world you’ve created.
Hope that you’ll make an impact on their lives, however small. Whether it’s being transported for a moment. A laugh. Extending their own imagination. Giving them a focus away from screens and comparing and the troubles of our world. Seeing themselves in a book. Knowing they’re not alone.
Hope that words can change the world.
Writing is writing, but it’s also a whole lot of living, loving, and hope.

Thank you to the State Library of South Australia, Writers’ SA and the History Trust of South Australia’s South Australian History Fund for giving me the hope to launch into this exciting project! Now, to get to work!

Helen