Cirrus@Austlit

'Perfect is a powerful collection of stories and poems told with honesty, clarity and beauty by the residents of Common Ground. This collection gives voice to the contributors' personal experiences of family, friendship, displacement and the undercurrent of the cities and towns in which they live. Here you will find tales of heartbreak and self acceptance, of returning from the brink, and finding a place to call home. These sophisticated stories capture the very best of the participants' work in their own voices. This project was a partnership between the SA Writers Centre and Common Ground residents from Adelaide and Port Augusta, supported by the Government of South Australia.' (Publication summary)

'Adelaide High School students have immersed themselves in creative writing, editing, and publishing workshops to produce these fictional depictions of their home city and its surrounds. From Hindley Street to the Princes Highway, from Aldgate to Glenelg, their remarkable stories reflect the diverse interests, fertile imaginations, and keen insights of Adelaide’s youth.

'In these pages, you’ll be plunged into the highs and lows of family life, romantic relationships, bullying, disability, mental illness, scientific exploration, treasure hunting, time travel, musical ambitions, sporting aspirations, Indigenous experience, pre-colonial utopias and future dystopias. You might even spot a zombie on King William Street!' (Publication summary)

• Looking to produce writing that 'works' on the Net - that attracts an audience.

• Establish principles for payment of high quality written work in the multimedia context (role for guest editors?).

• To begin to adequately address intellectual property and copyright issues on the Net.

The idea of a virtual writer in residence pilot project was canvassed by the Australia Council in 1996. Major aims were to introduce writers to the new media & develop literary audiences - capitalising on the global nature of online information.

The project was kicked off by the Ngapartji Multimedia Centre last year [1997] with: internet training for regional-based writers. Visits to Port Pirie, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Woomera, Roxby Downs and Coober Pedy introduced 46 writers, 16 school teachers and over a 100 school children to the potential for writing on the internet.