Issue 61
Welcome!
Hey, Scribblers! Welcome back to Spilled Ink. It’s week seven already, which means we are about half-way through. We hope you’re staying on top of everything and not getting too stressed as we move into the end of the semester. More importantly, you better be keeping up with all the amazing work being published on ScratchThat! We have just had our Fulfilment pieces go live so check them out here.
Submissions are open for our next weekly theme, Dread. If you’re in need of a little inspiration, there’s a writing prompt below to help break you out of the rut. And speaking on submissions, we are still accepting submissions for our Emotion zine—We can’t wait to see what you’ve got.
Moving on to some news that is the opposite of dread, we can finally reveal that we have locked down a venue and date for the launch party! This semester, ScratchThat: Emotion Spring 2024 will be launched at the La Boite Forecourt at the QUT Kelvin Grove Campus on the 23rd of October. Tickets will be on sale soon, so follow our Instagram and TikTok accounts so that you don’t miss a thing.
This week, we’re keeping you up to date with everything to do with writing and the arts at QUT and in Brisbane. If you’re looking to get more of your work out there, we have got some external submission opportunities. Finally, we’ll wrap things up with “Devour Weekly”, where you can catch up with what’s kept the Spilled Ink team entertained this week.
Writing Prompt
Dread
This week the submission callout theme is Dread. Gather together your most stomach-plummeting, cold sweat, oh-god-make-it-stop creative works and send them our way. Submissions close this Friday, the 6th, at 11:59pm, link below. And of course, if you are dreadfully in need of some inspiration, check out our writing prompt…
Someone has just brought up the US election at your extended family BBQ. God might save America but he ain’t saving this party.
Submit here.
Devour Weekly
Karma Reviews: Karma Reserve Sparkling Shiraz by O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyard
If you are an avid reader of ours, you will have noticed that our theme for the website this week has been vanity. Vanity is such a fun emotion, and writing about vanity is one of my favourite things. A fantastic character flaw always adds depth to a story. But it is not something we seem to encourage outside of fiction—fair enough really. However, in the spirit of the theme, I decided that my review this week would be ridiculously and impossibly vain. I have decided to do a very much not-at-all-biased review of the Karma Reserve Sparkling Shiraz by O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyard.
I started by staring lovingly at my own name on the label. The font is beautiful, however not nearly as beautiful as the name. After this, I did a very satisfying cork pop and poured myself a glass. I took a moment to swirl and smell the wine, which had notes of dark berries. After one sip, the only thought in my mind was that it tasted like Christmas—slightly sweet and rich and bubbly. Or maybe it just tasted like Christmas because that is when I drink the most?
And I must say it goes down quite nicely, especially with the Pizza Hut delivery I decided to pair it with. I, personally, love a sparkling red despite the fact that the concept seems to confuse people. And fair enough, bubbles are forever associated with light, golden champagne. But this wine has enough lightness and a soft sweetness to it that compliments the bubbles and adds to its complexity. A lovely wine with an even lovelier name, if you ask me. Perfect for avid red wine drinkers as the weather gets warmer.
Dylan Reviews: Mean Girls (2004)
Look, I don’t care that it’s been… wait… twenty years? Are you sure? It’s been twenty whole years and on Wednesdays we still wear pink. I don’t care how long it’s been; I’ll never not be trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.
I took some time this week for my annual (at a minimum) rewatch of 2004’s Mean Girls, in anticipation of the musical version coming to Paramount+. I’ve been holding off watching the musical version for two reasons: first, I saw the musical on stage and thought it was average at best, and second, there’s just no way anything could ever top the objective perfection of Rachel McAdams’ Regina George. Fun fact: did you know that Mean Girls and The Notebook came out in the same year? Rachel McAdams really is that girl.
If you haven’t seen it already, where have you been? I mean, Mean Girls is a high-school drama featuring Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron, a home-schooled jungle freak (iykyk), who is starting public school for the first time in her junior year. After struggling to make friends, she gets brought under the wing of The Plastics and Queen Bee, Regina George. Cady struggles to find where she fits in as she goes to great lengths to make friends, ultimately compromising her own identity and morals—a tale as old as time.
This film was, and always will be, a classic. It’s well-cast, well-written, well-directed, backbreakingly hilarious, and has some powerful messaging about the importance of being true to yourself. Even if you’ve never seen the film, I can guarantee you’ve quoted it. And if you have seen it, have you been able to make ‘fetch’ happen?
Sean Reviews: Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
Andrew Michael Hurley has perhaps become my favourite modern Gothic writer. Something about the subtlety of the horror elements within his works entwined with the carefully crafted, unsettling Gothic atmosphere resonates with me. His most recent work, Starve Acre, an exploration of grief steeped in British folklore, is a particularly striking novel and perfect for lovers of Gothic horror.
Starve Acre takes place in rural Northern England and follows Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s struggle to come to terms with the sudden death of their troubled son, Ewan. Richard loses himself in his obsession with an ancient oak tree that has ties to local folklore and that once flourished on their land, while Juliette seeks comfort with a mysterious group of occultists who claim to be able to help her find peace. Unfortunately for the couple, their grief and how they have chosen to cope with Ewan’s death, has unknowingly invited a sinister paranormal entity into their home.
The way this novel is written creates a truly unnerving atmosphere. There is a subtlety and care taken with the imagery of the northern landscapes and the paranormal folklore elements within the story that weaves and twists its way into the history of the struggling family. It draws the reader in and creates a truly chilling Gothic horror tale.
I recommend this book, and any of Andrew Michael Hurley’s previous works to anyone who enjoys modern Gothic novels. Starve Acre also has a film adaption which is due to be released in Australia later this year and is definitely worth watching for fans of the novel.
Author: Karma O’Reilly is a writer, creator, and dancer currently finishing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She has held a passion for all things bookish since childhood and has a particular love for high fantasy. As well as working on ScratchThat Magazine, Karma has also worked as a choreographer, treasurer, and dancer with QUT Burlesque Society.
Author: Dylan Oliver is a Meanjin-based writer. He’s had his work published in ScratchThat Magazine and is currently working towards his Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing at QUT. Dylan enjoys writing authentic queer stories that speak to his own experience as a queer person. He is hard at work on what he hopes will be his debut novel.
Author: Sean Sutcliffe is a writer who is currently in the final year of his Creative Writing degree. He has a deep love for all forms of creative media, particularly horror or horror-inspired work, and selfishly plans to indulge this love while broadening his knowledge and sharing his thoughts on current and past media with the readers of this newsletter.
Artist: Phoenix Sunrider (they/she) is an aspiring author with several works in the making. They love all kinds of animals, and add as many as possible into all their works whether that be high fantasy, magical realism, or even fan fiction. They currently have no social media platforms, but hope to develop some when more work is completed.
Edited by: Ricky Jade and Elly LaRoche