Versions is back! Each year we throw open the invitation to local writers to be part of an anthology. We provide the prompt (which you’re welcome to ignore if you don’t need it) and you can submit anything from a poem to a short story to a play. Actually, anything creative – music, visual art, sculpture, dance, anything – we’ll figure out how to include it.

Library staff do the editing and formatting, and then the anthology is published later in the year. All writers get a hard copy of the book, and are invited to bring their friends and family to the launch.

All submissions are accepted (unless they are offensive or plagiaristic). So if you’ve ever wanted to write something and have it published, here’s your chance!

This year’s prompt is as brief as it is broad: earth. This ties in with this year’s Heritage Month theme, so if you’re short on ideas, you could attend some of the Heritage talks and see if they spark something.

You might want to write a poem about Planet Earth. Or a short story where the protagonist builds a rammed-earth house. Go wild with it, and write whatever comes to mind.

As this is the fifth instalment of Versions, it will be called Versions Tuarima. (Rima = five.)

Keep an eye on the City Library website as we get closer to March, and we’ll release details of the submission dates and process.

Until then, start conjuring up ideas!