So you’re creative, inspired and want to write fiction? Great! For all writers, from first-timers to those with multiple novels under their belt already, the process can present some surprising challenges. Perhaps you’re struggling to get the first sentence onto the page, or maybe you’re part-way through and worried you’re
Clare Bowditch’s ABIA award-winning memoir, Your Own Kind of Girl, goes deep into love, loss and grief. For her first book, Clare drew from her experience as a musician to get through the process of endless re-drafting, as well as using the names of her songs as chapter titles. Clare
The shortlist for the 2020 Text Prize has been announced – and we’re delighted to see two Australian Writers’ Centre alumnae among them! Miranda Luby, who completed our How to Write for Children and Young Adults course, and Lauren Draper, who has taken a creative writing course, have both been
British-Australian crime and thriller writer L.A. Larkin – who teaches the Australian Writers’ Centre’s popular Crime and Thriller Writing course is our go-to woman for crafting suspenseful, exciting literature. Larkin’s latest thriller novel Prey was released in April 2020, published by Clan Destine Press in Australia and Bloodhound Books in
Award-winning author, speaker and Australian Writers’ Centre presenter Nicole Hayes has made no secret of her passion for AFL. Much of her back catalogue is football-adjacent, and she’s a founding member of weekly ABC podcast The Outer Sanctum. Nicole’s latest project speaks to a different audience from her previous young
Multiple generations of children have grown up with the books of Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton. From their first book Just Tricking!, released in 1997, to their latest The 117-Storey Treehouse – which was awarded the ABIA award for the Book of the Year for Younger Children in 2020 –
Natasha Lester is the bestselling author of five historical novels, including The Paris Secret, The French Photographer, The Paris Seamstress, Her Mother’s Secret and A Kiss From Mr Fitzgerald. She’s also one of our wonderful presenters here at the Australian Writers’ Centre with her online courses 2 Hours to Scrivener
We’ve taken to having Friday afternoon trivia quizzes here at AWC HQ, through the amazing power of Zoom and Google Docs – and of course a virtual cheers or two. One of last week’s topics was ‘television’ and it’s amazing how diverse our range of knowledge is (Nat = 3/10,
This is a guest post by Leah Swann You open a novel, you open a door. I learned this from my first chapter book – Blyton’s The Naughtiest Girl in the School. Although shocked by the ‘spoiled’ Elizabeth Allen, deliberately behaving badly enough to be expelled from the school she’s
Are you searching for something to focus on? Tasmanian author Kate Kruimink explained that was what she was doing when she decided to write and enter her manuscript into The Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award 2020. A great creative focus indeed, as Allen and Unwin have announced Kate’s A Treacherous Country the
Tara Moss – author, journalist, documentary-maker and human rights activist – joined Australian Writers’ Centre CEO, Valerie Khoo, in the ‘Creative Conversations’ Facebook Live event. Tara explains her latest paranormal fiction novel The Cobra Queen, the fourth book in the Pandora English series following The Skeleton Key. Amidst paranormal fiction,
This is a guest post by Leah Swann You open a novel, you open a door. I learned this from my first chapter book – Enid Blyton’s The Naughtiest Girl in the School. Although shocked by the ‘spoiled’ Elizabeth Allen, deliberately behaving badly enough to be expelled from the school
A guest post by Vanessa McCausland I have a theory that a big part of what makes someone a writer is what writing does for us. It’s an outlet. It’s a balm. For me, writing has always been a place where I can let all my emotions out. I’ve had
A guest post by children’s book author Andrew Daddo This was meant to be a blog post along the lines of ‘5 reasons funny books are great for kids’. I think we all know the main reason, and that’s to make kids laugh. There’s a healthy by-product, another compelling reason
Join us in conversation with #1 New York Times bestselling crime author Candice Fox right here! Candice discusses her crime writing journey, from her big break into crime and thriller writing with her first novel Hades, to her latest book Gathering Dark. Candice explains how she landed a co-writing deal
Sue Whiting is one of the most prolific and best-loved Australian writers for children and young adults. She’s also one of our popular presenters at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Sue’s 2018 novel for kids, Missing, was a smash hit and she has followed it up with her latest novel, The
We’ve been providing amazing online resources and courses for writers on our website for many years now. Each week, we produce our popular podcast So you want to be a writer, our weekly newsletter is packed full of inspiration and information, our grammar Q&As answer all your niggly questions, and
Reading aloud with your kids is one of life’s most precious moments. It’s a special time to connect with your children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews and neighbours. There’s nothing like sitting down together to share storytime. If it’s been a while since you last had the chance to read with
Not one but two people in the AWC family have made the shortlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2020 with both Lesley Gibbes and Astrid Scholte making it on the list. AWC presenter Lesley Gibbes has been shortlisted for her gorgeous picture book Searching for Cicadas. Featuring
We hope you’ve stocked up on paper – printing paper that is – because it is time to get those manuscripts ready for submission. We’ve collated a list of 2020 manuscript awards for writers like yourself to enter and share your stories. Is your manuscript still a work-in-progress and you
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