Category: Fiction writing

Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Heidi Walkinshaw’s new career as a picture book author and copywriter

After the birth of her first child, Heidi Walkinshaw knew she wanted to try a new career, so she enrolled in a psychology degree. However, it didn’t quite scratch her creative itch, so she turned to the Australian Writers’ Centre.

“After procrastinating for a little while, I took the plunge and enrolled in the Writing Picture Books course with Cathie Tasker and suddenly all those notebooks of ideas that I had been scribbling in for years made sense,” Heidi told us.

Read More »
Shankari Chandran The Barrier Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens
Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Shankari Chandran: From lawyer to award-winning author

When Shankari Chandran took time out of her career as a lawyer to have her fourth child, she turned her hand to writing in between baby feeds and family demands. This pastime has turned into a new career and Shankari has now released her first novel The Barrier, a futuristic fast-paced thriller that has been compared to the works of Michael Crichton and Matthew Reilly.

Read More »
Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Davitt Awards shortlist nominations announced

The 23rd Davitt Awards shortlist has been announced and we are so excited to see AWC graduates Dinuka McKenzie, Fleur Ferris and Louise Bassett on the list! Here are the details from the Sisters in Crime website: Crime alert: Sisters in Crime has announced its shortlist for its 23rd Davitt Awards for the best crime and

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How to write your book’s acknowledgements page

The world is divided into two types of people – those who pore over the acknowledgements page at the end of a book and those who don’t even glance at it. If you’re an aspiring author, whether of fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry, I recommend you join the first

Read More »
Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Carolyn Swindell’s brilliant novel ‘We Only Want What’s Best’

Carolyn Swindell was working in a “high heels and business suit job” in corporate responsibility when she decided to enrol in her first AWC course.

“The biggest thing about the courses is the permission you give yourself to be a writer by investing in yourself,” Carolyn told us. “I had been shy about admitting this ambition, but going along and sitting with other aspiring writers and learning the craft and the business was such a boost to my motivation and my skill level.”

Carolyn put that motivation and skill to good use, with her debut novel, We Only Want What’s Best, out now with Affirm Press.

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

You’re invited to Zewlan Moor’s picture book launch!

We are so thrilled for AWC graduate Zewlan Moor who is celebrating the launch of her debut picture book Nothing Alike on 19 August. Zewlan never imagined that she would be a published author one day until she started listening to the ‘So You Want to Be a Writer’ podcast.

Read More »
Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Enter the 2023 Stiletto Awards

Attention Australian crime and mystery writers! The 30th Scarlet Stiletto Awards are now open. Here are the details from the Sisters in Crime website: Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short crime and mystery stories turn 30 this year and are offering a record $12,720 in prizes. The

Read More »
Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Claire Thompson fulfils her dream to be a published picture book author

Deciding to write picture books was literally a lightbulb moment for media and communications manager Claire Thompson. Each time she put her newborn baby in the carseat, the interior lights flashed on, so Claire and her four-year-old invented a story about a magic baby. She immediately realised she wanted to write a children’s book and enrolled in the course Writing Picture Books a few days later.

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How to create a book series bible

You may have heard authors, particularly authors of book series, talk about their ‘bible’ when discussing their writing process. And no doubt you realised they were talking about the notebook or document that helped them to keep track of characters, relationships, settings and other important information in their book or

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

4 writing books you need

Do you love a new writing book as much as I do? Even after co-writing my own book about writing (‘So You Want To Be A Writer: How To Get Started While You Still Have A Day Job’), I find myself adding new writing books to my shopping cart way

Read More »
Business writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Six simple tips for proofreading

Proofreading is an art, a science and a challenge. At first glance, it’s a simple proposition. Read your manuscript to ensure there are no mistakes before you send it off to be submitted or published. But, as any experienced proofreader will tell you, there are pitfalls along the way. For

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

‘It’s never too late’ and other great writing tips

The So You Want To Be A Writer podcast has become a feature of the Australian publishing landscape since it first appeared more than eight years ago. Since that day, the podcast has been downloaded more than 2.5 million times and featured hundreds of writers, who’ve shared the ins and

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Is your protagonist too comfortable?

The best moment of every author talk I ever give in a school is when I share the dirty secrets of being a professional author. “Writers are horrible people,” I say, to a response that varies from gasps (grade three) to blank faces (grade eight). “Writers are mean and they

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Is it time to bring back the author blog?

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s been a sudden rise in the number of authors who’ve begun blogging again. Around ten, and even five, years ago, blogging was a big part of building a platform or profile for many authors, and I count myself among them. It was

Read More »
Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Is your publishing offer legit?

The So You Want To Be A Writer podcast community on Facebook is a wonderful place to be on those days when a writer posts about their first publishing deal. The excitement is palpable and the goodwill is genuine. But I confess my heart occasionally sinks when I see that

Read More »
Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Samera Kamaleddine fulfils her publishing dreams

Samera Kamaleddine quit her job as editor of Women’s Fitness magazine to finally write the novel that was in her head – but she quickly discovered she had no idea where to start! After taking a course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, she found her writing rhythm and has now gone on to publish her debut young adult (YA) novel, Half My Luck.

Read More »
Browse posts by category

Courses starting soon

SALE ENDS MIDNIGHT TONIGHT SEE COURSES

×

Nice one! You've added this to your cart