Category: Alumni news

Alumni news
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Bec Nanayakkara scores publishing deal for her first picture book

Courses taken at AWC: 
Writing Picture Books

Congratulations to AWC graduate Bec Nanayakkara who has landed a publishing deal for her debut picture book – which is based on an idea she workshopped in our Writing Picture Books course with tutor Zanni Louise just a year ago!

“I wrote a story for one of the assignments, and soon after the course, I polished it up and submitted it to Affirm Press. It was my first picture book submission to a publisher,” Bec told us. “Six months later they got in touch, and I have just signed a contract with them. They will be turning my manuscript into a real live story book in 2023!”

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Alumni news
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Congrats to the AWC alumni shortlisted for the 2021 $10,000 Text Prize

This week, Text Publishing announced the seven shortlisted manuscripts in the running for the $10,000 Text Prize for young adult and children’s writing – and we were thrilled to spot some familiar names on the list!  Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Jacqueline Mohr has been shortlisted for her children’s story The

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Alumni news
Australian Writers' Centre Team

AWC alumna Deborah Mackie wins the Wild Atlantic Writing Award

We were beyond excited to hear that Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Deborah Mackie has won the Wild Atlantic Writing Award for her short story “A Letter to Her Husband’s Girlfriend”. As an active member of the AWC, Deborah shared details about the competition in our So you want to be

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Alumni news
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Shankari Chandran’s newest manuscript acquired by Ultimo Press

We’re thrilled to hear that Shankari Chandran has had her latest novel Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens snapped up by Ultimo Press. Shankari is one of our superstar alumnae who found publishing success with her debut novel The Barrier after the Crime and Thriller Writing course at the Australian Writers’

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Alumni news
Guest Writer

5 tips for finding your ‘write’ people

It took me a while to find my people, but when I did things really started happening…fast! 
I went from my world of “one” where no one other than my non-writing family and friends knew about my creative writing projects – to sharing my work with a community of like-minded writers. Here’s how you can fast track your way to finding your people…

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Congrats to the AWC alumni shortlisted for the 2020 Banjo Prize

HarperCollins Australia has released the shortlist for the 2020 Banjo Prize and we’re so proud that all four are from the Australian Writers’ Centre community. The 2020 Banjo Prize shortlist: The List by Megan Albany The Tuesday Afternoon Murder Club by Karli Florisson Roses of Budapest by Rachael Keene Flood

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Alumni news
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Penelope Janu: Meet the lawyer who became a bestselling romance novelist

After more than 20 years as a solicitor and legal academic, Penelope Janu thought it was high time she finally followed her creative impulses. She completed a short course at the Australian Writers’ Centre (AWC), which gave her the confidence to pursue a creative writing degree – and led to her first novel, In at the Deep End, being accepted for publication. She has since gone on to publish several more popular romance novels.

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Alumni news
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Sandie Docker: Successful women’s fiction author

Although Sandie Docker always imagined she would be published one day, she knew it required a lot of self-belief and determination. But after studying at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Sandie finally found the confidence and passion to keep going until she reached her dream of becoming a women’s fiction author. She has now published three books with Penguin, including The Kookaburra Creek Cafe, The Cottage At Rosella Cove, and The Banksia Bay Beach Shack.

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