Courses taken at AWC:
Write Your Novel
Congratulations to AWC alumna Sarah Bailey who appeared in the Sun Herald and The Sunday Age. Sarah has just published her second book Into the Night (Allen & Unwin), a brazen murder with hundreds of witnesses and a case where no one can be trusted.
Sarah’s acclaimed debut novel The Dark Lake (2017) was a bestseller around the world and her taut and suspenseful storytelling earned her comparisons with authors such as Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins. In 2018 The Dark Lake was winner of the Davitt Award (Debut) award for best crime books written by Australian women.
AWC courses completed:
Creative Writing Stage 1
When Ali (on the right above) gave up her job in advertising at the age of 24 to travel the world, little did she realise it would culminate in an innovative career built around books and a two-book deal with Simon and Schuster Australia and The Book Ninja (Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus, 2018) in bookstores around the world. Ali and Michelle’s second novel, While You Were Reading followed in 2019, and their latest book Fancy Meeting You Here launched with rave reviews.
AWC courses completed:
Advanced Fiction Writing Techniques
Courses taken at AWC:
Creative Writing Stage 1
Novel Writing Essentials
History, Mystery and Magic
Blogging for Beginners
After putting off the idea of creative writing for many years, Jenna Guillaume signed a two-book deal with Pan Macmillan for her YA fiction. Her latest novel is You Were Made for Me and her debut was What I like About Me published in 2019.
AWC courses completed:
Creative Writing Stage 1
How to Write for Children and Young Adults
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.
AWC courses completed:
Writing Picture Books
Writing Books for Children and Young Adults
AWC courses completed:
Become a Children’s Author (Writing Books for Children and Young Adults)
Copywriting Essentials
Travel Writing
Success: Road No Good – Finch Publishing, January 2017 (Runner up, Finch Memoir prize 2016) AWC courses taken: Start Your Novel: Introduction to Novel Writing Advanced Fiction Writing Techniques Background After living for two years in remote Vanuatu where she had helped develop the preschools in an isolated town called
Courses taken at AWC:
Creative Writing Stage 1
When picture book illustrator Liz Anelli wanted to moving into writing books instead of just illustrating them, she realised she had to learn a completely new set of skills. Liz had been successful in gaining Australian picture book illustration commissions from publishers such as Walker Books, Penguin Random House, Reader’s
It wasn’t so long ago that Sydney mum Penny Morrison would have laughed off suggestions that she could be a published picture book author. She never thought of herself ever writing books. However, now with half a dozen books to her name, including an industry recognition, she has no plans to stop anytime soon.
And it all started when she enrolled in a writing course that would change her life. “On the second day of the course I remember that’s when I came up with the idea for my first book!” said Tamsin.
Primary school teacher, illustrator and mother of three Sally Fawcett is immersed in the world of young children on a daily basis (you could almost call it an occupational hazard). So this provided the perfect foundation to getting her first picture book published. Post-baby creativity The journey began soon after
C.S. (Carmel) Sealey’s lifelong dream of completing and publishing her first novel, Equilibrium, finally came true.
Not long ago, Carmel was stuck in a non-creative role at work. “I had no time to work on my book and not much motivation to make time,” she recalls. “It was stagnating in a folder on my computer with a long to-do list and in much need of some TLC!”
Living on a farm and juggling her responsibilities as a busy mother, Fleur Ferris always wanted to write books. And since completing the five-week online course in Writing Books for Children and Young Adults at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Fleur landed a book deal, scored an agent and has gone on to publish
When journalist Penny Harrison made the switch to writing feature stories, little did she know it would lead to the publication of her first picture book. “I had been working as a local newspaper journalist for 10 years and was just thinking about returning to work after my first baby,”
Back in 2005, around the same time as the Australian Writers’ Centre was first opening its doors, Gwen Wilson, then 50, was making the first scribblings for what would become her debut memoir, I Belong to No One. “I can trace its beginning to 2005, and it evolved through numerous
It’s not just new writers who find worth in an Australian Writers’ Centre course. Elizabeth Farrelly is one of Australia’s most respected journalists and columnists, but when she stepped outside her usual writing realm, she sought specific industry advice from the Australian Writers’ Centre to help her write and publish
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