Speculative fiction / Fantasy – Australian Writers' Centre

Author Madeline Te Whiu working at her desk, surrounded by editorial notes and bookcases.

Alumni news

How Madeline Te Whiu became a debut fantasy author

Her perseverance paid off with the completion of her first draft for The Assassin Thief. But over 50 rejections later, she knew she needed to try a new approach. Madeline enrolled in Creative Writing Stage 1 at the Australian Writers’ Centre to nail the basics of her story, then went on to edit her manuscript with Cut, Shape, Polish. After taking Pitch Your Novel: How to Attract Agents and Publishers, she was ready to send out her novel again – and this time she was snapped up by New Dawn Publishing.

17 October 2022

A wooden desk with a plant, coffee, glasses, notebook, and hands typing on a laptop with the screen showing ‘Landing Page’.

Crime and thriller

Why authors need landing pages – and what to put on them

By Allison Tait. When people talk about landing pages, writers seem to look the other way, assuming that landing pages are for people with, I don’t know, products to sell. The fact is, though, that if you are an author, with a book to sell, you have a product. Not

8 August 2022

Author Diane Connell with her novel, The Improbable Life of Ricky Bird.

Crime and thriller

How Diane Connell became a novelist despite growing up in a house with no books

By Diane Connell. If you had visited my high school and asked my English teacher to point out the student least likely to end up writing for a living, he would have pointed to me, the irritant sitting at the back of the classroom scribbling what I thought were hilarious

18 July 2022

Fiction writing

10 tips on how to write fantasy novels

By Angela Slatter. Fantasy novels seem to be everywhere at the moment! As a fantasy author, I’m not complaining. We’re also seeing a knock-on effect in the number of screen adaptations: Game of Thrones, Shadow and Bone, Good Omens, and of course The Lord of the Rings. I’m not here

8 April 2022

Fiction writing

Pamela Freeman has a whopping 9 books under contract

We already knew that AWC presenter Pamela Freeman was amazing but now we think she’s stratospheric! She currently has not one, not two, not five, but NINE books under contract! Incredible. We were so impressed by this feat that we had to ask Pamela just what it means to have

1 February 2020

Competitions and Opportunities

NOW OPEN: Australian sci-fi, horror and thriller screenplay competition

If you write screenplays in any of the genres of sci-fi, horror and/or thriller, then you need to get on this competition faster than you can say Wilhelm scream. Truant Pictures (based at Fox Studios, Sydney) is running the Truant Screenplay Competition to encourage and mentor new Australian voices working

24 July 2019

Fiction writing

The simple secret to a successful story structure

Guest post by Pamela Freeman If you’re planning out your structure, it can be overwhelming. All the graphs of three-act structures, all the pacing advice, all the ‘do I have a midpoint reversal’ panics… But there is a simpler way to consider if your structure is solid. And that is:

19 July 2019

Competitions and Opportunities

Calling all unagented authors with fiction manuscripts

If you are an unagented author with a work of fiction, then this is for you. Ebury Press (an imprint of Penguin Books Limited) is open for fiction submissions. From the Ebury Press website: This open submissions period is a chance for unagented authors to get their manuscript to us. If you have

17 October 2018

Fiction writing

Independent fantasy publishing house now open for submissions

Do you have a fantasy manuscript gathering dust in a drawer? Or maybe you’re currently working on a manuscript and are wondering how on earth you’re ever going to get it published. Well we’ve got great news for you! Fantasy fiction publisher, Talem Press, an imprint of Writer’s Edit Press, is currently

2 August 2018

Fiction writing

Kirsty Manning strolls “The Midsummer Garden”

Today we’re chatting with Kirsty Manning about her debut novel, The Midsummer Garden – a kind of tasty time travelling tale. For those readers who haven’t read The Midsummer Garden yet, can you tell us what it’s about? “The Midsummer Garden brings to life the stories of two women across

10 May 2017

Fiction writing

Dancing with the Tsars: Ninth time lucky for Evelyn Skye

Evelyn Skye’s debut novel is The Crown’s Game – a kind of Russia meets Westeros affair. Evelyn has been described as an avid pizza and cookie eater who was once offered a job in the CIA, yet actually wishes she could go on a dancing reality show. She seemed worth

2 September 2016

Alumni news

Author C.S. Sealey shares her story

C.S. (Carmel) Sealey’s lifelong dream of completing and publishing her first novel, Equilibrium, finally came true.

Making writing a priority

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!”

5 May 2016

Fiction writing

Alison Goodman talks Regency mash-up fiction

We’re here today with Alison Goodman – New York Bestselling author of the fantasy duology EON and EONA. Her latest novel is The Dark Days Club – book one of a new trilogy, which has been described as “a delicious collision of Regency romance and dark fantasy”. So Alison, how

24 February 2016

Fiction writing

Creating secondary worlds

One of the great pleasures of writing a fantasy novel is creating the secondary world in which your story will inhabit. In the contemporary fiction genre, the writer knows the religious, political, historical, and cultural background of the society already A fantasy writer must construct the society from the very

3 April 2015

Fiction writing

Words of wisdom from Kim Wilkins and Kimberley Freeman

In episode 15 of our top-rating podcast, So you want to be a writer, Allison Tait spoke with two authors at the same time: Kim Wilkins and Kimberley Freeman. But rather than talk over each other, it was all very orderly. That’s because it was the same person. Dr Kim

13 October 2014

Fiction writing

Kate Forsyth on creating worlds

Writing any kind of fiction, purely by definition requires an element of suspended disbelief. After all, it’s a ‘made up’ story. And Kate Forsyth knows a thing or two about the subject, having written many fantasy novels over the years, often with a fairy tale angle or inspiration.

When we had a chat with Kate recently – in episode 21 of our top-rating podcast So you want to be a writer – we asked her about her fantasy novels, and what the most valuable lessons were that she’d learned creating her own worlds?

28 July 2014

Jessica Shirvington: Living her dream

A true example of turning a writing dream into reality, Jessica Shirvington’s career continues to go from strength to strength. Author of the popular young adult series, The Violet Eden Chapters, Jessica has also delved into the world of picture books recently with Just the Way We Are (HarperCollins, 2015). Her

17 February 2014

Category: Speculative fiction / Fantasy

How Madeline Te Whiu became a debut fantasy author

Why authors need landing pages – and what to put on them

How Diane Connell became a novelist despite growing up in a house with no books

10 tips on how to write fantasy novels

Pamela Freeman has a whopping 9 books under contract

NOW OPEN: Australian sci-fi, horror and thriller screenplay competition

The simple secret to a successful story structure

Calling all unagented authors with fiction manuscripts

Independent fantasy publishing house now open for submissions

Kirsty Manning strolls “The Midsummer Garden”

Dancing with the Tsars: Ninth time lucky for Evelyn Skye

Author C.S. Sealey shares her story

Making writing a priority

Alison Goodman talks Regency mash-up fiction

Creating secondary worlds

Words of wisdom from Kim Wilkins and Kimberley Freeman

Kate Forsyth on creating worlds

Jessica Shirvington: Living her dream

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