Interviews with writers – Page 2 – Australian Writers' Centre

Bestselling children’s author Tim Harris: How he got his big break and why he loves writing for kids

Looking at Tim Harris’ body of work, it would be easy to think he had planned it all out in advance. After spending 15 years as a primary school teacher, he picked up a pen and started writing for that same age group: less than a decade later, he has 11 children’s novels under his belt along with a pack of literary awards, and he’s an in-demand presenter at primary schools across Australia.

20 August 2020

Fiction writing

Watch Creative Conversations with bestselling author of funny books for kids Tim Harris

Bestselling author of several hilarious book series for kids Tim Harris joined Valerie Khoo in our Creative Conversation series to share his clever writing tips and tricks to writing stories that will make kids – and even adults – laugh out loud. A full-time primary school teacher for 15 years,

19 August 2020

Fiction writing

Breaking the rules: A picture book collaboration

Some rules are meant to be broken. When author Deborah Abela and illustrator Marjorie Crosby-Fairall came up with an idea for a picture book, they were also acutely aware of the unspoken rule that publishers DO NOT like authors and illustrators to work or pitch together. But, flying in the

6 August 2020

Fiction writing

Watch ‘Creative Conversations’ with literary agent Annabel Barker

Literary agent specialising in children’s and young adult authors Annabel Barker shares her inside knowledge with Australian Writers’ Centre CEO Valerie Khoo in our ‘Creative Conversations’ Facebook Live event. We’ve shared the replay here so you don’t miss out on Annabel’s invaluable insights. In a 20-year-long career in the literary

17 June 2020

Crime and thriller

Watch ‘Creative Conversations’ with world-class crime and thriller author L.A. Larkin

World-class crime and thriller author and Australian Writers’ Centre presenter, L.A. Larkin, joined Valerie Khoo for the ‘Creative Conversations’ Facebook Live event to discuss the adrenaline-fuelled world of crime and thriller writing. And you get to watch the replay here. L.A. Larkin, also known as Louisa Bennet, talks about her

20 May 2020

Fiction writing

ABIA award-winning author Heather Rose’s 3 ways to keep momentum going in your fiction writing

Heather Rose’s novel Bruny, which won the 2020 ABIA for General Fiction Book of the Year, is not easily classified: it combines political satire with thriller, and adds elements of romance as well as complex family dynamics into the mix. For Heather’s part, she says she never set out to

19 May 2020

Fiction writing

Clare Bowditch’s top 3 tips for first-time authors

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

18 May 2020

Crime and thriller

5 top tips for thriller writing from author L.A. Larkin

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

17 May 2020

Fiction writing

Award-winning author and football fanatic Nicole Hayes on why she’s excited to write for a younger audience

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

15 May 2020

Fiction writing

Multi-award-winning children’s author Andy Griffiths’ top 3 tips for making kids laugh

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 –

14 May 2020

Interviews with writers

Watch Australia’s #1 bestselling true crime writer James Phelps in ‘Creative Conversations’

Australia’s #1 bestselling true crime writer and sports journalist James Phelps joined Australian Writers’ Centre’s CEO Valerie Khoo for a creative conversation. You can watch the replay here. James Phelps discusses his latest book Australian Code Breakers, the story about one of Australia’s greatest unknown military triumphs when a former

5 May 2020

Crime and thriller

Watch Tara Moss and Valerie Khoo in ‘Creative Conversations’

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,

21 April 2020

Crime and thriller

Check out Creative Conversations with bestselling crime author Candice Fox

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

17 April 2020

Fiction writing

Q&A with Sue Whiting

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

13 April 2020

Alumni news

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.

13 March 2020

Fiction writing

Lesley Gibbes makes a splash with her ‘Three Little Mermaids’ picture book

We’re absolutely thrilled that our amazing presenter Lesley Gibbes has published another children’s book. Three Little Mermaids, which is beautifully illustrated by Lisa Stewart, is out now with Scholastic Australia. Lesley is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for children. Her chapter book series Fizz has been

18 February 2020

AWC alumni

Stef Gemmill’s debut picture book finds a home

AWC courses completed:
Writing Picture Books
Fiction Essentials: Characters

Stef Gemmill used the few minutes she had each morning before her family woke up to work on her creative writing. With a background in music journalism, Stef was no slouch at writing, but knew that she needed guidance to really hone her picture book manuscripts. After signing up for the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Writing Picture Books course, Stef got the valuable feedback she was looking for. Her first picture book, A Home for Luna, has now been published by New Frontier Publishing and it won the 2020 International Rubery Book Award (children’s category).

7 November 2019

Alumni news

Laura Waters’ trek into travel writing success

Courses taken at AWC:
Online Travel Writing
Freelance Writing Masterclass

Laura Waters walked over 3000 kilometres across New Zealand to conquer her anxieties and find her true passion: writing. After finishing the Australian Writers’ Centre Travel Writing course, Laura turned her hobby into a profession and now writes travel articles fulltime. She is also a published author with Bewildered, the incredible story of her extraordinary hike, out now with Affirm Press.

28 October 2019

Fiction writing

13 Australian authors share their creative rituals

Some writers swear by their creative rituals. And, we get it. Once you get into a creative routine, it can be hard to break – especially if it provides you with inspiration and motivation. We asked Australia’s top authors, poets and illustrators – nominees for the 2019 Prime Minister’s Literary

11 October 2019

Furious Fiction

Furious Fiction turns 21 and fans sign the card

Furious Fiction this month celebrates 21 months of fantastic flash fiction fun! So to get into the party spirit, we bought one of those huge novelty cards and passed it around some of our biggest fans for them to each say nice things (sniff… you GUYS!… now we’re getting all

4 October 2019

Category: Interviews with writers

Bestselling children’s author Tim Harris: How he got his big break and why he loves writing for kids

Watch Creative Conversations with bestselling author of funny books for kids Tim Harris

Breaking the rules: A picture book collaboration

Watch ‘Creative Conversations’ with literary agent Annabel Barker

Watch ‘Creative Conversations’ with world-class crime and thriller author L.A. Larkin

ABIA award-winning author Heather Rose’s 3 ways to keep momentum going in your fiction writing

Clare Bowditch’s top 3 tips for first-time authors

5 top tips for thriller writing from author L.A. Larkin

Award-winning author and football fanatic Nicole Hayes on why she’s excited to write for a younger audience

Multi-award-winning children’s author Andy Griffiths’ top 3 tips for making kids laugh

Watch Australia’s #1 bestselling true crime writer James Phelps in ‘Creative Conversations’

Watch Tara Moss and Valerie Khoo in ‘Creative Conversations’

Check out Creative Conversations with bestselling crime author Candice Fox

Q&A with Sue Whiting

Sandie Docker: Successful women’s fiction author

Lesley Gibbes makes a splash with her ‘Three Little Mermaids’ picture book

Stef Gemmill’s debut picture book finds a home

Laura Waters’ trek into travel writing success

13 Australian authors share their creative rituals

Furious Fiction turns 21 and fans sign the card

Browse posts by category

Courses starting soon