Category: Memoir writing

Interviews with writers
Australian Writers' Centre Team

VIDEO: Patti Miller on ‘True Friends’

Patti Miller was raised on Wiradjuri land in central western NSW and now lives in Sydney. She is the author of True Friends, Writing Your Life; The Last One Who Remembers; Child ; Whatever the Gods Do ; The Memoir Book; the award-winning The Mind of a Thief; Ransacking Paris; Writing True Stories; and The Joy of

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

3 ​​ways beta readers can improve your manuscript

By Angela Slatter. In your travels as a new writer, you’ve probably heard the term ‘beta reader’ but you might not quite know what that means. So, what’s a beta reader? A beta reader is someone who reads through your completed manuscript and gives their feedback. So, not just someone

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AWC alumni
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How Rebekah Campbell’s 138 dates led to a publishing deal with Allen & Unwin

Courses taken at AWC: 
Write Your Novel
Writing Picture Books

Whenever Rebekah Campbell told people the story of how she met her husband, they would lean in and ask for more. That’s when she knew she had to write a book about her three-year search for love. So when she saw the Write Your Novel six-month program at the Australian Writers’ Centre, she felt it was the push she needed to write the book she’d been putting off for years.

Doing the course paid off. Rebekah’s book 138 Dates has now been published by Allen & Unwin.

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AWC alumni
Australian Writers' Centre Team

From newsreader to published author: Nicole Webb publishes debut memoir ‘China Blonde’

Courses taken at AWC:
Life Writing
Plotting and Planning
Fiction Essentials: Characters

Nicole Webb was a trained journalist and newsreader, with a wealth of writing talent. But when she sat down to write her memoir of life in China, she knew she needed to learn and utilise a whole new set of skills. After taking three courses at the Australian Writers’ Centre, doing hundreds of interviews, writing thousands of words, and doing many rewrites, her debut China Blonde is out now with Brio Books.
“Without doing those courses, I really don’t think I would have had the knowledge or know-how to start a book properly, let alone finish a book,” Nicole says.
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Memoir writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

4 biggest mistakes to avoid when writing creative non-fiction

Creative non-fiction – whether it’s retelling stories from human history or publishing a compelling memoir – is a genre of writing which is more complex than it may first seem. When combining truth and facts with writing style and techniques, there are plenty of potential obstacles for writers to run

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Memoir writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

The rise and rise of ‘stealth help’ books

‘Stealth help’: everything you need to know about the new genre that’s snuck up on us. The phrase ‘stealth help’ might not be one you’ve heard of before – but in the literary world, it’s one that’s gaining popularity. It refers to a growing category of books which don’t fit

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Fiction writing
Australian Writers' Centre Team

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

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Fiction writing
Guest Writer

Why writing fiction and journalling can be helpful

A guest post by Vanessa McCausland I have a theory that a big part of what makes someone a writer is what writing does for us. It’s an outlet. It’s a balm. For me, writing has always been a place where I can let all my emotions out. I’ve had

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AWC weekly giveaways
Australian Writers' Centre Team

COMP CLOSED ‘488 Rules for Life’ by Kitty Flannagan

This week’s giveaway book is 488 Rules for Life – Kitty Flanagan’s way of making the world a more pleasant place to live. Providing you with the antidote to every annoying little thing, these rules are not made to be broken. 488 Rules for Life is not a self-help book,

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Cash prize writing competition with a potential trip to France

The First Pages Prize is for emerging writers and winners will receive a cash prize, as well as some developmental editing to complete their projects. The top two winners could even win a trip to France! According to the media release:  Open worldwide, the competition is for writers who are

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Cash prize writing competition with a potential trip to France

The First Pages Prize is for emerging writers and winners will receive a cash prize, as well as some developmental editing to complete their projects. The top two winners could even win a trip to France! According to the media release:  Open worldwide, the competition is for writers who are

Read More »
AWC weekly giveaways
Australian Writers' Centre Team

COMP CLOSED ‘Last Christmas’ by Greg Wise and Emma Thompson

It’s that time of year and this week’s giveaway is Last Christmas – curated by Greg Wise and Emma Thompson. It’s a fascinating collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

12 opportunities for memoir writers

Whether you want to explore a difficult period in your life, remember a thrilling adventure, or share your personal journey, almost everybody has an interesting life story to tell. If you’re keen to try out memoir writing, or if you’ve been working on your life story for some time, there

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Fiction writing
Guest Writer

4 kinds of journalling

This is a guest post by Alyss Thomas The Journal Writer’s Companion Journal writing has been proven to help develop greater purpose, clarity, focus and creative self-expression. In her book, The Journal Writer’s Companion, psychotherapist and lifelong journal writer, Alyss Thomas, explores the many types of journal writing and the

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Crime and thriller
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Literary festival in Tasmania’s Huon Valley

What could be more sumptuous than spending a week in Tasmania’s Huon Valley as part of a literary festival? The Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival is a new biennial literary festival.  This year’s event will be from 31 October to 5 November 2019 and held in the picturesque Huon

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Fiction writing
Guest Writer

How to DIY your own writer’s retreat

Every writer dreams of being able to dash away to the Tuscan countryside for a few weeks of uninterrupted writing bliss, gazing upon distant lush hills, finding inspiration in every cup of coffee, and interacting with kind locals … or something of the sort. The reality is that we all

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

International short story competition now open

The Wollongong Writers Festival Short Story Prize 2019 is open to everyone – including writers outside Australia.  There’s $1,000 up for grabs for the winner of the competition. This year’s theme is “All Lit Up” and the word limit is 2,500 words. From the Wollongong Writers Festival website: Our aim

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Competitions and Opportunities
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Queensland Writing Fellowships now open

Queensland writers, are you looking for a fellowship opportunity? Well, the Griffith Review Fellowships for 2020-2021 are now open.  This fellowship is not just for writers currently living in Queensland. According to the Griffith Review website: Up to six fellowships of $3,000–$7,000 will be awarded in 2019 to Queensland writers,

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