Australian Writers' Centre blog

Furious Fiction April 2018 winner

For April’s Furious Fiction $500 short story competition, we turned the screws a little – by making everyone write a story that had the same title: THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. Along with that, they also needed to use three specific words at some point in their story and end... read more

Q&A: Cold shoulder vs cold turkey vs cold feet

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness.  This week we are giving... read more

19 haiku poems about Autumn

April 17 was International Haiku Poetry Day and in our recent AWC newsletter, we threw out a challenge for our community have a go at writing one, on the subject of AUTUMN. What is a “haiku”? Well, there are many forms and they have a lot of complexities – but at... read more

Two competitions for emerging writers

Breaking into the world of publication can be tough for emerging writers. One excellent way to get a foot in the door is to enter competitions. The Australasian Association of Writing Programs has two great competitions now open to emerging writers. Who is an “emerging writer?”  For these competitions, according... read more

Caption comp – WIN a five-book Mother’s Day pack

This week and next we’ll be giving you the opportunity to win FIVE BOOKS that you can keep for yourself or give to your mum in time for Mother’s Day on 13 May 2018. Either way, they’re going to be the welcome addition to someone’s bookshelf... read more

Furious Easter challenge winners and shortlist

Over the recent Easter long weekend, we challenged our Furious Fiction Fan Club members to a 29-word story challenge. (What’s Furious Fiction, you ask? Find out all about it here.) The challenge criteria: Their story must feature a bunny Their story must include the word CALENDAR Their story... read more

Q&A: Aging vs ageing

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week it's the... read more

Astrid Scholte: Now a successful author of young adult fiction

AWC Courses completed: Creative Writing Stage 1 Advanced Fiction Writing Techniques (Creative Writing Stage 2) Start Your Novel History, Mystery and Magic Blogging for Beginners What Publishers Want Lofty ambitions pay off Astrid Scholte had always hoped to be published. In fact, she had the lofty goal of being published... read more

COMP CLOSED – WIN film double passes

This week, thanks to StudioCanal we have 10 double passes to new film The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, opening nationwide on 19 April 2018. Based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s internationally bestselling novel of the same name, the film stars Lily James (Downton Abbey, Cinderella) as Juliet... read more

Q&A: Make a beeline vs as the crow flies

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week we're making... read more

2018 Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition

Here's a novel idea for a writing competition— you're given the opening and closing lines from one of three classic works and you write the rest! Hence the name the Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition. From the Literary Taxidermy Website: The Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition is open... read more

Q&A: Lent vs leant vs leaned

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week we are leaning... read more

2018 Grieve Writing Competition is OPEN

Grief and loss are powerful emotions, be it the loss of a job, a loved one, a pet. The Grieve Writing Competition, organised by the Hunter Writers Centre, is open to all explorations of grief and accepts stories and poems on any topic related to loss. From the Hunter Writers... read more

COMP CLOSED: Write a caption and WIN a copy of “The Lebs”

This week, we’re giving away three copies of  The Lebs  – a confronting new novel from The Sydney Morning Herald’s Best Young Novelist winner, Michael Mohammed Ahmad. Leb is of course short for ‘Lebanese’ and this story follows Bani Adam – who thinks his school, Punchbowl Boys, is the arse... read more

Q&A: Mantle vs Mantel

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week we ask the... read more