Have you been working on a manuscript for a children’s book? Walker Books Australia are looking for new diverse Australian stories for kids. They’ve launched an initiative called Walker Wednesday – a biannual event where they will be reviewing unpublished manuscripts from new and established writers. Linsay Knight from Walker
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
Our popular Writing Picture Books course has turned out some of Australia’s top picture book authors, and our graduates credit their publishing success to what they’ve learnt from our expert tutors. We checked in with some of our graduates to find out what specifically it was from the course that
Chapter books: They’re a massive part of a child’s journey to becoming an independent reader and, written properly, can encourage a lifelong enthusiasm for reading. Lesley Gibbes is the award-winning author of internationally published chapter book series Fizz, and teaches the Australian Writers’ Centre’s course on Writing Chapter Books for 6-9 year
Courses taken at AWC: Writing Picture Books How to Write for Children and Young Adults Freelance Writing Stage 1 Engineer-turned-maths teacher Charlotte Barkla never imagined she’d become a published writer – but three children’s books later, she’s thrilled to have rediscovered her passion. Charlotte signed a contract for her first
So you’ve got a fantastic idea for a picture book – but you’ve never done it before, and you’re a bit lost on where to start? You’ve come to the right place. Here are seven surprising tips from successful Australian Writers’ Centre graduates and teachers on how to make your
The shortlist for the 2020 Text Prize has been announced – and we’re delighted to see two Australian Writers’ Centre alumnae among them! Miranda Luby, who completed our How to Write for Children and Young Adults course, and Lauren Draper, who has taken a creative writing course, have both been
Zanni Louise, author of Too Busy Sleeping and Archie and the Bear, has launched a new picture book series designed to help preschool and early primary readers engage with values. Feeling a personal draw to themes of friendship, family and kindness, Zanni says she wanted to create books which were
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
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 –
Courses taken at AWC:
Writing Picture Books
Creative Writing Stage 1
Freelance Writing Stage 1
A guest post by children’s book author Andrew Daddo This was meant to be a blog post along the lines of ‘5 reasons funny books are great for kids’. I think we all know the main reason, and that’s to make kids laugh. There’s a healthy by-product, another compelling reason
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
Reading aloud with your kids is one of life’s most precious moments. It’s a special time to connect with your children or grandchildren, nieces, nephews and neighbours. There’s nothing like sitting down together to share storytime. If it’s been a while since you last had the chance to read with
Not one but two people in the AWC family have made the shortlist for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2020 with both Lesley Gibbes and Astrid Scholte making it on the list. AWC presenter Lesley Gibbes has been shortlisted for her gorgeous picture book Searching for Cicadas. Featuring
An exciting opportunity for children’s book authors – Berbay Publishing has opened its doors to submissions. They’re accepting chapter book and junior fiction manuscripts for consideration. According to their media release: We’d like to see contemporary narratives, with or without a touch of whimsy, and stories that inspire the imagination.
Attention picture book writers. If you have an original picture book manuscript burning a hole in your proverbial drafts’ drawer, now’s the time to pick it up and dust it off. The 2020 Writers Unleashed Picture Book Writing Competition is now open and is offering some sweet prizes. First prize
It’s a celebration of children’s books this week as the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) announced their list of Notable Books for the 2020 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. We’ll find out which books are selected for the shortlist later this year. But for now, we’re jumping for
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
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
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Online, 13 July 2020 - $450
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Online LIVE, 27 July 2020 - $450
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