By Allison Tait It seems like a strange thing to say, but writing is just one part of a successful writer’s life. Beyond the writing, there are many factors that allow an author to thrive. Some you will have heard a million times before. Things like ‘find a community’, ‘keep
Angela Slatter is the author of five novels, including (as A.G. Slatter) The Path of Thorns and All the Murmuring Bones, and eleven short story collections, including The Bitterwood Bible and The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales. She’s won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar awards, two
Ruth Ware is the author of The It Girl and an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key and One by One have appeared on bestseller lists around the
Dr Kate Forsyth is an award -winning author, poet, and storyteller. Her most recent novel is The Crimson Thread, a reimagining of ‘The Minotaur in the Labyrinth’ myth set in Crete during the Nazi invasion and occupation of World War II. Her other historical novels include Beauty in Thorns, a
Polly Phillips currently lives in Australia, although she is originally from the UK. She’s the author of The Reunion and My Best Friend’s Murder, which won the Montegrappa Writing Prize at the Emirates Literature Festival in 2019. Polly has also worked as a journalist in Australia, Dubai, Denmark and the
Emily Henry is the author of Book Lovers and other butterfly-inducing romantic comedies. Her novels Beach Read and You & Me on Vacation were both New York Times bestsellers, and Jodi Picoult calls her ‘my newest automatic-buy author.’ Emily studied creative writing at Hope College and now lives and writes in the American Midwest. This interview
Gabrielle Wang is an Australian writer and and illustrator who has been writing books for over 20 years. Her work includes Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon, The Beast of Hushing Wood, Ting Ting the Ghosthunter and more. She served as the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2022
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
Pamela Hart is an award-winning, best-selling author of more than 40 books and novellas, plus short stories and scripts. Her novel, An A-List for Death, is the second book in the Poppy McGowan mystery series, and she’s published regency romances, historical novels, and (as Pamela Freeman) multi-award winning picture books
Matthew Ryan Davies is also the author of Things We Bury and (as Matt Davies) This Thing of Darkness, a contemporary young adult novel about guilt, grief, love and forgiveness set in modern-day Melbourne. As a manuscript, This Thing of Darkness was highly commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. He’s
Kelly Rimmer is the author of historical and contemporary fiction, including The German Wife, The Secret Daughter, The Things We Cannot Say, and The Warsaw Orphan, with more than 2 million copies of her novels sold to date. Her books have been translated into dozens of languages and have appeared on bestseller
Rebecca Lee is the author of author of How Words Get Good: The Story of Making a Book. She’s also an editorial manager at Penguin Random House, with twenty years of experience managing hundreds of high profile books from delivery of manuscript to finished copies, signing off millions of words as
Rae Cairns is a former youth worker who has turned to a life of crime… writing. She is fascinated with how ordinary people manage when faced with extraordinary circumstances, and the lengths everyday characters will go when all they love is put at risk. She writes crime with heart; thriller
By Allison Tait. When I wrote about rejection recently, I talked about the importance of my writing community and recommended that every writer gather like-minded souls around them, for the bad times and the good. “But how?” was the response I got. Like a bowerbird, I found my writing people
We know what you’re thinking. Ask a writer for writing tips and chances are they’ll say “read more” and “write more”. There’s a good reason for that. Reading widely and getting the words written are two cornerstones of every successful author’s career. But every week on the So You Want To
Zanni Louise, author of Too Busy Sleeping and Archie and the Bear, has launched a 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 useful
We’re so thrilled that our Director of Creative Writing Pamela Freeman and acclaimed illustrator Liz Anelli have won the Eve Pownall Award for their book Dry to Dry at the CBCA Book of the Year Awards. Congratulations to this dynamic duo! We chatted to Pamela about the win… 1. What
Mandy Foot has illustrated dozens of picture books with Hachette Australia. But when she decided to write her own story, she knew she had to gain new skills. After completing the Writing Picture Books course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Mandy published her debut picture book as an author, Joey
We love indie authors at the Australian Writers’ Centre (well, we love ALL writers)! These days, many authors prefer to go indie rather than signing up to a traditional publisher. Some indie authors like having control over their writing, while others want to publish without pressure. Some make a modest
We just love bringing the So you want to be a writer podcast to your ears – chatting all things writing, publishing and, of course, our favourite desserts. This year, the podcast not only turned six, we also released 61 new episodes – and had a lot of fun with our
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