Former paramedic Kylie Edwards had never written before she enrolled in the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Personal Storytelling for Veterans and First Responders course. By the end of it, she believed she could write a memoir. “This has changed my life and given me back my voice!” she says. “The course
Julie Modra’s middle-grade novella Oscar Was Here has been published by Rhiza Press, and the foreign rights have already been acquired by a publisher in Slovenia. Julie is a graduate of our Novel Writing Essentials and Write Your Novel courses, and she credits them with turning a former English teacher’s
Kirstie Bedford has signed a two-book deal with Bloodhound Books. Her debut psychological suspense novel, White Lies, will be published in June 2027, followed later that year by her second crime novel, Murder She Heard. Kirstie is a graduate of our Creative Writing Stage 1 and Write Your Novel courses,
Bestselling author Tania Blanchard enjoyed writing ever since she was a child, but it had become more the product of daydreams in adulthood while working as a physio. So she decided to pick it up again when she had her children – writing stories for them at first, before developing
Whitney Fitzsimmons’ thriller The Rising has been published by Ventura Press. Whitney is a graduate of our Crime and Thriller Writing course, which she credits with giving her the structure she’d been missing every time she’d tried to finish a novel before. “The course gave me a solid foundation in
Samera Kamaleddine quit her job as editor of Women’s Fitness magazine to finally write the novel that was in her head – but she quickly discovered she had no idea where to start! However, after taking a course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, she found her writing rhythm, and now
Cassy Polimeni always wanted to become an author and even studied creative writing at university. She followed this with a career in magazines and publishing, while putting her own creative pursuits on the back burner. But while he was on maternity leave, she took the opportunity to enrol in a
JoJo Leslie’s picture book Fish Don’t Hop has been published by Woodslane Press, and she both wrote and illustrated it. JoJo is a graduate of our Writing Picture Books course, and she credits it with changing the way she approaches writing for children. “For me it was a game changer,”
Dinuka McKenzie was a busy working mum when she decided to start writing as a creative outlet. The more she wrote, the more she loved it, so she decided to complete a few courses at the Australian Writers’ Centre to hone her craft. After finishing her first crime manuscript, she
After completing more than 10 courses at the Australian Writers’ Centre, graduate Jenny Marshall is now a copywriter and a self-published picture book author.
Angie Cui’s road to becoming a published children’s book author is a story of unexpected turns, persistence, and creative discovery. “I was a new mum juggling family life and work when I decided to take one of your courses,” Angie shares. Initially aspiring to be a journalist, she found herself
Jess Horn was a busy working parent with no time for hobbies, but she decided she could just squeeze in a few minutes to enter the Furious Fiction competition at the Australian Writers’ Centre. After that, she was hooked. With her childhood love of writing rekindled, Jess enrolled in Creative Writing Stage 1 and then dived into Writing Picture Books.
Di Taylor never set out to become a novelist. She simply wanted to find out whether she could write a book. The answer turned out to be Anna’s War (Riveted Press), a young adult historical novel published under her pen name, DJ Taylor – and her debut at the age
Completing the Writing Picture Books course from the Australian Writers’ Centre, graduate Sharna Carter found success with her latest book ‘I Dreamed of You’.
The only thing that Jemima Parker regrets about the Writing Picture Books course is not doing it sooner! With a varied career that spanned law, communications and visual arts, Jemima knew she wanted to take a writing course ‘one day’. But it wasn’t until she was knee-deep in wedding decorations that she finally made the commitment to herself.
When Susannah Glenn faced the triple turmoil of an empty nest, job redundancy and a new relationship, she chose an unexpected way to cope – she decided to finally pursue her dreams of becoming a published novelist. “My earliest memories were of reading and writing and dreaming of becoming a
Anne Freeman wrote her first novel on her phone, in the Google Docs app, while nursing her baby. Several awards later, she’s a three-book author with the independent press Hawkeye Publishing, and her latest novel is The Time After Now. By the time Anne enrolled in AWC’s Dare to Dream
Having a baby is a life-changing experience, and for Ariane Beeston, profoundly so. She experienced postpartum psychosis, a rare and debilitating mental illness – and as part of her healing journey, she started writing about her experiences. After completing Freelance Writing Stage 1 at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Ariane kickstarted
Michelle Stephens spent two decades as an architect before she let herself chase the dream she has had since childhood: writing a book. That dream now her debut mystery thriller, The Crack, is set for release with Allen & Unwin in January 2027. Her way into all of this was
Start Writing Fiction
Our most popular writing course. Learn characters, scenes, dialogue and storytelling fundamentals in just five weeks.
Find out more
Follow a Clear Path
From your first story idea to a polished manuscript, our five-course pathway shows you what to do next.
Explore the program
Build Specific Skills
Strengthen characterisation, dialogue, point of view, scenes, structure, grammar and punctuation with focused short courses.
Write for Young Readers
Picture books, chapter books, middle grade or YA – discover the course that matches the stories you want to write.
