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At the beginning of every year, prolific readers wanting to expand their horizons look to “reading challenges” to help them with such a task. Just like the one in the image above (you can find that full list here), the challenges are designed to get you to read a wide

This post is written by Matthew Curlewis, a descendant of Ethel Turner, who wrote Seven Little Australians. Matthew originally wrote this shortly before Australia Day 2016 and has given us permission to republish it. An attempt on behalf of my ancestor Ethel Turner, to correct some Koori history censored out

In December, Valerie asked the AWC community (via our newsletter and this blog) to let us know what writing goals they had for the coming year. We received a huge response – with the image above an actual word cloud of the most popular sentiments sent in from everyone. And

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Downton Abbey and we love advancements in publishing. Downton Abbey’s creator Julian Fellowes is embarking on a brave new project that marries digital technology and Victorian serialised storytelling. From the press release: Ground-breaking new project will see story published in weekly chapters on

Kill Your Darlings are looking for a Contributing Editor to join their team for 2016! They’d love someone to write in one area. Potential areas of interest they’d love to hear from include: politics, society, film and TV, books and writing, pop culture, gaming and technology, music, sport, and art.

This position has now been filled – thanks for your interest! The Australian Writers’ Centre team is growing and we have room for a full-time Office All-rounder. Please note: This role is not a writing-based role. This role won’t be a stepping stone for you to publish your novel – but you

I have a confession to make. If there is one thing I enjoy just as much as reading a great book, it’s a great film that has a writer as one of its protagonists. I guess it’s that element of curiosity from a fellow writer to see exactly how this

Whether you believe in its power or not, the presence of a new year being just around the corner is difficult to ignore. It’s often a time to take stock, look back at the past year and set goals for the next one and beyond. We often talk about our

Here are the 2015 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards shortlists. Below, you’ll find a super-duper list of amazing writers including our own fabulous Judith Rossell, whose book Withering-by-Sea has been shortlisted for the Children’s fiction section! Congratulations Judith! The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards have been going since 2008. The books below on

This is a guest post from Tamyka Bell, a Brisbane-based writer and tech enthusiast who will test-drive any new writing tool at least once. You can find her at cwordcreative.com.au. Tamyka wrote this post when she heard Valerie Khoo and Allison Tait talk about using “track changes” in Word in

Great news from Australian Writers’ Centre presenter and podcast co-host Allison Tait. Her successful series The Mapmaker Chronicles has been optioned for film – snapped up by Australian production company Whoa Flamingo! Whoa indeed. And while that doesn’t mean you’ll be buying popcorn and watching it any time in the

Newcastle is host to gorgeous beaches, boutique shopping, and great cafes. But it’s also host to the Newcastle Short Story Award, with $3000 worth of prizes up for grabs. The judges this year are Newcastle’s own Michael Sela and award-winning short fiction writer Glenys Osborne. The competition is open to Australian residents

10 years is a long time, and we thought it’d be a good idea to put it in perspective. What can you achieve in 10 years? Just a few things… (Click on the image to view a bigger version!)

With the Wollongong Writers Festival coming up, we invited their marketing team to give us an insight into one of the highlights. Take it away, Kayla! Back for it’s third year, Wollongong Writers Festival is set to take a new twist and flavour to the creative community. With the release

a.k.a: “How to meet your hero and then write a book with them” It’s official – JAMDICE is a thing! (That’s our name for James+Candice – seriously we tried all the other combinations and they were rubbish. Pox? Fatterson? Errmm…) Ned Kelly Award-winning author and Australian Writers’ Centre presenter Candice

We received an unexpected message from beyond from famous whodunnit author Agatha Christie. She wanted to congratulate us on our excellent milestone here at the Australian Writers’ Centre (we turned 10!). “I have gathered myself here to the drawing room to announce the conclusion I have come to. It is

Credit for image above: Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA – Couple in love at the 2010 Carnevale in Venice (IMG_9534a) CC BY 2.0 Birthday wishes don’t get much more eloquent than this one from famous playwright William Shakespeare. Yes, he took time away from the afterlife to congratulate us on reaching our 10th birthday milestone here at

Did you catch bestselling author and Australian Writers’ Centre presenter Kate Forsyth on TV recently? She was speaking about fairy tales – something of a source of inspiration to so many of her own stories. Take a look!

Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen wrote us a very elegant note delivered in a ghostly (but very proper) fashion. She wanted to wish us happy birthday (we’re 10!) “From the very beginning— from the first moment, I may almost say — of my acquaintance with Australian Writers’ Centre, your manners,

The irrepressible Ernest Hemingway gulped a dry martini at the bar of the Afterlife then stood at his typewriter to write this congratulatory note to us. He wanted to wish us a happy 10th birthday from beyond … “I’ve always loved the moveable feast of tutored courses all year round –