Karen Wasson had wanted to be a writer since she was a child. So, after a career spent in film and television, she recently decided it was time to finally pursue her dream of becoming a children’s book author.
Needless to say, the fact you’re reading about Karen now suggests that dreams come true! In fact, after completing multiple courses at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Karen has achieved remarkable success with two published books, both via Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing – a non-fiction picture book Drop into the Ocean and a middle-grade graphic novel Inked. The latter was chosen as QBD’s book of the month, selling out before hitting shelves, and is now being translated into Dutch and German!
Building the foundation
Like many aspiring authors, Karen hadn’t always seen writing as a viable career path. “When I was at school, it wasn’t clear to me that being an author was a job. If you wanted to be a writer you could work in advertising, as an academic or as a journalist, not as an author!”
Karen’s background in film and television provided some skills, but she knew she needed comprehensive training to write books for children.
“Through my film and TV studies and work, I had written and developed screenplays, which helped me understand narrative structure,” she says. “However I still knew that there was a lot I didn’t know when it came to writing a book and wanted a course that would teach me everything I needed to know to become a children’s author. When I came across the AWC, it was clear that they had courses which would do just that.”
The courses – including Writing Picture Books and Writing Children’s Novels – provided essential industry knowledge that proved invaluable. “I would say the most useful thing I found was the information on how the publishing industry works. How you should approach and submit to publishers. What goes into a pitch and what publishers might be looking for,” Karen explains. “I also discovered the importance of connecting with other writers. People who understand what you're going through because they’re going through it too.”
Karen also completed courses in writing humour for kids (Laugh Out Loud) and Writing Chapter Books for 6-9 Year Olds to round out her growing knowledge bases.
“[The courses have] given me the confidence to put my work out there and to become a published author. Something I never knew I could be!” she says. “Even though there wasn't a specific course on writing a graphic novel, the courses at the AWC gave me the confidence to mush together my knowledge of screenwriting with what I learnt through the AWC.”
Breaking into the industry
Karen’s breakthrough came when she entered her graphic novel manuscript in a writing competition.
“I entered the manuscript for Inked in Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing 2022 Ampersand Prize. It was the first year that the competition had been open to graphic novels,” she explains. “I figured that with the knowledge and skills I had, I could give it a red hot go!”
Inked tells the story of Sid, a 12-year-old who discovers a talking octopus in his family’s fish shop. “Otto the octopus is obnoxious, demanding and won't leave Sid alone until he helps Otto get to the ocean which is roughly 300 kilometres away!” Karen says. The story was also deeply personal: “My eldest is autistic and I have watched him struggle with bullies and in navigating social situations. I wanted him to be able to see himself in a book.”
It exceeded all expectations. “I submitted the manuscript and then began looking for other places I might be able to submit it. I wanted some more options up my sleeve so that when the shortlist came out and Inked wasn’t on it, I had somewhere else to send it. The joke was on me because Inked was shortlisted!”
Hardie Grant teamed Karen up with talented illustrator Jake A. Minton (pictured) to ‘ink’ her words into its final graphical form. “It was a long process, but it was so worth it,” Karen says. “With an amazing team, we've created something we couldn't have created on our own. The feedback I've been receiving from kids since it has been published has been so heartwarming.”
Karen’s other book, Drop into the Ocean (illustrated by Marta Tesoro and published through Hardie Grant’s Explore imprint), is a non-fiction picture book for children aged 6+ and showcases her love of fascinating facts. “Seventy per cent of our planet is ocean and that ocean is home to literally trillions of creatures,” she says. “I adore discovering amazing facts and sharing them with anyone who will give me the time of day.”
The moment of seeing her work published still feels strange. “It still doesn't seem real! To go into a bookshop and see the book that you wrote sitting on a shelf or in the front window. It’s very surreal.”
It’s never too late
Karen now successfully balances her writing career with family responsibilities and running a small business with her husband. “Writing for me isn’t always working on a manuscript. It might involve admin like booking school visits or workshops. I also work on shorter pieces for kid’s magazines and there is always research to be done whatever I might be writing, these things are good to fit into the cracks.”
Her journey also proves that just because you’ve had another career, it’s never too late to pursue your dreams. “When I was younger, I loved books by people like Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and Eva Ibbotson,” Karen says. “I had no idea that the people crafting the stories in these books were people just like me! When I started doing courses with the AWC, I started to believe it might be possible to be a published author one day.”
And if anyone else Karen knows is considering a writing journey? “I tell them not to hesitate. If anyone ever tells me that they’ve thought about writing, I send them to the AWC!”
You can follow Karen’s writing journey on Instagram @karenwasson_author. She currently resides in suburban Melbourne on lands belonging to the Boonwurrang people of the Kulin nation.
Courses taken at AWC:
- Writing Picture Books
- How to Write for Children and Young Adults (now called Writing Children's Novels)
- Laugh Out Loud
- Writing Chapter Books for 6-9 year olds
