Category: Writing news

5 ways to improve your writing MOJO

We’re only a few weeks in but this year has already been a rough ride, with so many other things to distract and deter you from your wordsmithery. So as the entrance gates to Twenty Twenty start to fade in the rear-view mirror, it’s a great time... read more

Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature 2020 shortlist announced

Thirty seven writers have been shortlisted in the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. This is a highly prestigious award with $167,000 of prize money up for grabs. The prize began in 1986 with previous winners including Tim Winton, Helen Garner, Richard Flanagan and Gail Jones. We’re cheering extra... read more

Furious Fiction December 2019 winner and shortlist

It was the day before Christmas and throughout the world, writers sat waiting and curiosity swirled.  Whose holiday was about to get merrier? Let’s find out – here were the criteria... Each story had to include SOMETHING EITHER BEING SENT OR RECEIVED IN THE MAIL. Each story had to include... read more

An amazing year of published books by AWC alumni and presenters

Nothing makes us prouder here at the Australian Writers’ Centre than seeing writers reach their publishing dreams. Over the years, our students have published hundreds of books, and 2019 has been another amazing year of success. From short stories to novels, picture books to picturesque romances, non-fiction, historical fiction... read more

Writing Picture Books in Perth

It was a hot weekend in November when we held our Writing Picture Books course in Perth, the last for 2019. Five students from across the city got together to spend two days learning about the craft of picture books with award-winning author Judith Rossell. In fact, one particularly... read more

Writing Picture Books in Brisbane

Our Brisbane classroom was buzzing earlier this month, with children’s author Zanni Louise leading the weekend Writing Picture Books course. “The course went really well,” Zanni told us. “There was a very warm, positive energy, and heaps of great story ideas.” A typical Writing Picture Books classroom course will... read more

12 opportunities for memoir writers

Whether you want to explore a difficult period in your life, remember a thrilling adventure, or share your personal journey, almost everybody has an interesting life story to tell. If you’re keen to try out memoir writing, or if you’ve been working on your life story for some... read more

New children’s literature prize from HarperCollins

Do you write middle grade or young adult fiction? We are excited to share with you this new competition. The Matilda Literature Prize is a brand new inaugural prize from the folks at HarperCollins. The winner of this prize will receive a publishing deal and a $10,000 advance against... read more

OPEN NOW: The Penguin Literary Prize 2019

The Penguin Literary Prize 2019 is now open for submissions. Do you have an unpublished manuscript burning a hole in your proverbial drawer?  The Penguin Literary Prize value is a whopping $20,000 with the winner also receiving a book every month for a year. Plus, winners have the potential... read more

Literary festival in Tasmania’s Huon Valley

What could be more sumptuous than spending a week in Tasmania’s Huon Valley as part of a literary festival? The Terror Australis Readers and Writers Festival is a new biennial literary festival.  This year’s event will be from 31 October to 5 November 2019 and held in the... read more

VOTE: Do you prefer coffee or tea when you write?

This week, we need your help to settle a debate that’s been raging in the AWC office – and no doubt throughout history. (No pressure!) Tea and coffee have both been trusty companions of writers for many centuries. More than 300 years ago, author Jonathan Swift stated that "coffee makes... read more

Why we love our listener community!

We asked for a parade and we got one! When our podcast So You Want To Be A Writer celebrated episode #300 recently, we offered a 30-book pack as a party favour and asked our wonderful listener community to help create the party.  Entrants had to answer this question... read more

Furious Fiction turns 21 and fans sign the card

Furious Fiction this month celebrates 21 months of fantastic flash fiction fun! So to get into the party spirit, we bought one of those huge novelty cards and passed it around some of our biggest fans for them to each say nice things (sniff… you GUYS!... now we’re getting... read more

Richell Prize for Emerging Writers 2019 Longlist Announcement

We’re thrilled that five Australian Writers’ Centre alumnae have been announced on the Richell Prize Longlist for 2019. Congratulations to Jennifer Carlisle, Lauren Draper, Kylie Orr, January Gilchrist, and Sarah Fiddelaers. All super talented writers! Over 700 entries were received and 21 writers have been announced on this year... read more

Lesley Gibbes has a hit with ‘Searching for Cicadas’

Above: Lesley Gibbes with her book Searching for Cicadas AWC presenter Lesley Gibbes is no stranger to cicadas. “They are the soundtrack of my childhood,” she says. “My own summertime garden is full of cicadas.” So Lesley didn’t have to reach far for inspiration for her latest picture book... read more

Our favourite 29-word stories…

Last week, we asked you to come up with a story that was exactly 29 words in length. No more, no fewer. But that wasn’t all. We also wanted the first and last word to be the same. And finally, we wanted this story to take us somewhere, somehow... read more

7 short story competitions with huge prizes

There are lots of reasons why you might enter short story competitions. They’re a great incentive to help you finish and hone your story. They’re also an excellent opportunity to get your story in front of famous judges – who could be agents, publishers or writers. And of course... read more