What’s it like to learn with AWC?
Each year, thousands of students just like you achieve their writing goals through our courses and world-class presenters. Here they share how their new-found skills and confidence enriched their life.
I enjoyed the lessons (so informative) and assignments.
I want to keep writing, learn more about writing, and strive for publication.
I have already recommended this course to a friend who has an idea for a children's picture book. I just said, you should definitely do this course!
I look forward to enrolling again soon. I'm keen to do the Masterclass next.
The Masterclass exceeded my expectations. I learnt so much. Changed the way I look at a picture book!
Awesome course to complete as a new writer.
Pamela was very knowledgeable and supportive in all our writing even though we were all writing on different topics. She was able to provide feedback quickly regardless and was able to understand where we were headed. I would highly recommend Pamela to anyone!
I enjoyed learning about new aspects about writing every week, the content and the supportive environment.
The course broke down all aspects of writing in bite size pieces which gave me the confidence to explore each component in a nurturing space. I feel confident to continue writing and challenging myself with the use of language and scenes.
I feel energised to continue writing even though I haven't written since high school (I am now 35!) so it's been a while... It's a craft that I would like to continue to learn and hone.
I was impressed by how practical and useful the course was - it's given me a way forward towards a first draft manuscript and lots of great advice about how to proceed.
Louisa's feedback was great, her feedback videos were one of the most personable aspects of the course and I enjoyed them every week. I liked the way she delivered feedback in batches, and it was very helpful to be able to hear her feedback for all of the course participants, not just for my work.
The assignments were great. I found the course hung together really well and I enjoyed the handouts and background materials.
I now have a plan to get the first draft of my manuscript written across the next 12 months. The character development work in this course helped me a lot with doing deeper thinking about my characters, and I found the "CMYK" exercise very, very helpful for rounding out my writing.
The feedback was constructive and the extra information given before feedback each week was useful.
I enjoyed learning about picture books and completing the assignments.
It's a great, well-structured course.
Loved it so much! I have learnt so much and use all the things daily. Easy to follow formulas and amazed by AI overview!
Loved the tutor - very engaging and funny too.
Content is great, you will learn a lot, easy to follow and self-paced.
I enjoyed the way each module was formatted, I knew what to expect and the length of time to work through each. The video clips and handouts offered clear, practical information. Ideas were repeated throughout to reinforce learning. The video clips were entertaining.
If you want to get started and motivated towards a writing career or hobby then the Australian Writers' Centre will offer you all the tools through a progressive system.
I was attracted to this course by the short duration, being able to access the lessons when it was convenient, and the content it covered. Once I looked it up, I knew I had to do it!
I have really enjoyed the experience and have valued the feedback. Cathie was honest and constructive.
I loved having the opportunity to write picture books.
I am more determined than ever to try and get a picture book published one day! I am keen to do the masterclass course now.
Give it a go, you have nothing to lose.
I found the parts about writing from the character's point of view and the "show don't tell" techniques to be extremely beneficial.
It was a well-structured and informative course.
This was my second course and it was excellent. A great place to learn writing techniques.
I was nervous as I come from a corporate background and a very different style of writing. Cathie provides valuable feedback and is very supportive so I was soon at ease. Great to have a mentor that is so experienced.
I have learnt so much not only about the writing, but the world of children's books. So many things I had no idea about. I am now so interested to continue to explore this amazing industry.
It's a fantastic course for someone with no writing experience or even those who are experienced. It caters for everyone.
It's a beautifully presented course that balances tuition with activities (i.e. giving you tasks to complete). I like that Kate Forsyth touches on intuition and the subconscious as well.
I loved the imagery used in the presentation notes. I enjoyed quietly following the course and taking on board advice from an experienced writer.
It gave me tools to actually start writing my story, instead of just thinking about it. Although I had written bits of my story, those bits lacked direction and a plot.
I realised: Yes! I can do this!
The AWC is a professional organisation that offers a range of courses and services that are helpful to writers.
Grant was knowledgeable and approachable. He delivered the content in an easy to digest way.
I can apply what I've learned at work straight away. I can see so many ways I can use AI in my writing and to be more efficient. I feel like I've got a whole new range of tools to use in practice.
I love the detailed prompts and the Notion website with all of the wonderful resources - such a generous amount of shared information.
I have already recommended several AWC courses. I love how applied all of the content is.
Grant is a wonderful tutor. The workshop was crammed full of information and I love that he has provided plenty of links and I understand there is even a link I can ask to be sent that will enable me to recap on the workshop itself.
I love that Grant has made it very easy to review details within the course and any aspect of the course.
From my experience (of this my first workshop with you) your workshops are fantastic.
Thank you for the session - appreciate your wealth of knowledge. I found the information useful and appreciated the opportunity to learn more about using AI.
The resources are fantastic - I have bookmarked these for future use. The script examples and resources will be great to look back on and create templates to suit my role.
Grant was great! It was really interesting to hear about his experience in adapting to and using AI. The structure of the course was excellent, each topic was relevant and informative with opportunities to be hands-on during the session. Grant has also provided an excellent (and generous) resource via the Notion site. This will also be an invaluable resource as I continue to learn about and work with AI.
I enjoyed learning about previously unknown platforms - Notebook LM and Perplexity -and having some easy to access frameworks to draft better prompts.
I feel more confident (and less like I'm cheating!) in using AI for work purposes. I'm quite excited about how this will enhance my creativity and written communication skills.
AWC courses are continually evolving to support all aspects of writing. I come away from each course learning something new and with a shot of writing confidence!
I always admire how Pamela seems to know our work, characters and our story quite intimately. She has a great ability to quickly assess our work and come up with exceptional tips. I feel safe and comfortable working with Pamela despite the rather confronting nature of the story.
It was great to work in a group and learn a lot from others' work as well. It formed some really nice bonds and relationships over and above the one we have with our tutor. I liked the interaction and the online sessions.
I feel like I have found the path I belong on. I feel as if getting published is almost a consequence of good writing and not the goal. Writing is what makes me happy, and while of course seeing someone sitting on a plane reading my novel would be amazing, the true satisfaction is crafting a story, resolving its issues, setting the pace, researching facts that give authenticity and crafting sentences that are meaningful is what truly brings joy to me.
I went to the Sydney Writers Festival as a result of this journey and fell in love with the community and want to be a part of that. I also participate in the Furious Fiction for some distraction and find it so fun. Yet to have a piece recognised but love the challenge.
The course was what was outlined and what I thought it would be. Pitching, synopsis, cover letters, etc.
I'm wiser now and understand the publisher's perspective better.
The AWC has a lot of good courses - join the community.

I love the way this course made me think and ask myself a lot of questions.
The world building module really helped me understand some aspect that I didn't think to include in my novel.
If you are looking to learn how to write and want to become a published author, check out the AWC and their courses that they offer. They're so insightful and really enjoyable.
Carli was brilliant. She has so much knowledge and conveys it well.
I enjoyed doing exercises, how to write a recipe, reaching out to magazines.
My friend and I have resurrected our Instagram account to do with food. The course has given me more confidence to start and finish my family cookbook. It's also inspiring how people are so passionate about food.
Just do it! We learn from everything we are inquisitive about.
What I've learned over the period of the course cannot be bottled! From the tutor's expertise, the course content and the interaction of all participants is what enabled me to not only achieve my goal, but supplied me with a true educational experience. It's the sum of these elements that holds this course's value. It was also interesting to be exposed to and reading across genres I'd never have considered.
This course was not my first with Pamela at the AWC. I was keen to do this particular course with her as the tutor. Pamela has a keen eye and a sharp mind and willingly shares from her broad experience and knowledge base within the industry. Her feedback is forthright, incisive, supportive and encouraging. Fortunately, she holds a good sense of humour too for what must be some hair-pulling moments from her end!
The structure. The accountability. The interaction with others experiencing the highs and lows of the journey alongside you. That you're not alone experiencing what more often than not seems overwhelming and soul crushing as well as head-spinningly exciting. Being buoyed along - and hopefully reciprocating - with positive reinforcement, "you've got this!" Because due to the course content and structure, you actually do! You write "The End" right on target! A most satisfying feeling.
I was surprised at the positive feedback on my writing. This in itself has been so completely rewarding, encouraging and satisfying. I feel a whole new avenue of opportunities has opened, and a door to a lovely new community has opened.
There are too many technical 'aha' moments in this course to choose just one. But ... a takeaway: that there is no set or one way to write your story. Write as it suits you, but you must write! Get the first draft down on the page and don't be afraid to ask for feedback.
I have recommended AWC to friends now without hesitation. The professional level of offering across the board is superb.