What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I certainly learnt a lot about how to write a picture book and now have 3 basic stories to work on. I know I still have a lot to learn but this has been a great introduction to writing for me.

Suzanne was always very positive with her feedback and I really appreciated the constructive comments. I think she helped us to develop our writing a little more each week.

Give it a go! If you are keen to write a picture book, this is a great starting point.

This was the best professional development course of any kind I have ever done, and the best, most explicit, useful creative writing course too - just packed with useful content.

The tutor was professional, prompt, tactful but direct. Excellent.

I enjoyed the huge amount of practical guidance in the audio content.

I know so much no now about how to write a publishable book and get it in front of a publisher and everything that comes after. I am very hopeful I can get one or more published now.

Do it! If you're serious about learning to write a picture book, this is the course.

I have been interested in learning more about writing picture books for children for many years. I liked the content of the course and the way I was able to do the course online in my own time.

The way it is presented is good. The handouts are interesting and informative. Suzanne presented the modules clearly and gave useful feedback for each of my assignments and always had something positive to say. I will go over her comments when I continue working on my stories.

I just love writing really. It makes me happy and I can't wait to write some more over the holidays.

I would recommend this course to others and I will be enrolling in further AWC courses in 2022.

The information is detailed and comprehensive and the activities extremely helpful. The tutor's feedback was positive and always gave something to work on.

I enjoyed seeing the shift in my writing because I was really practising and focussing. I now know how to go about writing a picture book from go to whoa.

The course is great. You can't go past it. It is intense because it is crammed with information and activity. Thanks for the opportunity.

A friend of my daughter suggested it to me when she heard I was thinking about trying to write a picture book. She recommended AWC. I wasn't confident that I could do it. I'm 69 years old and I haven't done any study for many years. I've never really done any writing.

Our tutor was very encouraging and her feedback was very helpful. I think we were given an amazing amount of information. And it's good to know we still have access after the course has finished.

I enjoyed reading the stories that my colleagues had written. Such amazing imaginations.

AWC is very organised, professional, helpful and full of information. The feedback is so beneficial and having contact with other online colleagues is very supportive and encouraging.

Thank you so much! I enjoyed the course very much.

A friend recommended this course to me. I wanted to learn the craft of writing only 500 words within 32 pages to tell a story suitable for picture books and young children. It was a challenge at first for me, but now I feel more confident in my writing.

My overall impression of my online tutor was that she was very helpful and the advice helped me see my mistakes. Therefore I rewrote, redrafted, and corrected my manuscript, which has made the manuscript more presentable for publishing. Excellent tutor.

For me the most enjoyable part is being able to log on at odd hours of the day, working around my family demands. I do also enjoy being able to download the notes to read over, and over.

I feel confident that I have three manuscripts ready to submit to publishers. I am also looking forward to finishing the other courses I am enrolled in at the AWC.

In learning about writing picture books, my 'aha!' moment was learning about the structure of the story, then everything just fell into place in my mind and on the page.

It is a great learning experience, generous with information and helping new writers achieve their goals.

I am determined to become a children's picture book author. This has started me in the direction to get started. The information was exactly what I needed at just the right time. It is a fantastic way to learn, with a high level of professionalism and great value for money.

The feedback was explicit giving great positives but really concise ways to improve. As a teacher myself I am really impressed with how effective Zanni's feedback was. It really motivated me.

The progression that it is taught in, being accountable to hand something in each week, Zanni's feedback, the course handouts, all made for an informative and rewarding course.

I am a published illustrator and author, but writing is not my strength. I have been wanting to learn the fundamentals to aid and improve my stories for submission.

I enjoyed the recordings that accompanied the text and modules. I found it preferable to reading alone and the additional videos and extra tasks have been also beneficial.

Zanni was very generous with her feedback and having her read everyone's stories with the feedback online was very useful and honest.

The content was thorough. I found having the class chat a useful and helpful platform for us to share and keep each other accountable. I enjoyed Zanni's recording her feedback for our projects and the exercises to complete.

This is an important place to start if you've ever wanted to write a picture book in an easy and informative way. Not only does it give you an overview of structuring, use of wording and pacing your story, you'll also learn about publishing and the importance of the illustrator's role when writing picture books.

It was great. It met the expectations I had based on my research on the website. Enjoyed every week learning something new and stretching myself by putting it into practice.

Lovely tutor, good at delivering feedback in a sensitive way and generous with her knowledge.

I was initially worried I couldn't handle the commitment on top of my existing family and work commitments but it wasn't a problem. The audio files meant I could listen and learn on the go while driving, walking or doing tedious tasks.

I want to do so many AWC courses now. I loved learning so much in 5 weeks. It was more meaningful and handled better then creative writing I did at university years ago.

I found Suzanne gave incredibly useful feedback in a manner which allowed me to improve my writing and move forward in my quest to become a published picture book author. My knowledge of many aspects of children's picture book writing has increased beyond measure.

If you would like to increase your knowledge on the skills needed to become a children's picture book writer, then this is the course for you!

The tutor's feedback was incredibly helpful! She was sensitive but was also very constructive. Lessons that have completely changed my outlook on writing for children's picture books. It was comprehensive and answered all the questions I've been searching for in one place.

This course will give you a thorough understanding of the children's picture book world. You'll touch on everything from writing and editing to research and submitting. The information is relevant and a great resource to look back on in the future.

Suzanne rocks!

I have written several books for my nieces and really wanted to develop that skill. I have completed a course here previously and always find the content easy to follow, clear and the price reasonable. I like the community it creates within the course group. Everyone is here for the same reason and all the feedback received from Suzanne and fellow classmates is constructive and supportive.

Suzanne was practical in her feedback. I feel that the advice given was constructive, supportive, clear and she didn't coddle us. There's nothing worse than being told your story is amazing, when all you want is feedback. Families are biased so it's useful having a tutor.

I enjoyed the freedom to write what you wanted and write different stories each week or work on the same one. There was no pressure to write a certain topic. Also, as always, reading everyone else's work and watching the skill of your fellow classmates improve is an added bonus.

I'm used to writing short stories where you have to be quite a bit more descriptive so it was really interesting and fun to learn the balance between author/illustrator.

The courses provided by AWC are fun, informative and have a wonderful sense of community. If you have ever thought about writing or are looking to sharpen your skills then this is the place for you.

Thanks - and see you for the next course.

I had some ideas for children's picture books and wanted to learn about the genre to guide/improve my writing and also to learn about making submissions.

I had 2 working drafts by the end of it that hadn't been conceived of at all before the course began, which was great.

Zanni gave terrific feedback - very supportive but also usefully specific in terms of ideas for further work and improvement.

It was fun seeing other participants' ideas and watching these develop.

The course was lots of fun and kick started me to get started on a couple of ideas that I will continue working on.

Thanks to Zanni and the other participants!

The course content opened my mind to see things through children's eyes, and how to use appropriate words. There are so many valuable lessons. Curiously, the importance of the 'three-act structure' makes so much sense, and this structure is explored thoroughly in this course.

Zanni is very insightful and came fully prepared with plenty of feedback that showed me where I tend to stray away from the three-act structure.

Other students' feedback and comments were really beneficial. Quite a buzz. Best course! It really showed me the core structural basics that are transferable across all formats and genres.

The courses are high standard and the self-paced aspect works perfectly. Wish I'd have studied this sooner.

I knew picture book writing was a finely honed craft with specific conventions, and I wanted to get clear, concrete information on this, as well as a sense of how the industry works, particularly expectations in presenting manuscripts to publishers. I was happy with the quality of the information covered in the modules.

Suzanne is very encouraging and constructive in her feedback and responded to questions promptly. It was good to have her insights as someone who works as an editor/publisher within the industry.

I liked the way the information in the modules was designed and structured, and released weekly rather than all at once. This made the course more dynamic i.e. to be a part of a small group receiving info, specific learning outcomes and deadlines each week with personalised tutor feedback. I also loved that the course allows each participant to get what they want from it and there's plenty of time to access the information afterwards.

From my earlier exposure at RMIT, I understood the incredible craft and perspiration it takes to write the best picture books, and the course cemented this well and truly, but it also offered important insights into the publishing side and great information on how to become immersed in the thriving children's writing community. I feel more confident now, though I know it's a pretty tough road to get published.

The course is very enjoyable and provides a solid foundation in the elements of the craft and up-to-date industry insights.

I was attracted to this course because it specialised specifically in writing picture books for children.

I found the handouts very helpful to follow while listening to the lectures. The extra exercises were helpful too. I found Suzanne's feedback was a good balance of encouragement and areas to improve. I found her comments about my and other students writing astute and specific enough to understand and make a change.

I enjoyed the lectures and completing the assignments. I enjoyed reading other students' writing.

I am keen to keep writing and improve my writing. I would like to maybe send something to a publisher and see how it goes.

A professionally presented and informative course.

I loved the course. I learnt so much in such a short period of time. Zanni was lovely. Great feedback. Very helpful.

It was informative from the start. A step-by-step, how to do program which was what I needed. I feel that I can actually do this.

If you want to write, do the courses.

Excellent format and Zanni provided valuable feedback at each stage as we progressed. I also felt there was great class support, loved how the group engaged. The content was enjoyable. Detailed feedback that I was able to apply to my story each week. The feedback was given in an encouraging way.

The course was engaging and well presented. It was also fun. I have more confidence and have gained skills, and knowledge to craft ideas into stories.

I already have recommended the AWC :) It's the presenters, it's the format, it has the edge!

Really great feedback - positive but constructive. I don't usually care for criticism (I'm so sensitive, I'm usually completely discouraged by it) but in this case I loved it and really enjoyed editing once I had guidance. It really improved my writing having people to bounce off and it gave me a lot of confidence in sharing my work.

At first the fact we had to openly share our work TERRIFIED me. However- the support from the other students REALLY surprised me. We have a Facebook group already and I am excited to continue these relationships and am hopeful see published works from our group members in the future :)

I set my self a personal goal of writing a new story each week and I did and I loved pushing myself for inspiration.

I really feel like I have found my true passion. It's so nice to feel inspired and pushed to write. And pushed to edit. And pushed to create good work.

Thank you. And many thanks to Zanni.

I have had a desire to write and illustrate children's books since I first started working with children in 2001. I've written countless books but all with ZERO structure or technical know-how. This course was exactly what I wanted and needed to push me into a mental and creative place that enabled me to hone whatever skill I may have and concentrate on making my original dreams come true.

Zanni was lovely. Her feedback style is encouraging as well as direct and honest - definitely a style that can and did push the likes of me to try new things and go further than the crippling self-doubt would otherwise allow.

I enjoyed the content and information. And definitely being encouraged, pushed and guided through the feedback and the classmates' group chat.

I had never written in prose before or considered any formal structure in my writing efforts prior to this course. I wrote, and write, simply because I enjoy it. The structure and tools provided gave me a new approach to writing and I immediately saw the benefits. After a while, I even found the fun in doing things the way they're supposed to be done. It also opened my eyes to how other writers have approached their books and why some work and some don't. It amazes me the number of books out there that have completely ignored the tools and techniques found within this course, and yet are still published.

Just a heartfelt 'Thank you'. This course was humbling and super-informative. I loved every second. Thank you.

Do it. If you want to learn how to write children's books - do this course.