What’s it like to learn with AWC?

The tutor seemed to know what she was talking about and offered realistic feedback based on what is considered favourably by publishers.

I enjoyed getting to practice writing and receive feedback.

I now understand the process of writing picture books better and feel more equipped to go on to publish work.

The course is achievable and offers something fun and different for you to do. You'll definitely gain some new knowledge.

I have always loved picture books and wanted to write but it never seemed to be the right time. I decided that now it was and I had been thinking about completing this course to get me motivated and give me the skills and confidence to start.

I really loved this course. It was relevant, motivational, informative, interesting, and very practical.

I was very impressed with how quickly Zanni assessed our work and provided helpful and encouraging feedback. I found her points were well-considered and professionally delivered. She gave constructive advice on how to improve our manuscripts which was very helpful.

I think it's just given me some very specific information regarding picture books and simply written stories for children and the importance of showing rather than telling in my stories. It's given me more confidence to write and believe that perhaps I could create something good enough to achieve publication if I work really hard and continue to refine my stories and submit them to publishers when the stories are ready.

This was a great course. I learnt so much about writing picture books and about myself as a writer. Thank you. I am excited to continue to use these skills to write more stories and submit them to publishers.

Zanni was a wonderful tutor, it was a pleasure to see she is committed to helping others achieve their dreams.

It makes you look at things so different, ‘oh there’s a story in that’ and the confidence it brings that it is actually possible to get your book published. I look forward to putting pen to paper now.

I have learnt so much from this course and I am looking forward to where this will take me next on my writing journey.

If anyone is thinking of doing this course I would highly recommend it.

Picture books often seem magical and doing this course is like being given the spell book that tells you all the ingredients you need to create one of these deceptively simple books. From structure and story arc to language and characters, this course has it all. I know that I'll be referring back to the notes often as I construct more stories to send out into the world.

If you're interested in writing or even learning about picture books this is something worth investing in! It's packed full of information and tips and you'll never look at a picture book in the same way again.

There is a lot to learn and writing children's picture books is more complex than I originally thought.

It was great to have a currently published picture book author as a tutor. Her perspective was amazing!

I also liked reading through other people's ideas and stories, it was great to see how other people wrote and to think about what I might do differently with the same piece. The course was a good opportunity to try out a few ideas that had been bubbling around in the brain for quite a while, with mixed results!

The Writing Picture Books course with AWC was fantastic. Professionally presented audio content and useful information in each week's handouts. It was great to see other students developing and improving throughout the course. Zanni gave some specific feedback to help move my writing forward in such a specialised area. If anyone is keen to find out more about writing picture books and an overview of the publishing process, this would be a great course to get started with.

The tutor was knowledgeable, informed and interested. I enjoyed the assignments and feedback sessions.

When posting assignments - I realised that I really DO love writing and writing under pressure. It was a really fun and really productive course.

I really feel motivated to push forward with the pursuit of a career in picture books and/or publishing.

I enjoyed the challenge and the online lessons that I was able to listen to anytime.

The AWC gave me the confidence and support to try something that I've been interested in trying for a long time.

Zanni provided kind, constructive feedback overall and seemed to look for the strengths in every piece.

The content delivery is excellent - the mix of handouts, audio and feedback makes for an enjoyable learning experience.

It has encouraged me to keep writing and makes me feel that getting published is not always easy but it is possible with preparation, practice, networking and by getting to know the industry well.

Thank you to Zanni and the AWC. I was very pleased with the decision to complete this course. It was enjoyable and I feel much more knowledgeable about children's picture books.

Thank you for providing a wonderful course with a spectacular, insightful and supportive teacher. Zanni was very knowledgeable, fair and supportive. I enjoyed the creativity and the challenge.

I definitely feel that this is an avenue I wish to pursue and that I may have some success in.

I look forward to enrolling in more courses.

It was a good valued introductory course to learning how to put together a children's picture book. The feedback was useful and succinct.

I enjoyed reading children’s books again, haven't done that in many years. Learning about all the little intricacies of this industry.

It's inspired me to write my book, and I'm enrolling in the Masterclass for that assistance.

The Australian Writers' Centre provides courses by people who have been there and done that, and will guide you to achieve your dream.

I've always loved to write stories for children, but I knew that I needed help to perfect my craft. I'd heard very good reviews for this course so I gave it a try. I didn't enrol earlier because finance has always been an issue for me and I wasn't sure if the course would be worth it as it was only 5 weeks long. But I was wrong!

Zanni was an excellent tutor. You could see that she had the experience and the knowledge of a picture book writer. Her feedback was honest and constructive, but always positive. She wouldn't just tell you that something needed work, but would also provide suggestions on how to fix it. I'm incredibly happy that Zanni was my tutor.

I enjoyed being able to connect with like-minded people, encouraging each other and being inspired by their work. You build a real sense of community, even though you're based online.

I have more confidence, not only in my ability as a writer, but also the confidence to be able to approach publishers. I feel that I have a more solid foundation, which will make it easier to stand behind my books.

The Australian Writers' Centre is not just a teaching resource but a real community. The connections you make with your tutors and others are so valuable. Everyone is positive and encouraging; you come away from each session feeling revived and refreshed. The tutors really know their craft. I've never learned so much in such a short amount of time. 100% worth it!

I have had some books accepted for publication with a small publisher but I know I have a lot to learn. I had ideas for other books and had written a rough draft of another so I decided to use this course to improve my writing and learn more about the writing process.

I really liked the structure of the course and thought 5 weeks was a great introduction into the world of writing picture books. I work well to a deadline so I found the module each week with submission by Sunday 11:59 worked well and fit easily into my schedule.

I really enjoyed the feedback provided by Zanni not just for my submissions but for the other students as well. I found some great information in her reviews and feedback that I have incorporated into my current drafts. The challenge to create new stories and incorporate the feedback. The information in each module gave a great understanding of requirements. I think each component was introduced in a great way without being too overwhelming.

Honestly, I really enjoyed the format of it that I would love to continue with structured writing like this, but I think the course was perfect the way it was. The right length, right amount of information, and great feedback.

I have already incorporated the ideas into my current drafts but it has also given me some insight into why my books have stalled with my publisher. There are some bits of information that I hadn't sent through as I wasn't sure what it was asking and now I know. Definitely less is more with picture books. I had been writing to give clues to the reader and illustrator but I have learned to trust my writing and let the story give the clues.

The course is well structured and you will find great information here. I am actually going to recommend this to a lady I know who would like to enter into children's book illustrating.

After googling many authors, groups and courses, I decided to go with AWC after hearing from other authors what a fantastic group it was. I was impressed with the course content that was delivered in such a short time.

Zanni had wonderful feedback that was motivating and knowledgeable.

I enjoyed simply allowing myself to give it a go. I have realized the difficulty in producing a picture book - a lot more complicated than had been thought! I have sparked an interest in following on and gaining a deeper understanding of my own writing. I have a long road ahead!

Impacts:
- Engaging my senses to assist with my writing.
- Contacts that I will use to gain more knowledge and understanding of writing.
- Planning the future to include writing and publishing a picture book
- Learning more about writing!

INDEED go ahead! Choose from the many courses available and get involved in the contact groups and lists of resources made available.

Thank you for sparking my interest even further!

I wanted to refresh on the basics of writing picture books. Online was a good option and only took 5 weeks. It was affordable too.

I enjoyed the course, the materials were comprehensive and the mix of audio and handouts was good. I like that there was a place to ask questions and got some helpful comments from other participants.

I feel I'm starting in a better place with drafting picture books now, like I'm not starting 5 steps behind. It was also good to focus on improving skills rather than the pandemic and all that is wrong and scary in the world.

If you're seriously interested in writing a picture book, then do the course. Without it you'll waste a whole lot of time getting nowhere.

I made the decision that it was finally time for me to get back into writing. I wanted to brush up on my skills and liked the idea of having something that would motivate me and get me back into the habit of writing everyday.

... it's amazing! ... I learnt so much, not least of which was how to make writing a priority again. Zanni was fantastic. She was encouraging yet clear about the things that could be changed or improved.

I've written three new picture book manuscripts during the course and managed to reintegrate writing into my daily life. I also now have clear direction in what I want to do moving forward.

Thank you! I've absolutely loved it!

I want to start writing children’s books and when I came across this course I thought it could really give me a taste of what it’s all about and what I need to do.

I think Zanni gave constructive feedback which was great. I enjoyed all the weekly assignments and the way that it was designed so that you could see what everyone else was doing and hear their feedback too. I also liked the comments page.

I’ll have to see what happens with my writing from here but I definitely feel like I have a much better understanding of what I need to do and the process involved.

The course was very informative and user friendly.

I always had a dream to write picture books. I decided to jump right in.

The audio lessons were great as it meant I could come and go as needed. Very happy with how much information was given. I feel there was a lot more involved than I imagined.

I am very happy with the feedback given.

It has made me more determined to get a book published.

The tutor was professional and encouraging, with excellent advice and knowledge.

I enjoyed learning together as a group, submitting work, and receiving feedback.

I now have a greater insight into the writing scene, particularly publishing, and the confidence to keep trying, practising, and improving.

Invaluable information given, excellent and professional advice specific to your writing, great to learn in a group.

Thank you!

I wanted to learn about writing books for children and was recommended this course by a friend. The outline seemed relevant and achievable. I was nervous and apprehensive about sharing my writing.

The information was comprehensive and relevant. Zanni was honest and encouraging in her feedback. I don't think she said nice things just for the sake of saying them; she was keeping it real.

There was a lot of information provided and I found the handouts a great summary to print out and keep. The audio files were good sized chunks of information and clearly delivered.

I learnt there was so much more to writing picture books than I thought. I enjoyed being creative and sharing my stories but also found it to be quite nerve-wracking waiting for feedback after each assignment. It was good to stretch myself and do something quite different.

I felt proud of myself, despite knowing I will never become a picture book writer, apart from stories for my grandchildren, that is.

I would definitely recommend AWC to others! The amount of relevant, up to date and useful information was more than I expected and will stand me in good stead for any future writing I do. As a successful blogger I felt inadequate when it came to writing and this was good for me; it made me grow! Thanks to everyone involved.