This could be you | Australian Writers' Centre

Millie Lewis builds on her picture book success

“Writing Picture Books showed me that I could learn to master something I knew very little about (and trust me, there are transferable lessons there when it comes to parenthood!) For the first time since having a baby, I felt competent at something, and that was truly transformative for me,” Millie says. “Of course, getting a picture book contract the same year was icing on the cake!”

Bec Nanayakkara shares 5 tips for picture book success

For New South Wales-based picture book author Bec Nanayakkara, the past few years have been quite a whirlwind. A graduate of the Australian Writers' Centre Writing Picture Books course, Bec found success immediately with her first two books Grow Big, Little Seed and Book Star – published by Hardie Grant and Affirm Press respectively. And […]

Shankari Chandran: From lawyer to award-winning author

When Shankari Chandran took time out of her career as a lawyer to have her fourth child, she turned her hand to writing in between baby feeds and family demands. This pastime has turned into a new career and Shankari has now released her first novel The Barrier, a futuristic fast-paced thriller that has been compared to the works of Michael Crichton and Matthew Reilly.

Kell Woods finds international success as fantasy author

After studying a suite of courses, starting with Novel Writing Essentials, and including History, Mystery and Magic and Plotting and Planning, Kell’s publishing dream came true when she landed a two-book deal with publishing powerhouse Tor US. Kell’s debut novel, After the Forest, was published in 2023, with international publication by Titan Books in the UK and HarperCollins in Australia/New Zealand.

How Melissa Garside found children’s book publishing success

Melissa Garside always dreamed of becoming a published author, and her children’s novel, Lexie Moon & The Word Burgling Bungle, is out now with Riveted Press!

Bidding war as Emma Pei Yin publishes ‘When Sleeping Women Wake'

Emma Pei Yin has always loved stories, and she was constantly creating characters and worlds in her head. When she went looking for those stories on bookshelves, however, she discovered that there were hardly any Asian voices being published. So she decided to write her own – and the result is her debut novel, When Sleeping Women Wake – releasing in 2025 in Australia through publishers Hachette, in the UK via Quercus Books, and in the US through Ballantine.

Graci Kim completes middle grade trilogy with ‘The Last Fallen Realm'

Graci Kim has worked as a diplomat, cooking show host and even made kids' toys – but it was when she sat down to reread her favourite childhood novels that she discovered her passion.

How Emma Pignatiello went from teacher to romance author

The Australian Writers' Centre’s Romance Writing course came at just the right time for school teacher Emma Pignatiello. She had written three YA manuscripts and was working on a crime novel, but she realised that what she really loved was romance.

Claire Thompson inspires with her true-story picture books

Deciding to write picture books was literally a lightbulb moment for media and communications manager Claire Thompson. Each time she put her newborn baby in the carseat, the interior lights flashed on, so Claire and her four-year-old invented a story about a magic baby. She immediately realised she wanted to write a children’s book and enrolled in the course Writing Picture Books a few days later.

Shelley Dark’s writing group and travel memoir

Australian Writers' Centre graduate Shelley Dark has completed several courses with us. After completing our Write Your Novel program, Shelley formed friendships that evolved into a writers’ group – THE ALLWRiTE CLUB. We were delighted to hear that the group is still going strong. Many members of the writing group have gone on to secure […]