Karina May was working in digital marketing when she started dabbling in creative writing just for the fun of it – but she soon found herself hooked on the craft of storytelling. She voraciously attended courses at the Australian Writers' Centre, including two rounds of Write Your Novel with Pamela Freeman, which gave her the structure to complete her first manuscript. After signing a two-book deal with Pan MacMillan, Karina has now released her novel Duck à l'Orange for Breakfast.

“My earliest memories were of reading and writing and dreaming of becoming a full-time writer. Instead, I became a journalist and editor (the pay was better), thinking ‘one day’ I’ll turn my attention to fiction,” Susannah told us. “Well, that ‘one day’ had come! I rolled up my sleeves and learnt everything I could about how and where to start. Fortunately, one of the amazing resources I discovered was the Australian Writers’ Centre.”

When her youngest son was a toddler, Pamela Jones found herself with two whole free hours a week. Not wanting to waste that precious time on household chores, Pamela instead decided to do something delicious for herself: she enrolled in Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers' Centre.

Ryan completed the course Writing Picture Books, and then joined the Writing Picture Books Masterclass. He has now published his debut picture book, Elegy for an Elephant, a touching and important story that explores grief following loss through suicide, which he wrote and illustrated in consultation with mental health practitioners.

Helen Edwards had spent her life pursuing various careers, including social work, charity and interior styling, but what “beat inside her heart like a thousand tiny wings” was her desire to be an author. After completing her PhD in Psychology, she felt the time was now. She signed up for an Australian Writers' Centre course and immediately began work on her first manuscript. Fast forward a few more manuscripts, and Helen has published her debut middle grade novel The Rebels of Mount Buffalo with Riveted Press.

Vikki Marmaras was on maternity leave with her second child when she decided she needed a new challenge. She had been writing picture book manuscripts on and off for a few years, but didn’t feel like she was getting anywhere, so she signed up for the course Writing Picture Books.

When community health worker Bronwyn Hall found out she was going to be published she was delighted – and terrified! “Firstly, I felt a profound shock,” Bronwyn recalls. “It was a case of, ‘Really? I mean, have they thought it through?’ Thankfully, my anxiety faded and the happy came back when the editing started.” Bronwyn’s edge-of-the-seat debut thriller Gone to Ground is out now with HarperCollins and it’s already getting rave reviews.

Sarah Rodgers was talking to a friend about a novel manuscript she’d started a few years previously but hadn’t managed to finish. Her friend suggested that now was the right time to get back to work on it. That night, Sarah enrolled in the Write Your Novel program at the Australian Writers' Centre.

Kiralee Strong never imagined she would be a published author one day. But needing a creative outlet, she dived into the Writing Picture Books course with the Australian Writers' Centre and quickly caught the writing bug. Kiralee’s debut picture book, Hugs Still Feel the Same, is soon to be published by EK Books.

“I’m great at imagining things! I should also say that I’ve imagined winning an Oscar, but I’m yet to imagine what category it would be in,” Jo told us. “The part I struggle with is believing I’m a published author. I still feel like someone has made a mistake somewhere and I’m about to be found out.” But it is definitely not a mistake! Since completing Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers' Centre, Jo has published two picture books, which she also illustrated, and her middle grade novel Get Your Act Together, Doris Kozlowski, is out now with Affirm Press.

Veronica Lando grew up above a bookshop – so it was natural that she would dream of becoming a writer herself one day. She loved crime fiction, but was hesitant about how to start writing her own. After throwing herself into the world of writing, she can now say she is a published author, with the release of her crime thriller The Whispering.

Megan White loved to write during high school and university, but always in a wishful way. It was only after taking the course Creative Writing Stage 1 that she realised she could take her love of fiction further. “Creative Writing Stage 1 taught me how to write a scene which instantly changed the way I looked at writing,” Clare told us. “Having a little knowledge in craft meant I could begin to take writing a little more seriously. It meant that becoming a writer felt more attainable as something you could learn and practice and less about being a natural prodigy.”

Fiona Lloyd had assumed her creative writing aspirations were nothing but a childhood dream. But after deciding to reconnect to that former love, she threw herself into the writing community, attending writing events and completing the course Plotting and Planning at the Australian Writers' Centre. Fiona’s debut middle grade novel Being Jimmy Baxter has now been published by Puffin (Penguin Random House Australia).

“It might sound cheesy but the AWC courses changed my life! I finished a (very rough) first draft of my novel while I was in Scotland and haven't stopped writing since. The courses provided me with great foundation information, the basic building blocks for any novel writing. It is information I have retained and, through my writing groups, I've felt confident in sharing my learning with others.”

Having worked for years in the visual effects and animation industry, Richard Pritchard knew a lot about storytelling. But when he wanted to write a middle grade novel, he felt that he needed solid guidance, so he turned to the Australian Writers' Centre.

Matt decided to enrol in Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers' Centre and was hooked. Finally, he could put his picture book ideas into practice. After a meeting with an editor at Yellow Brick Books, Matt was offered a contract and his debut picture book The Other Side of the Clouds will be published this year.

Inda Ahmad Zahri likes to keep busy. As a working surgeon with a young family, she can now add 'published author' to her repertoire of achievements with the publication of her debut picture book Salih, out now with Ford Street Publishing. "I've wanted to be a published author since I was a little girl with my nose stuck in a book for most of the day (and night!). Writing was always an outlet for me," Inda says.  Inda is a self-confessed course junkie and knew that she would need structure, deadlines, and the best training available to make her publishing dreams come true. That's why she turned to the Australian Writers' Centre for its creative writing courses and community.

Ky Garvey had put aside dreams of being an author, thinking they weren’t compatible with having a ‘real job’ and paying the bills. But when she discovered the online course in creative writing at Australian Writers' Centre, she realised she could fit writing around her work and family commitments. And now Ky’s dreams have come true, with the publication of her debut picture book Easy Peasy with EK Books.

“I enrolled in Writing Children's Novels and became a much better writer for it,” Reece told us. “I took everything I’d learned and wrote a fourth manuscript, A Girl Called Corpse, and the rest is history!”

Miranda Luby was a confident copywriter in her professional career – but her dream of writing a novel remained elusive until she plunged into our writing courses. We were thrilled to hear that Miranda’s debut novel Sadie Starr's Guide to Starting Over has now been published by Text Publishing, so we chatted with the newly minted author of this wonderful young adult book to get all the juicy details about her writing life and success.

After moving from Sydney to a rural beef cattle property, Paula Stevenson found she had more time to devote to writing. Inspired by the stunning bushland in her new home and the with the arrival of her grandchildren, she became was inspired to write her own picture books and enrolled in Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers' Centre.

Bettina Deda originally started writing to find out more about her family history and to share their stories with her sons. With the help of Patti Miller’s Life Writing course, Bettina began to explore her own memories and experiences, culminating in the publication of her memoir Dare to Dance, published by Vpi Publishing.

Alex Sarkis had enjoyed writing on the side as a hobby from her day job working in accounts. But after ten years of dabbling on her own, she decided it was time to look for guidance by enrolling in a writing course with the Australian Writers' Centre.

Courses taken at AWC:
Creative Writing Stage 1
Fiction Essentials: Characters

Cathrine Mahoney had a successful career as a publicist for the likes of Sony Music, Channel Nine and Nova radio. So why did she make the decision to quit her day job?