What does it take to create a bestselling novel?
By Allison Tait. Every author, whether aspiring or emerging or established, dreams of writing a bestseller. A book that will rocket up the sales charts,
3 ways beta readers can improve your manuscript
By Angela Slatter. In your travels as a new writer, you’ve probably heard the term ‘beta reader’ but you might not quite know what that
Q&A: “Couldn’t care less” vs “could care less”
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
Tips for introverts going to a writer’s festival
Overwhelmed by the crowds and bustle of your local writers’ festival? Breaking out in a cold sweat at the very thought of making connections when
Writing Podcast Episode 494: Kathy Reichs on her latest thriller ‘Cold Cold Bones’
Queen of Crime Kathy Reichs, author of Cold Cold Bones. What you need on your author website and more. You can listen to the episode
COMP CLOSED ‘The Bellbird River Country Choir’ by Sophie Green
‘Heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz’ – The Australian Women’s Weekly This week’s giveaway book is a warm-hearted story of
Why authors need landing pages – and what to put on them
By Allison Tait. When people talk about landing pages, writers seem to look the other way, assuming that landing pages are for people with, I
Copywriting Podcast Episode 041: How to face criticism and build resilience, with guests Zara and Troy Love
Criticism. We’ve all had it and for as long as we continue to be copywriters we’ll continue to get it. But it’s how we deal
Congratulations to Australian Writers’ Centre graduates in the Queensland Literary Awards
Congratulations to Al Campbell and Sandhya Parappukkaran, both Australian Writers’ Centre graduates, who are finalists in the Queensland Literary Awards 2022! Al Campbell is author
Q&A: Origin of “eat your heart out”
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
The 5 Ps on how to get the most out of a writer’s festival
What are the five Ps for making sure you have the best writers festival experience? Planning, pre-Booking, packing a lunch, remembering to make time for
Video: Sarah Vaughan on ‘Reputation’ and ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’
Sarah Vaughan studied English at Oxford and went on to become a journalist. She spent eleven years at The Guardian as a news reporter and
Writing Podcast Episode 493: Patti Miller on her latest memoir ‘True Friends’.
Patti Miller on her latest memoir True Friends. AWC graduates in The Guardian and The Sydney Morning Herald. Great read-it-later apps – and more. You
COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Cult Classic’ by Sloane Crosley
‘So good. I couldn’t stop reading it’ – NICK HORNBY This week’s giveaway is a comic mystery about love, memory, and mind control from New
A tax time checklist for writers
By Allison Tait. In case you missed it, the financial year ended a few weeks ago in a flurry of retail sales and dire warnings
SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition returns for 2022
Calling all aspiring writers to get their pens ready for the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition 2022. It opens on 16 August 2022 and will be
Q&A: Why do we raise a “TOAST”?
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its
Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Naomi Hart publishes her memoir
Naomi Hart had spent several years preparing her debut memoir and was thrilled when it was picked up for publication. While going through the publication process, she decided she would take the opportunity to add to her writing skillset, so she enrolled into Freelance Writing Stage 1.
Own the fact you’re a writer in your bio
Few writers enjoy the process of writing their author bio and many succumb to the siren song of imposter syndrome and downplay their author credentials.
Video: Matthew Ryan Davies on ‘Things We Bury’
Matthew Ryan Davies is also the author of Things We Bury and (as Matt Davies) This Thing of Darkness, a contemporary young adult novel about
Writing Podcast Episode 492: Kimberley Starr on her latest novel ‘The Map of Night’
Meet Kimberley Starr and her latest novel The Map of Night. Also: check out Readwise and discovering to write with what you’ve got. You can
COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Serendipity’ by Oscar Farinetti
This week’s giveaway book has been described as “a celebration of accidental success in the world of gastronomy”. A fascinating look at the happy accidents
Top 7 cosy mystery series to read right now
By Valerie Khoo. In the cold weather, is anything better than curling up with a nice cosy mystery? If you’re not sure what a cosy
2022 Furphy Literary Award winners and shortlist announced
The winners and shortlist of the 2022 Furphy Literary Award have been announced. Acclaimed writer and poet Cate Kennedy won the Award for her story
How Miranda Luby achieved her dreams of becoming a YA fiction author
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.
What does it take to create a bestselling novel?
By Allison Tait. Every author, whether aspiring or emerging or established, dreams of writing a bestseller. A book that will rocket up the sales charts, whether propelled by word of mouth or prize-winning status, dragging its writer behind it into a dream life of champagne and literary lunches. Whether the
3 ways beta readers can improve your manuscript
By Angela Slatter. In your travels as a new writer, you’ve probably heard the term ‘beta reader’ but you might not quite know what that means. So, what’s a beta reader? A beta reader is someone who reads through your completed manuscript and gives their feedback. So, not just someone
Q&A: “Couldn’t care less” vs “could care less”
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we have “care less” whispers…
Tips for introverts going to a writer’s festival
Overwhelmed by the crowds and bustle of your local writers’ festival? Breaking out in a cold sweat at the very thought of making connections when you don’t know anybody there? If that describes you, fellow introvert (and Australian Writers Centre CEO) Valerie Khoo offers some great tips for meeting new
Writing Podcast Episode 494: Kathy Reichs on her latest thriller ‘Cold Cold Bones’
Queen of Crime Kathy Reichs, author of Cold Cold Bones. What you need on your author website and more. You can listen to the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or add the podcast RSS feed manually to your favourite podcast app. Links mentioned in this episode Congratulations to Australian
COMP CLOSED ‘The Bellbird River Country Choir’ by Sophie Green
‘Heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz’ – The Australian Women’s Weekly This week’s giveaway book is a warm-hearted story of fresh beginnings, unexpected friendships and the sustaining power of love and community. It’s The Bellbird River Country Choir by Sophie Green, the Top Ten bestselling
Why authors need landing pages – and what to put on them
By Allison Tait. When people talk about landing pages, writers seem to look the other way, assuming that landing pages are for people with, I don’t know, products to sell. The fact is, though, that if you are an author, with a book to sell, you have a product. Not
Copywriting Podcast Episode 041: How to face criticism and build resilience, with guests Zara and Troy Love
Criticism. We’ve all had it and for as long as we continue to be copywriters we’ll continue to get it. But it’s how we deal with it that makes all the difference. It can set us up to be better at what we do or it can cut us to
Congratulations to Australian Writers’ Centre graduates in the Queensland Literary Awards
Congratulations to Al Campbell and Sandhya Parappukkaran, both Australian Writers’ Centre graduates, who are finalists in the Queensland Literary Awards 2022! Al Campbell is author of the incredible novel The Keepers. As a graduate of several Australian Writers’ Centre courses, including the Write Your Novel program, Al’s wonderful story has
Q&A: Origin of “eat your heart out”
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, it’s the heart of the
The 5 Ps on how to get the most out of a writer’s festival
What are the five Ps for making sure you have the best writers festival experience? Planning, pre-Booking, packing a lunch, remembering to make time for pleasure, and purchasing great books! Find out why these five Ps make such a difference with Australian Writers’ Centre CEO Valerie Khoo, onsite at Sydney
Video: Sarah Vaughan on ‘Reputation’ and ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’
Sarah Vaughan studied English at Oxford and went on to become a journalist. She spent eleven years at The Guardian as a news reporter and political correspondent before leaving to freelance and write fiction. Her first thriller, Anatomy of a Scandal, was an instant international bestseller, translated into twenty-two languages,
Writing Podcast Episode 493: Patti Miller on her latest memoir ‘True Friends’.
Patti Miller on her latest memoir True Friends. AWC graduates in The Guardian and The Sydney Morning Herald. Great read-it-later apps – and more. You can listen to the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or add the podcast RSS feed manually to your favourite podcast app. Links mentioned in
COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Cult Classic’ by Sloane Crosley
‘So good. I couldn’t stop reading it’ – NICK HORNBY This week’s giveaway is a comic mystery about love, memory, and mind control from New York Times bestselling author and two-time Thurber Prize finalist Sloane Crosley. It’s brand new, it’s called Cult Classic and we have three to be won.
A tax time checklist for writers
By Allison Tait. In case you missed it, the financial year ended a few weeks ago in a flurry of retail sales and dire warnings about how the tax office is planning a crackdown in 2022 after a couple of years of benevolence due to the pandemic. The 21/22 financial
SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition returns for 2022
Calling all aspiring writers to get their pens ready for the SBS Emerging Writers’ Competition 2022. It opens on 16 August 2022 and will be judged by acclaimed Australian writers Alice Pung and Christos Tsiolkas, who are looking for enticing stories that follow the theme of ‘Emergence’. From the press
Q&A: Why do we raise a “TOAST”?
Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’d like to raise a
Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Naomi Hart publishes her memoir
Naomi Hart had spent several years preparing her debut memoir and was thrilled when it was picked up for publication. While going through the publication process, she decided she would take the opportunity to add to her writing skillset, so she enrolled into Freelance Writing Stage 1.
Own the fact you’re a writer in your bio
Few writers enjoy the process of writing their author bio and many succumb to the siren song of imposter syndrome and downplay their author credentials. Find out how to own the fact you’re a writer from the very first line with Australian Writers’ Centre CEO Valerie Khoo.
Video: Matthew Ryan Davies on ‘Things We Bury’
Matthew Ryan Davies is also the author of Things We Bury and (as Matt Davies) This Thing of Darkness, a contemporary young adult novel about guilt, grief, love and forgiveness set in modern-day Melbourne. As a manuscript, This Thing of Darkness was highly commended in the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. He’s
Writing Podcast Episode 492: Kimberley Starr on her latest novel ‘The Map of Night’
Meet Kimberley Starr and her latest novel The Map of Night. Also: check out Readwise and discovering to write with what you’ve got. You can listen to the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or add the podcast RSS feed manually to your favourite podcast app. Links mentioned in this
COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Serendipity’ by Oscar Farinetti
This week’s giveaway book has been described as “a celebration of accidental success in the world of gastronomy”. A fascinating look at the happy accidents that have led to some of the world’s most tastiest delights. It’s called Serendipity, by Oscar Farinetti – and we have three copies to be
Top 7 cosy mystery series to read right now
By Valerie Khoo. In the cold weather, is anything better than curling up with a nice cosy mystery? If you’re not sure what a cosy mystery is, it’s a subgenre of crime fiction where the main character is often an amateur sleuth. There is minimal graphic violence or explicit sex
2022 Furphy Literary Award winners and shortlist announced
The winners and shortlist of the 2022 Furphy Literary Award have been announced. Acclaimed writer and poet Cate Kennedy won the Award for her story ‘Art and Life’, with second prize awarded to Lisa Moule for ‘The Game’. And Natalie Vella has been awarded third place for her story ‘Winter
How Miranda Luby achieved her dreams of becoming a YA fiction author
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.
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