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CJ Fentiman discovers her perfect career path writing about pets

After taking several courses at the Australian Writers’ Centre, CJ gained the confidence to write a book about her experiences of living in Japan and the cats she met along the way.

“These courses provided me with the skills I needed to develop my writing further and to meet like-minded people, so we could grow and nurture our creativity together,” CJ says.

CJ’s uplifting memoir The Cat with Three Passports is out now with Silver Vine Press, and it was an award-winning finalist in the Animals/Pets: Narrative Non-Fiction category of the 2021 International Book Awards.

Copywriting Podcast Episode 016: How to find your first copywriting client with Bernadette Schwerdt

You can’t get a job without work experience – but you can’t get work experience without a job. This age-old chicken-or-the-egg scenario stops talented copywriters

Enter now: The 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Awards

Do you produce written works in a digital format, e.g. ebooks, online essays, or more? This opportunity is for you! The 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary

Writing Podcast Episode 420 Meet Sam Buckerfield, co-author of ‘Generation Alpha’ [My journey]

In this episode, Valerie Khoo sits down with Sam Buckerfield, who has co-written a book called Generation Alpha. Now what’s interesting is that this is

Q&A: Faint vs feint

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

Congrats to the AWC alumni shortlisted for the 2021 $10,000 Text Prize

This week, Text Publishing announced the seven shortlisted manuscripts in the running for the $10,000 Text Prize for young adult and children’s writing – and

Writing Podcast Episode 419 Take a deep dive into ‘charming crime fiction’ with Pamela Hart, author of ‘Digging Up Dirt’.

We take a deep dive into the conventions and tropes in ‘charming crime fiction’ with Pamela Hart, author of Digging Up Dirt. Winner of flash fiction story stuns husband into silence. Plus, we have 3 copies of Book Club: A Journal to give away.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Book Club: A Journal’

Ever wish you had a place to capture your conversations about books? Join the club with this prompted journal. That’s right – this week we

AWC alumna Deborah Mackie wins the Wild Atlantic Writing Award

We were beyond excited to hear that Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Deborah Mackie has won the Wild Atlantic Writing Award for her short story “A

Writing Podcast Episode 418 Sophie Green discusses her latest novel ‘Thursdays at Orange Blossom House’ [Story Sessions series]

This ‘inbetweenisode’ is part of our Story Sessions series and features Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophie Green. This is another delightful novel about

Q&A: Spill the tea

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

Writing Podcast Episode 417 Meet Jacqueline Maley, author of ‘The Truth About Her’.

Meet Jacqueline Maley, author of ‘The Truth About Her’. Impress your friends and family with the word ‘otiose’. Plus, we have 3 copies of ‘The 22 Murders of Madison May’ by Max Barry to give away.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘The 22 Murders of Madison May’

This week’s giveaway is The 22 Murders of Madison May – a brand new crime/thriller novel with a twist from author Max Barry. We have

Copywriting Podcast Episode 015: How to get freelance work through an agency, with leading copywriting recruiter Vicki Anne Craigen

For many copywriters, finding paid work is problematic. You need to find the clients, do the negotiation, get the brief, do the invoicing, and much

Writing Podcast Episode 416 Mark Brandi discusses his latest novel ‘The Others’ [Story Sessions series]

This ‘inbetweenisode’ is part of our Story Sessions series and features ‘The Others’ by Mark Brandi. This is the latest novel from the bestselling Australian

Q&A: “Deus ex machina”

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

Author-illustrator Mandy Foot shares the creative process behind her gorgeous picture books

Mandy Foot has illustrated dozens of picture books with Hachette Australia. But when she decided to write her own story, she knew she had to

Furious Fiction June 2021 winner and shortlist

It was a descriptive June this month at Furious Fiction. These were the story criteria: Each story had to include (word for word) the following

Writing Podcast Episode 415 Meet Cristy Burne, co-author of ‘Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows’.

Meet Cristy Burne, co-author of ‘Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows’. Discover what’s happening at the Shoalhaven Readers and Writers Festival and learn about the Australia Book Design Awards. Plus, we have 3 copies of ‘Instructions for Dancing’ by Nicola Yoon to giveaway.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Instructions for Dancing’ by Nicola Yoon

Like Dirty Dancing – with a supernatural twist… We have a YA novel for our giveaway this week. But not just any YA novel. It’s

Writing Podcast Episode 414 L.A. Larkin discusses her latest novel ‘Widow’s Island’ [Story Sessions series]

This ‘inbetweenisode’ is part of our Story Sessions series and features ‘Widow’s Island’ by L.A. Larkin. This is the latest from bestselling author and queen

Q&A: “Down the pipe” vs “down the pike”

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

Craig Sheather reinvents his career to become a picture book author with ‘The Incredible True Story of Sparky the Wonder Puppy’

Craig Sheather is a freelance writer and journalist specialising in the great outdoors. But when travel restrictions limited his writing opportunities, he decided to reinvent himself – taking the Reinvent Yourself course at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Feeling inspired, he went on to do two courses for writing for kids: Writing Picture Books and Laugh Out Loud. Craig has now published his debut picture book The Incredible True Story of Sparky the Wonder Puppy, about a puppy who survived the bushfires.

Writing Podcast Episode 413 Meet Will Dean, author of ‘The Last Thing To Burn’.

You’ll meet Will Dean, author of ‘The Last Thing To Burn’. We have a recap of the Capricorn Coast Writers’ Festival to share with you. Plus, there are 3 copies of ‘Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia’ by Matt Murphy to give away.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia’

Australia and its formation – through the distorted view of a rum bottle. This week we have three copies of Rum: A Distilled History of

CJ Fentiman discovers her perfect career path writing about pets

After taking several courses at the Australian Writers’ Centre, CJ gained the confidence to write a book about her experiences of living in Japan and the cats she met along the way.

“These courses provided me with the skills I needed to develop my writing further and to meet like-minded people, so we could grow and nurture our creativity together,” CJ says.

Copywriting Podcast Episode 016: How to find your first copywriting client with Bernadette Schwerdt

You can’t get a job without work experience – but you can’t get work experience without a job. This age-old chicken-or-the-egg scenario stops talented copywriters from getting started. But there is a way around it. In this podcast Bernadette talks to us about: finding your first client creating the marketing

Enter now: The 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Awards

Do you produce written works in a digital format, e.g. ebooks, online essays, or more? This opportunity is for you! The 2021 Woollahra Digital Literary Awards are now open and the prize pool is $7,500. There are prizes in the following categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, and, according to the press

Writing Podcast Episode 420 Meet Sam Buckerfield, co-author of ‘Generation Alpha’ [My journey]

In this episode, Valerie Khoo sits down with Sam Buckerfield, who has co-written a book called Generation Alpha. Now what’s interesting is that this is a nonfiction book – but Sam’s passion has always been in fiction. But as you’ll hear, Sam was able to use his fiction skills to

Q&A: Faint vs feint

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 the faintest idea…

Congrats to the AWC alumni shortlisted for the 2021 $10,000 Text Prize

This week, Text Publishing announced the seven shortlisted manuscripts in the running for the $10,000 Text Prize for young adult and children’s writing – and we were thrilled to spot some familiar names on the list! Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Jacqueline Mohr has been shortlisted for her children’s story The

Writing Podcast Episode 419 Take a deep dive into ‘charming crime fiction’ with Pamela Hart, author of ‘Digging Up Dirt’.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Book Club: A Journal’

Ever wish you had a place to capture your conversations about books? Join the club with this prompted journal. That’s right – this week we have three copies of Book Club: A Journal to give away… the perfect accompaniment to your book-reading habit! Whether your book discussion meetings are organised

AWC alumna Deborah Mackie wins the Wild Atlantic Writing Award

We were beyond excited to hear that Australian Writers’ Centre alumna Deborah Mackie has won the Wild Atlantic Writing Award for her short story “A Letter to Her Husband’s Girlfriend”. As an active member of the AWC, Deborah shared details about the competition in our So you want to be

Writing Podcast Episode 418 Sophie Green discusses her latest novel ‘Thursdays at Orange Blossom House’ [Story Sessions series]

This ‘inbetweenisode’ is part of our Story Sessions series and features Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophie Green. This is another delightful novel about friendship from the bestselling author of The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle and The Inaugural Meeting Of The Fairvale Ladies Book Club. Once again, Sophie

Q&A: Spill the tea

Writing Podcast Episode 417 Meet Jacqueline Maley, author of ‘The Truth About Her’.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘The 22 Murders of Madison May’

This week’s giveaway is The 22 Murders of Madison May – a brand new crime/thriller novel with a twist from author Max Barry. We have three copies to be won – here’s a quick synopsis… In Queens, New York, 22-year-old real estate agent Madison May is showing a house. The

Copywriting Podcast Episode 015: How to get freelance work through an agency, with leading copywriting recruiter Vicki Anne Craigen

For many copywriters, finding paid work is problematic. You need to find the clients, do the negotiation, get the brief, do the invoicing, and much more. But what if you could have someone do it all for you? Someone who could find the clients, place you in the role, take

Writing Podcast Episode 416 Mark Brandi discusses his latest novel ‘The Others’ [Story Sessions series]

This ‘inbetweenisode’ is part of our Story Sessions series and features ‘The Others’ by Mark Brandi. This is the latest novel from the bestselling Australian author of ‘Wimmera’ and ‘The Rip’. Once again, Mark has crafted an evocative story with a tense underlying thread of fear. Before he reads from

Q&A: “Deus ex machina”

Author-illustrator Mandy Foot shares the creative process behind her gorgeous picture books

Mandy Foot has illustrated dozens of picture books with Hachette Australia. But when she decided to write her own story, she knew she had to gain new skills. After completing the Writing Picture Books course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, Mandy published her debut picture book as an author, Joey

Furious Fiction June 2021 winner and shortlist

It was a descriptive June this month at Furious Fiction. These were the story criteria: Each story had to include (word for word) the following SEVEN descriptions at any point in the story body: THICK AS HONEY SILENT AND STILL GOLDEN GLOW HEART-SHAPED DELICATE PERFUME SOFT AND DOUGHY RAZOR-SHARP And

Writing Podcast Episode 415 Meet Cristy Burne, co-author of ‘Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows’.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Instructions for Dancing’ by Nicola Yoon

Like Dirty Dancing – with a supernatural twist… We have a YA novel for our giveaway this week. But not just any YA novel. It’s the stand-out new YA romance, Instructions for Dancing, from Nicola Yoon – the number 1 bestselling author of Everything, Everything. Here’s a quick synopsis to

Writing Podcast Episode 414 L.A. Larkin discusses her latest novel ‘Widow’s Island’ [Story Sessions series]

This ‘inbetweenisode’ is part of our Story Sessions series and features ‘Widow’s Island’ by L.A. Larkin. This is the latest from bestselling author and queen of suspense. Louisa is also a presenter at the Australian Writers’ Centre, and we’re so thrilled she has another thriller for us to devour. Once

Q&A: “Down the pipe” vs “down the pike”

Craig Sheather reinvents his career to become a picture book author with ‘The Incredible True Story of Sparky the Wonder Puppy’

Writing Podcast Episode 413 Meet Will Dean, author of ‘The Last Thing To Burn’.

COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia’

Australia and its formation – through the distorted view of a rum bottle. This week we have three copies of Rum: A Distilled History of Colonial Australia by Matt Murphy to give away. It’s a unique look at the colonial days of this prison colony – an alcohol-soaked almanac of

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