How Sam Buckerfield’s passion for writing led to a publishing deal with Hachette Australia

Sam Buckerfield knew he wanted to make a career out of writing, but he was initially held back by his own self-doubts.

“Although I was ambitious, I didn’t know for certain that I had the seeds of an author in me,” he says. That was until presenter Pamela Freeman invited him to join the Write Your Novel program at the Australian Writers’ Centre.

“It was in that very moment that I felt believed in by a professional,” Sam says. “And I, in turn, believed that I had the capacity to be a published author.”

Sam’s first published book is Generation Alpha, co-authored with Mark McCrindle and Ashley Fell, and it is out now with Hachette Australia.

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The 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers is now open

Entries have now opened for the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. This competition is in its seventh year and invites submissions from unpublished writers in adult narrative non-fiction and adult fiction. The prize is in memory of Hachette Australia’s CEO, Matt Richell, who died suddenly in 2014. 

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Sandie Jessamine becomes a published memoirist with her powerful story ‘Borderline’

Writing and publishing a memoir was never going to be easy for Sandie Jessamine. Living with borderline personality disorder meant that she could be one person at the start of a sentence and another by the end. Having suffered trauma, abuse and devastating loss, Sandie wanted to write her story to help her process her past. She turned to the AWC to give her the structure she needed.

“I turned into a writer,” Sandie says about the period that followed her decision to enrol in the Write Your Novel program with Pamela Freeman. “During Pamela’s course, I put all my attention and energy into completing a draft novel. The writing gave me a safe space to retreat into away from the emotional pain but eventually I began to write within the pain until the pain was writing itself”

Her extraordinary story, Borderline, has now been published by Bad Apple Press..

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COMP CLOSED: WIN ‘Flash Jim’ by Kel Richards

This week’s giveaway is the astonishing story of James Hardy Vaux, writer of Australia’s first dictionary and first true-crime memoir. That’s quite the combo! The book is Flash Jim and it’s by Kel Richards – a veteran Australian author, journalist and broadcaster. Until 2010, Richards famously presented News Radio’s regular

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Your 29-word “road trip” stories

Flash fiction is big right now, but what about micro-fiction? This tiny format almost borders on poetry at times and seeks to make the biggest impact in the fewest words – something all too familiar to the ‘Twitter’ generation. Last week, we asked our community to create for us a

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Q&A: Invitations, invites and RSVPing

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 by invitation only… Q:

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How Sam Buckerfield’s passion for writing led to a publishing deal with Hachette Australia

Sam Buckerfield knew he wanted to make a career out of writing, but he was initially held back by his own self-doubts.

“Although I was ambitious, I didn’t know for certain that I had the seeds of an author in me,” he says. That was until presenter Pamela Freeman invited him to join the Write Your Novel program at the Australian Writers’ Centre.

“It was in that very moment that I felt believed in by a professional,” Sam says. “And I, in turn, believed that I had the capacity to be a published author.”

Sam’s first published book is Generation Alpha, co-authored with Mark McCrindle and Ashley Fell, and it is out now with Hachette Australia.

Read More »

COMP CLOSED: ‘Julia Morris Makes it Easy’

Hilariously half-baked life advice from yet another deluded celebrity… This week’s giveaway book is Julia Morris Makes it Easy from (you guessed it) Julia Morris – one of Australia’s most accomplished and celebrated performers. First appearing on Aussie TV singing on New Faces at age 17, Julia has seamlessly moved

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Enter the 29-word story challenge

Do you know that feeling when you discover a layer of dust on furniture or items you haven’t used for some time? That thin film of grime that softly, silently settles when you aren’t looking? Well, it can happen to our creativity too – so let’s shake off the dust…

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Q&A: The origin of “ditto”

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, that’s what she said… Q:

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Furious Fiction April 2021 winner and shortlist

Every month a long queue of writers from all over the map throw their narrative hats into this three-ringed circus we call Furious Fiction, crossing their fingers, dropping their heads in prayer and hoping to get lucky. These were the April criteria: Your story must begin in some kind of

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The 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers is now open

Entries have now opened for the 2021 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers. This competition is in its seventh year and invites submissions from unpublished writers in adult narrative non-fiction and adult fiction. The prize is in memory of Hachette Australia’s CEO, Matt Richell, who died suddenly in 2014. 

Read More »

Q&A: The origin of “heard it on the grapevine”

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 grape expectations… Q:

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Sandie Jessamine becomes a published memoirist with her powerful story ‘Borderline’

Writing and publishing a memoir was never going to be easy for Sandie Jessamine. Living with borderline personality disorder meant that she could be one person at the start of a sentence and another by the end. Having suffered trauma, abuse and devastating loss, Sandie wanted to write her story to help her process her past. She turned to the AWC to give her the structure she needed.

“I turned into a writer,” Sandie says about the period that followed her decision to enrol in the Write Your Novel program with Pamela Freeman. “During Pamela’s course, I put all my attention and energy into completing a draft novel. The writing gave me a safe space to retreat into away from the emotional pain but eventually I began to write within the pain until the pain was writing itself”

Her extraordinary story, Borderline, has now been published by Bad Apple Press..

Read More »

Q&A: Sydney? Adelaide? Canberra? The origins of our city names?

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’re talking place namesakes.. Q:

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Entries now open for The Banjo Prize 2021

Is this your chance to be published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia?  The Banjo Prize was launched in 2018 and its mission is to find “Australia’s next great storyteller”. The prize is named after Australia’s first bestselling author Banjo Patterson. According to the press release: “The Banjo Prize is offered annually

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