What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I was referred to this course by a friend, and when I looked over the course details I was impressed how it covered a wide range of practical and helpful content. I also liked how feedback was provided each week.

It was a confronting thought to put myself out there and open my writing up to constructive criticism, however I discovered it is a very safe space to do so.

I was impressed by how Margaret gave specific and helpful feedback to each student, as well as creative options and ideas we might not have considered. She was consistently encouraging about all writing submitted.

I enjoyed learning about the specifics of writing picture books. Each week's module was easy to follow, and having the handbook is a good reference.

I enjoyed listening to feedback not just for myself, but listening to others' feedback because it helped broaden my thinking and my learning. The weekly feedback on writing is invaluable. I was nervously excited each week waiting to receive that feedback. I took notes and learned so much from it.

I feel as though I have been given the keys I was looking for and I can now unlock my stories. I feel more confident to progress down the path of being a writer. Before the course, being a ‘writer' felt unattainable, but now it feels possible.

It is one of the best value for money courses that I have done. If you are interested in writing, AWC makes content easy to access and learning enjoyable.

The insights of the writing process were extremely helpful. The use of invisible punctuation, active sentences, concrete words, rhythm and plot structure to name a few. This is such a rich and generous course that includes bonus exercises and industry interviews.

The tutor had kindness and care for her students. Her feedback was detailed and useful.

If you are interested in writing children's picture books, I can highly recommend the Australian Writers' Centre course. The structure is methodical, with notes and lectures. The information is detailed with examples, and each week you receive feedback from an industry recognised editor. Gold.

Judith was so enthusiastic and encouraging. She never made you feel like you couldn't do a task and really pushed everyone to do their best work. Really fantastic teacher!!

I enjoyed the creative feedback everyone gave each other. It felt extremely supportive and encouraging.

I am keen to look at my favourite books and see what makes them work so well. Judith reading out aloud to us really helped me understand what elements go into a successful picture book.

It was inclusive, challenging and fun. A whole lot of things came together to make sense.

Judith explained everything simply and succinctly. Her knowledge, experience and love for writing and illustrating were infectious. Her feedback was kind and on point, she covered all the topics and left plenty of time for questions.

I enjoyed everything! Seriously, it was a wonderful weekend - excellent presenter, lovely students, fantastic content and a fabulous venue. Learnt a lot and made friends.

I have a way forward and some great structural tools. Very exciting!

Do it! In my experience, the content is great, the presenters are fabulous and the handouts are super useful. These guys know what they're doing.

A great course. Highly recommended.

The feedback from my tutor for my assignment helped me to greatly improve my writing in many ways and boosted my confidence.

An amazing course if you are passionate about writing picture books, lots of resources and examples and very flexible course.

For many years, I had a desire to write picture books but didn't commit to it. I have published a novel for adults, with another on the way, but wasn't sure I could transition to writing for children. I felt I needed education specifically in writing picture books.

Margaret was a great tutor. She provided detailed feedback in a way that made me feel excited to revise my work. She has a keen eye for story and the common pitfalls of writing for picture books.

I feel confident - this is something I believe I can do successfully.

I enjoyed everything about the course. Feedback was amazing and helped me to improve a lot. The modules were very informative. It also gave me the confidence and courage.

A very compact and resourceful course within such a short time.

The modules are thorough covering all aspects of writing a picture book, from the different writing techniques to publishing, sales advertising and marketing. The module recordings and handouts were well presented with exercises that provide opportunities to practise writing techniques. It was great to write assignments and receive constructive feedback.

Margaret gave clear advice on how to make improvements to my stories.

It has increased my confidence and encouraged me.

I enjoyed the assignment activities. Cathie's clear and concise feedback was incredibly valuable.

Mostly, the course has provided valuable insight into the structure and rhythm of children's picture books.

Do it. It's like reading Dr Suess - you go in, it gets messy, you come out changed.

Thank you for your enduring commitment to quality children's writing.

I've been wanting to do an AWC course for a long time, and the timing was perfect for this one. I've tried writing children's stories but needed instruction on specific structure etc.

There was a lot of information in 5 weeks, which was great. I like Cathie's style of giving feedback. She tells it like it is, but in a nice way.

I had a few ideas for children's stories and had thought about illustrating them, as I paint/draw. Almost in the first lesson it was pointed out not to do the things I had planned so it has saved me a lot of time and wasted effort!

I learned so much! I admit that I did not appreciate the technical precision and sparkle required for a truly wonderful children's picture book.

Cathie had great feedback. It was clear yet supportive. The class feedback and the individual feedback was valuable.

It has made me understand the magic of picture books and has inspired me to keep writing and perhaps work together with my sister.

AWC was a great way to learn more about the whole life-cycle of writing a children's picture book - the technical drafting side, the sparkle, the teamwork required. The commitment to enrol gave me the motivation to write again.

Loved it! Thank you for providing me the tools to move forward with more confidence.

This course has blown the roof off my head. Just amazing. Big thanks to literally everyone involved. And I mean literally everyone - from Valerie Khoo and her easy-to-listen-to, articulate voice, to Cathie's feedback, to the accountant who processes the pays for people in charge of keeping the website bug-free, to the people who designed the website, to the people who managed to make an online course so interesting (including encouraging students to talk to each other)... just everyone. The whole course was so impressive.

Cathie is amazing. Her feedback was so good and really helped me understand the material I'd been learning. Having this feedback made all the difference between reading information / listening to the audios thinking "ah yep, I get it" and then being like, "ohh I hadn't actually got it at all, but now I know why." I just appreciated this feedback a LOT. So much so that I wish Cathie lived up the street from me and would pop in for a cup of tea and offer to read my manuscripts and give me feedback every week for free. I'd give her biscuits in return. Sometimes homemade, but more often than not probably Arnott's Monte Carlos. They just dunk better in a hot drink.

I liked having encouraging classmates. I liked Cathie's feedback. I liked the handouts. I liked having a list of children's picture books recommended to me. Do I really have to pick one thing, or can I just say that I found it all enjoyable? Imma go with 'all of it' as my final answer to what I found most enjoyable.

The only time I didn't find it enjoyable was when my preschooler had to stay home one day and every time I tried to listen to an audio he'd ask for a snack, or interrupt to show me the tower he built, or tell me that he needed to poo... but I think all of that was out of AWC's hands, and so we're back to my 'most enjoyable part of the course' being 'all of it.'

I'd previously spent a lot of time googling information about how to write a children's picture book. I knew it was 32 pages, I knew some other stuff, so I really wasn't sure what else I'd learn. I knew that there was a lot I didn't know, but hoo-boi was there A LOT I didn't know. ALL of the information in the course was fascinating, mind blowing, and interesting. It was all new information for me. I seriously cannot wrap my head around how deceptively simple picture books are. The information in the course, and the way it was presented, just scratched an itch I'd almost become numb to.

I did a course with AWC, and it was AMAZING. It was so good. Go and do a course with them. I mean you literally will not regret it. It will be impossible to regret it. Just enrol. The quality of both course and content is incredible. It is superior. Thank me later.

Cathie was respectfully constructive in her criticism. I liked the fact Cathie didn't sugar coat things if there was an issue. I enjoyed watching improvement in my skill.

The Australian Writers' Centre has the online platform down pat; it was easy to navigate and was well set out. The online course was well constructed and, in a short time, there was a lot of learning.

Cathie Tasker is fantastic. Her feedback is constructive. Her suggestions have merit. Her honesty is delivered with tact. Also, her responses in the chat commentary show she is invested in students. I believe Cathie designed a picture book course for novice writers that was relevant, achievable, and without fluff. I'm glad I took the course. I'm a bit sad it's over.

I loved seeing the stories of other students. I loved the transparency of loom student feedback too - the vicarious learning was helpful. I also enjoyed the bravery of students. Each student would submit stories and just 'have a go'. The most helpful aspects of learning were about 1) the picture book page layout, 2) writing techniques, 3) publishing, and 4) editor feedback.

Bust your own myth - writing picture books is not easy. Take up the challenge and learn from an industry professional about how to write picture books. It will become a fun obsession!

The course was great. It helped me formulate some book ideas that have been rattling around in my head for years. Cathie's feedback was direct and honest, which I appreciated.

It is thorough, well run by experienced people and good value for money.

I've been a classroom teacher all my life and loved picture books. I had a few ideas for picture books and when I looked into this course it looked interesting.

I was amazed at what I didn't know about picture book writing. I've written as a hobby for years and submitted picture books to publishers unsuccessfully a few times over the years.

Cathie's willingness to share her knowledge in such detail was inspiring. She was able to expose what wasn't clear in my writing. I realised the 'darlings' in my writing were often not helpful. I liked her feedback on assignments.

Go for it! I learnt so much.

Thank you, AWC, for providing such a vast array of opportunities to learn more about the craft of writing. Thank you, Cathie Tasker, for your selfless sharing of your vast knowledge.

I have been doing a lot of editing, and I needed a switch of focus from that to creativity and storytelling. This seemed like the perfect short course to extend that idea.

Cathie was great. Very astute and insightful, and has so much experience in the industry. I actually didn't expect to get as much as I did get out of the course. The information and feedback were both brilliant.

Do it: it's worth it for understanding what you actually have to do.

Cathie was very constructive and helpful. She pointed out things that I had never thought of or considered which was really valuable.

It inspired me to go to the CYA Conference in Brisbane. I had never heard of this conference before, and it was only after I read the success stories of the authors who had completed this course.

I would say that the AWC is extremely helpful and is an essential part of the writing process.

I enjoyed all of it! More, more, more please! I loved the weekly story task - they pushed us to keep growing and feedback was excellent. It was really important that it wasn't the same story. I loved the transparency of learning from everyone else and reading their feedback.

It was an excellent course - enlightening, humbling, inspiring and practical!

Fantastic course. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the craft of writing picture books.

Cathie was great. All feedback was relevant to improving your writing skills and story.

I enjoyed listening to the weekly audio lesson and exercises to practice the information. Encouraged me to write more and put what I've learnt into practice.

Highly recommend to help improve your writing and make the journey more enjoyable.