What’s it like to learn with AWC?

It actually took me over two years to finally enrol. My main hesitation was whether it would be worth the financial investment. Before committing, I tried reading books on writing, researching online resources, and even taking cheaper courses-but none of them gave me the help I was looking for.

The depth of information in this course was much more than I expected.

My tutor was fantastic. She struck a perfect balance between being encouraging and offering valuable areas for improvement. Initially, I found the feedback a little disheartening and difficult to take, especially since it had been a while since anyone had reviewed my creative writing. However, after a few sessions, I quickly realised that all her points were valid and solely focused on helping me grow as a writer.

The handouts were so helpful. There is so much information included that I think I need another 5 weeks to go through it all again!

I have much more confidence in my writing now, and am motivated to keep persisting.

My biggest 'aha!' moment was gaining the tools to diagnose my own work. Before the course, I had several half-written stories that I knew 'didn't work', but I could not explain why. Now, I can go back to those drafts and pinpoint the exact structural, pacing or other issues that were holding them back, giving me a clear path to fix them.

This course is definitely worth the investment. It costs more for a reason - specifically, the incredible depth of information and the quality of direct feedback given throughout the modules.

As a teacher, I have worked with picture books my entire career. I got to a stage where I wanted to know the 'behind the scenes' of a picture book. I wasn't even sure if there was a 'behind the scenes' but I figured that AWC was the place to go to find out. I was to discover that there is an actual recipe for writing a picture book and I was fortunate enough to learn the recipe from AWC.

Margaret was supportive, knowledgeable and the critic (in a kind way) that I needed. She was able to help me realise that writing and publishing a picture book could definitely be in my life plan. However, she also helped me realise that I have a way to go!

I will never read a picture book to my students or to myself ever again in the same way. I feel like I have gone 'backstage' and found the real goings-on of a picture book.

I would absolutely encourage a friend or colleague to do AWC courses. I feel the self paced 'learn when you can' style of learning is great for busy people (I sometimes listened to the lessons when I was making dinner!). I also feel like the courses are well priced and good value for money.

I want to say a huge thank you to all at AWC including Margaret. I have learned so much about the art of writing picture books, from developing characters and creating engaging story lines to understanding structure and repetition, and that all-important 'warm hug' ending. The course has given me confidence, inspiration and skills to attempt writing my own picture book. I have loved every moment of this journey. Thank you also for covering the business end of things. This is learning I also greatly appreciated.

This course was great for gaining knowledge on the technical structure of picture book writing.

Margaret was lovely, encouraging and positive.

Knowing more about the structural requirements of picture book writing will definitely save me time and (hopefully) set me in the right direction toward publication.

The timeframe is doable in a busy week and it's great to have a starting point of potential industry contacts.

The tutor was professional, knowledgeable and thorough.

I enjoyed the rhythm and pace of the course. I now have so much respect for shorter text!

If you love to write, seasoned or not, AWC have got the lot! I'll be signing up again soon!

I am loving it. I've written four draft manuscripts. The three that have been part of the course have improved significantly over my many redrafts and I have no fear to look at them repeatedly to try and make them better.

Margaret was very helpful with her feedback. In my past life, I ran advertising agencies, and a great deal of client feedback on creative work was subjective and lacked strategic thought. Margaret's feedback was constructive and presented in a welcoming tone. It helped me a lot. Thanks Margaret.

One of my roles was as a strategic creative planner who was not particularly strong with grammar. Most of my presentations were in bullet point form. However, developing creative ideas was one of my strengths. This course allowed me to build on those strengths while addressing some of my weaknesses. And I had a lot of fun doing it.

Aspects of this course that I found to be most enjoyable were the assignments and feedback. I think Margaret was great.

I now feel that I am able to continue along this path of writing picture books for children.

I would say that it's well worth the time and money if you are serious about producing good literature for young children.

I'd like to thank AWC for putting together this great program and I'm sad to see it finish! I felt like it was a brief stint back at college and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had a knowledgeable tutor who provided helpful constructive feedback on our work.

The course made the idea of writing a book into a skill and a tangible goal. It's an art form. It is possible.

I put off doing this course for close to 20 years. I should have done it much earlier.

I had the idea to write a picture book for 5 years and thought I'd finally learn how to do it!

I really liked Cathie. She was very encouraging in her feedback and I appreciated how detailed it was. I also appreciated that she was very patient.

I enjoyed the assignments and that there were lots of opportunities to actually write the short stories. It was really well done, and I definitely know 1000% more than I did before about writing picture books.

It was really helpful in setting the foundations on how to write a picture book. I liked that I could do 20-30 minutes every day and feel accomplished, it wasn't a whole heap thrown at once, and you're not thrown into the deep end.

I feel like I can actually start writing my children's book!

The exercises and handouts are great. I appreciate and take onboard Cathie's professional feedback. I like that she is upfront and thorough.

I enjoyed having a go at writing my stories and then receiving feedback.

The course is well structured. Not too long or too short and it covers quite a lot. It has made me feel more confident in my writing and more determined to succeed.

The course was so informative and challenging. It really got me thinking and I learned a lot through the writing drafts and feedback received

Cathie was great! I loved her directness when providing feedback. She was encouraging but also good at explaining areas for improvement or consideration.

I loved writing the stories and the anticipation of Cathie's feedback. Gaining a broader understanding of the rules of writing was invaluable.

This is a broadly informative and positive course. A great place to start on understanding the requirements of writing, especially when considering publishing. This course has helped me cut through my procrastination and shift into action.

The course was an avenue for me to extend my creativity and fit perfectly in to my schedule at the moment. I like that it is run by highly accredited tutors.

Cathy was encouraging but also very honest in her feedback. It is clear she is a master of her craft and I valued all the feedback she gave me.

I joined this course for my own enjoyment and development, but now have aspirations to one day actually publish a picture book.

If you have ever had an interest in writing a picture book, this course is a great way to not only develop your writing skills but also to gain insight in to how to present it to publishers.

I enjoyed this course immensely. It was interesting and challenging and I felt I learnt so much along the way.

Margaret is a true expert in her field. She was polite and respectful and encouraging towards the students and their writing attempts. A very positive experience. Great feedback - she was able to highlight issues so easily and offer constructive criticism.

There was so much to learn and I absorbed it all like a sponge.

It made me realise the complexities and nuances of the writing process. Writing a picture book is not as easy as it seems.

I would encourage everyone who wants to write to apply for an AWC course. There's no pressure but it was so worthwhile

I just want to say how wonderful this course was. Every Monday morning I looked forward to opening the next module. I feel I learnt so much and that I have so much more to learn and practice. A truly amazing experience.

Margaret was very helpful with her feedback. I appreciate the time she took to answer and clarify any further questions I had.

I really liked the interactions with other students and reading their stories and seeing them develop.

It's helped me to build momentum with developing my story. It also gave me a positive distraction from some personal things happening, like a 5-week antidote!

AWC courses are well-structured and they're supportive and encouraging. Worth it!

Ever since I was a child, English and writing were my favourite subjects. I fell into my career of business administration and people management. However, I cannot say I have ever been truly 'passionate' about it and as I've gotten older (now in my 50's), I honestly have started to feel trapped and stuck. I have always had a creative side, whether it be drawing, painting or making decorative cakes. I stumbled on the Reinvent Yourself course first, which quickly led me to the writing courses and it was like a lightbulb moment that pulled me back into my love of writing.

I enjoyed everything. It has truly inspired me and sparked my creativity bug.

Margaret gave good feedback and encouragement. She appears to be a very enthusiastic tutor who wishes for everyone to put in the time and effort to edit and re-work their writing, story structure and characters.

I came into the course with only a couple of ideas buzzing in my head. I've now got approximately five different stories or plots partially drafted, with one of my stories mapped out as potential for a series with approximately eight different story plots. I am a long way off feeling capable to get them to the point of presenting to a publisher, which is a whole other challenge, but I'm excited about where I might be able to go with my writing.

If you want to write and don't know where to start, whether you are serious, or just for hobby, this is a great, affordable way to start. The content and advice provided by the course creators is so simple and achievable to follow. But furthermore, the advice from the tutor/s, other industry experts but most importantly the past students' success stories is really inspirational and motivating.

I have two young boys and have read many, many, many picture books in recent years to the point that I can recite many of them by heart. My partner is also an illustrator, so we have often discussed producing books together. This course seemed like it would provide a good foundation in understanding essential elements in writing picture books.

I thought the quality and depth of information in this course was excellent. The narrator of the modules (Valerie) was engaging. Margaret was excellent. Deeply knowledgeable, generous with feedback, encouraging. The weekly feedback was incredibly valuable. It was useful to listen to feedback not only for my assignments but also to feedback for the other students.

The course had me thinking more carefully about the impact of every word within a picture book.

The Australian Writers' Centre has a range of online courses of excellent quality. I highly recommend the Writing Picture Books course as a useful introduction to essential aspects of writing picture books that will be engaging for children and attractive to publishers.

The course gave valuable and practical advice, and tools and strategies to write a picture book.

I thought Cathie was an excellent tutor. She was positive, honest and supportive. It is not easy putting your work on display for all to read, but it is important if you want to improve.

I found all of the modules helpful. It was broken up into parts that were easy to work through. By having handouts as a guide, and a video that could be paused, I found it very easy for my learning style.

I decided to do some research and applied to participate in a pitch event. I was then invited to submit to a publisher. I am not sure if this will lead to anything, however, it has given me the confidence that I can write a book that is worthy of being considered by a publisher. In January, I had no idea where to start!

I have already recommended the AWC to several people. I told them I had no idea how to structure a picture book, and the important factors to keep in mind. It gave me the tools I needed to get started. Now I can revisit and pick up on the bits I missed, or weren't relevant as I hadn't written many drafts.

I really enjoyed the audio lessons and having the corresponding hand-outs and exercises to complete. They were clear and the perfect amount of time.

The tutor was direct and experienced.

It's been so inspiring and has really got me out of my comfort zone. I've had a few ideas floating around for years but have not made the time or had the skills to develop them. I feel so much more equipped to really give things a go now.

I was attracted to this course because I've always wanted to write children's picture books but needed clear guidance on how to shape my ideas into strong stories. The Australian Writers' Centre's reputation for practical, high-quality teaching made this the right place to learn the craft properly.

I hesitated because I wasn't sure whether I had enough skill or confidence to write picture books. I had plenty of ideas but wasn't sure I could shape them into a proper story, and I wondered whether the course might be too advanced. In the end, I'm glad I enrolled - the structure and guidance were exactly what I needed.

This course was excellent - rich in content, clearly structured, and genuinely transformative. It helped me organise my many story ideas and understand the discipline required to shape a strong picture book narrative.

The course is rigorous, and that's a strength. The feedback is constructive and eye opening, the rules are clear, and the expectations are high. I particularly valued the focus on emotion as the 'stuff of fiction', the importance of structure and tension, and learning how to let the protagonist drive the story. The modules on point of view, show don't tell, and the rule of three were especially helpful. Module 7 felt like a real gift.

I most enjoyed learning the craft of picture book writing - especially understanding structure, tension, and how to use child-true language with purpose. The feedback was incredibly valuable, and the course gave me real clarity and confidence. It was exciting to see my ideas take shape as an actual story.

I'd recommend the Australian Writers' Centre because the teaching is practical, clear, and genuinely eye-opening. The course gives you the structure, skills, and confidence to turn ideas into real stories, and the feedback is both supportive and transformative. It's an excellent place to learn the craft properly.

I'd just add that this course exceeded my expectations. It was practical, clear, and genuinely transformative. I now understand the craft of picture-book writing in a way I didn't before, and I'm finishing with a story I'm proud of and the confidence to keep going.

The tutor gave really helpful feedback. I was able to make edits to my story based on her feedback.

I enjoyed exploring picture books and having fun writing and turning my ideas into stories. It's given me the confidence to have a crack at being an author.

Cathie is very knowledgeable and experienced. Her feedback helped me improve my writing each week.

I enjoyed the assignments, which broke down the process of writing a children's book into manageable chunks.

I have completed my draft manuscript and have set myself a goal of getting an agent to help me get my book published.

I'd like to thank Cathie for her useful and honest feedback. She gave me lots of encouragement, which really means a lot.