What’s it like to learn with AWC?

I have just retired from a very busy and enjoyable career as a developmental/behavioural paediatrician. I've always loved children's books and recently become a grandmother, with more grandchildren on the way. I wanted to do something creative in the area of writing and found this course on Google. The AWC looked such an excellent group to start my quest for learning to write creatively.

Zanni has been thoughtful, encouraging and the experience she brings, very helpful. It has been enjoyable to read the stories from the rest of the group, and also to listen to Zanni's suggestions for them.

I enjoyed many things about this course. Learning about the structure of a picture book, and what makes a 'not put downable' story. The interaction with others on our course and reading their great stories. Zanni's guidance.

This course has given me a new pursuit, which I think about daily, and look forward to continuing with.

If you are interested in writing in any form, do one of the online tutored courses to start you on your journey. The Australian Writers' Centre also introduces you to the vibrant community of writers and illustrators in Australia.

Just a big thank you.

The AWC course on children's picture books is great! I have already recommended this course to a friend. It teaches you a lot of valuable skills for writing children's picture books as well as valuable tips for getting into the industry and approaching publishers. You will definitely come out of the course a better writer and with skills for approaching publishers professionally.

I loved that it was only five weeks. Being my first course with AWC it gave me a chance to see the quality of courses offered without making a major time commitment.

I have gained so much knowledge from both the tutor, Zanni, and my fellow classmates.

Zanni was lovely. Her comments and feedback were always so encouraging but also really helpful and insightful. She would see things immediately that would elevate the story and gave really thorough feedback to everyone in the course.

I enjoyed actually sharing my stories, which at first I thought terrifying, and getting to read others was great.

I now write every day and believe I may actually one day write something that is good enough to be published.

Thank you for this course. I have never done a writing course before and this was so wonderful. I will definitely be looking into further classes with AWC in the future.

If you want to do a writing course, go to AWC!

I have an illustration background but want to write and illustrate my own stories. I knew very little about the writing side of things, so this course was perfect!

I was a little concerned that it would be too much for me to fit into my work/life schedule, but it was very manageable. I could listen to the lessons whenever I wanted to. I really appreciate the flexibility the course offers in that respect.

I was impressed by the speed and clarity at which Zanni dissects and critiques stories. I found her feedback to be very useful, straight to the point and also very encouraging. She guided me to write a story draft that I believe is worth presenting to a publisher with a little more editing.

I found the structure and format of the online course really refreshing. I've studied a lot, up to a master's degree, and believe this to be the best course I've done in terms of balance between the volume of information and practical assessments. I also enjoyed Zanni's feedback. The course is affordable in terms of cost and time commitment as well.

This course has really helped me to start thinking like a picture book author and has also taken the mystery out of the publishing process and industry as a whole.

The Writing Picture Books course is a perfect introduction to the field. It offers a thorough understanding of the current trends, what's involved in the practical process of writing a picture book and how to edit and prepare for a publisher. I totally recommend it to anyone wanting to make a start or needing guidance on their first attempts at writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Thank you!

Suzanne has great industry knowledge and was a massive asset to have as a tutor. She provided constructive criticism and often provided alternatives to the way things were written. That helped me understand the differences between my writing and what publishers are looking for.

I enjoyed writing! Being given a weekly assignment to write stories was great motivation and a thoroughly enjoyable task. It has made me realise that I really want to pursue this path to writing a children's picture book.

I would highly recommend the course! The more your commit to the course and the assignments, the more you will gain from the feedback.

Zanni came across as caring and experienced. She delivered her feedback in an insightful, helpful and constructive way

Although in the beginning it was daunting to construct a story in a week, it became a bit of fun to create another new story idea within a timeframe. I also enjoyed reading everyone else's creations and enjoyed how different they all were.

Before this course I had very little confidence in my ability to write a children's story let alone let anyone read any of it. This course made me face my fears and allow my thoughts to be public. I feel I have moved closer to making my aim of writing a book a little bit closer to reality.

It's been so wonderful to be creative and challenged as a distraction and different focus from the current everyday life. In fact, my partner watched me enjoy the course so much he signed up to do the copywriting course as well.

I had an idea for a picture book based on something my five-year-old boy did.

The tutor was exceptional. I enjoyed the assignments and the feedback. It has given me the confidence to pursue this specialised area knowing I have valid ideas and I can write.

If you want to go down the path of being a writer, go with the AWC.

I've done two other courses with AWC and really liked them. This one was outside of my comfort zone, but something I wanted to try.

Zanni was great. Really awesome at constructive feedback! My story developed a lot each week based on her input and guidance.

It was great having the opportunity to keep developing/refining the same story over a few weeks. I liked the consistency and applying skills from the lessons each week into the assignment.

I had a vague idea for a story going into the course. Now I've written my first full draft of that story. It's come to life through the lessons, but mostly through Zanni's feedback.

I'd say AWC courses are a great resource to learn some basics, or if you have a story in mind, it's a great place to develop that story in a safe environment.

I loved this course!
- I liked that we could share in the assignments and feedback of others.
- The assignments and exercises are diverse and valuable.
- Valerie has a lovely voice to listen to for the presentations. Having the audio to embellish on the written notes is very useful (and some videos too).
- The handouts were very well set out and easy to follow.
- The feedback is very positive (strengths) and constructive (areas to improve).
- I feel like I can go out and tackle this now, and have enrolled in the masterclass.
- The course took the recommended time each week (usually 3 hours for me).
- I know what is involved now and that it is not an easy process that gets completed over the 5 week course.
- Yay!

I am more knowledgeable in teaching reading and writing for my job as a primary school teacher (year 2 - so lots of picture books!). I feel that this course should be part of teacher training!

More importantly, I am confident that I could turn some of my ideas into picture books and have benefited immensely from the content and feedback on assignments. It made me commit to the writing and spend my time in purposeful writing rather than doing random things!

I have enrolled in some of your other courses and am now motivated to finish them. I love writing so much more!

Zanni is an amazing tutor. I loved that the feedback was verbal and that she read our stories back to us. Her feedback was thorough and timely, always pointing out what is working well and what could be improved upon. She doesn't just tell you what to improve upon though, she tells you how and gives you an example of a possible change. It's great that she is a well-loved children's book author so you know that the advice you are getting is going to be useful. While I didn't ask anything, I noticed that she wrote back to others very quickly. Thanks Zanni :)

I can't recommend this course highly enough. I was turned off creative writing at high school, but since teaching primary school children, I realised the magic of picture books. This course reignited my passion for writing, which is a dream of mine that has tended to come and go. I now know not only why to write (I see that every day in my students!) but how to write. There's no way you could get this information delivered in such an engaging, fun and meaningful way through any book or through your own research. You have to do this course, even if you love it only half as much as I do then you'll be absolutely stoked!

Keep doing what you're doing because it's magic!

Zanni was great, very honest. I enjoyed learning different literary techniques and getting to try out a different story every week. The course was pretty perfect!

I've rewritten a story and come up with a brand new story that I'm pretty confident about. I have the confidence to keep trying even if I don't succeed with these ideas.

If you want to have a shot at being published, you need to do this course.

There was a lot of information to take in over a relatively short timeframe but all of it is very useful and great that we continue to have access to it for 12 months.

The tutor was positive and supportive and gave constructive feedback.

It has given me confidence but also it has helped all of my writing, including the writing I do in the business world. To learn how to be economical but highly effective with words has been very useful.

A well-structured, practical course with constructive feedback that also helps you to understand the industry and how to approach it.

I enjoyed listening to the lessons and following along with the handouts. The content taught was very thorough and gave me a good understanding into the Picture Book world.

The tutor was knowledgeable and gave practical feedback.

It has given me a practical insight into the picture book world. I have always wondered about how to get a story published, and I feel like the course provides a very clear path to get there. Just have to write a good story now!

I have had so many ideas, have written in the past and am looking for a new career that I decided it was time to try.

Thankyou Zanni - your feedback was invaluable, very relatable to me. It was of a high quality while also showing me what to do.

I have written my first children's picture book but it has also shown me and given me a taste for other types of writing.

Entering the world of picture books is like entering the TARDIS for the first time. The course opened my eyes but has given me the tools and knowledge to work through the maze.

Zanni is great. Her comments were relevant, useful and encouraging. I gained a lot from listening to her feedback on everyone's work, including my own.

I enjoyed the challenge of writing simple text to create big ideas.

I feel ready to join the world of children's book writers. Now I just have to find a publisher who agrees with me. Thank you to Zanni and AWC.

I'm interested in writing a children's picture book. Started researching how to do this and get published online. It all became very overwhelming. Found this course and thought, "what a great way to get introduced to the world of picture books."

I found the content extremely valuable. I really enjoyed learning about the world of pictures books and its complexities. I loved listening to the lessons. There was so much good stuff to take in.

Do it! It's a fun learning environment. Thanks Zanni :)

Having a dedicated tutor that was able to provide real-time feedback and weekly assignments were both really valuable aspects of the course.

Zanni was highly professional, available as needed, and her feedback was very helpful! I would definitely consider scouting her out for ongoing personal mentorship in the future!

I enjoyed reading the ideas and stories of other participants and being able to build upon new skills introduced each week.

Picture book writing is so much more than a good idea and cute characters. There is a whole structured process to picture book writing than I originally thought! It's quite a carefully thought out process with many components and ingredients!

Do it! You will definitely learn something new, or at the very least, you'll have a lot of fun and get to exercise the creative side of your brain!

Zanni is so knowledgeable and diplomatic. It was a delight to be told where my work could improve, knowing feedback was informed by her expertise. I suspect she could give improvement notes on marauding technique to a red-faced marauder mid-rampage and they'd take off their helmet and set down their axe to listen.

Like taking an intensive picture book alchemistry class - in the space of five weeks I've been able to transmute base non-fiction materials into potential golden picture book content.

Spending time and money on the course to learn valuable writing craft lessons now will save you multiples of both to learn them later, if you're open to listening.

Writing picture books is something that I have always dreamed of doing - since I was just six years old. I finally decided to take the plunge!

The course was amazing. The audio lessons are fantastic, easy to access and it's great that they are broken down into small chunks so you can re-listen to anything with ease.

Zanni was wonderful. She gave great, constructive feedback, in a really warm and engaged way.

The course has given me the tools to finally follow a life-long dream. It's opened my eyes to a whole new world, of writing, and picture books, and I am feeling so inspired.

Do it! Just follow your dream, and your heart. You won't regret it.

Thank you!

Having enjoyed reading many (sooo many!) picture books to my young sons, I wanted to learn how to write my own, especially for them. The five-week course also fits well into my busy schedule.

Zanni was attentive and insightful. Her hints and tips were most appreciated (thanks Zanni!).

I'm determined to get published, and excited - not scared - about the journey ahead. Picture book writing allows you to embrace your weird, wild and wacky side!

Get started today!

I was very happy with the quality of the feedback. I was not expecting so much detail, or every week. I also like that I could see what the other students had written and hear their feedback - I found this helped me to learn more.

I really enjoyed the fact that it was over 6 weeks, with weekly exercises and feedback. I had enrolled in a 12-month course before, but over time I slowed down and didn't complete it. By having weekly assignments it made me apply the learning straight away and get feedback so I could consolidate the learning and then build on it the following week. I also loved the weekly feedback; it felt like there were multiple opportunities to get feedback rather than just one at the end.

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us in such an open way. And thank you for taking the time to review my work and give me such open and honest feedback.

Wonderful courses that really have practical knowledge to help you succeed in the industry. Not just academic theory, but practical and relevant advice for entering the industry by industry experts.