This could be you | Australian Writers' Centre

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.

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..

Gaiti Rabbani becomes a published business book author in just one year

When global events affected her travel and business plans, Gaiti Rabbani thought it was the perfect time to channel her energy into writing a business book. She enrolled in the Write a Business Book course at the Australian Writers' Centre – and just one year later, she not only wrote the book, but secured a publishing deal as well. Gaiti's book Curious About Culture is out now with Major Street Publishing.

Multi-talented Amy Adeney finds success as a children’s book author

Never in a million years did Amy Adeney think that she would be a published author one day. She had a varied career as a fitness instructor, PR executive, and primary school teacher before finally discovering her creative side. She has now published seven books for children – and it all started with a writing exercise during a course at the Australian Writers' Centre.

“My debut picture book, Turning Cartwheels (EK Books, 2021), actually began its life as an exercise in the AWC Writing Picture Books course!” Amy says. Her tutor, Cathie Tasker, provided Amy with feedback that made her realise that her story idea had potential. “Cathie's feedback became part of my pitch for the book, and even formed the basis of the book's description in the EK Books catalogue.”

Shankari Chandran’s newest manuscript acquired by Ultimo Press

We’re thrilled to hear that Shankari Chandran has had her latest novel Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens snapped up by Ultimo Press. Shankari is one of our superstar alumnae who found publishing success with her debut novel The Barrier after the Crime and Thriller Writing course at the Australian Writers' Centre. “This is an evocative, […]

5 tips for finding your ‘write’ people

It took me a while to find my people, but when I did things really started happening…fast!
I went from my world of “one” where no one other than my non-writing family and friends knew about my creative writing projects – to sharing my work with a community of like-minded writers. Here’s how you can fast track your way to finding your people…

Writing Podcast Episode 384 Tania Blanchard's ‘Letters from Berlin' [Story Sessions series]

In Episode 384 of So You Want To Be A Writer: This ‘inbetweenisode' is part of our Story Sessions series featuring Letters from Berlin by Tania Blanchard. Set in 1943 Berlin, 18-year-old Susanna Göttmann accepts the help of an influential Nazi officer to protect her family and the man she loves. But at what cost? Tania once again draws on her own family history to tell an extraordinary tale of tragedy and courage, love and loss, endings and new beginnings. We bring bookshop browsing to you in this episode with the first chapter of this book.

Writing Podcast Episode 381 Meet Frances Chapman, author of ‘Stars Like Us'.

In Episode 381 of So You Want To Be A Writer: You'll meet Frances Chapman, author of Stars Liks Us. We also cover how to write scenes. Plus, there are 10x double passes to see High Ground – in cinemas 28 January.

Writing Podcast Episode 380 Penelope Janu's ‘Starting from Scratch' [Story Sessions series]

In Episode 380 of So You Want To Be A Writer: This ‘inbetweenisode' is part of our Story Sessions series featuring ‘Starting From Scratch' by Penelope Janu. Return to the town of Horseshoe Hill and Sapphie Brown as she grapples with her injured pride, and questions if it's standing in the way of true love. Narrated by the author herself, we bring bookshop browsing to you in this episode with the first chapter of this charming rural romance.

More than 70 books published by AWC alumni and presenters in 2020!

There are a lot of adjectives you could use to describe the year that was 2020, but our favourite is ‘superlative'. Why? Because so many of our amazing alumni and priceless presenters have been published, some for the first time. In fact, 2020 saw more than 70 books come out with an AWC name on […]