Category: Alumni/Student success stories

Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How Jenna Lo Bianco went from 160 rejections to a successful career as a romance author

Jenna Lo Bianco, a secondary school Italian teacher, experienced what she calls a magical moment when she was on leave after the birth of her second child. Amid the chaos of the pandemic, she stumbled on a Tweet about the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Romance Writing course. At the time, Jenna had completed two manuscripts: Love & Rome and The Italian Marriage but she hadn’t yet found a publisher. 

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How AWC graduate Paula Gleeson scored a two-book six-figure deal

When Paula Gleeson’s grade four teacher told her she should write stories, Paula ran with it – or rather, ran away from it! She instead decided to pursue a career in film and television. Fast forward a few decades, and Paula finally followed that teacher’s advice by enrolling in Reinvent Yourself at the Australian Writers’ Centre, followed by Anatomy of a Crime: How to Write About Murder and Pitch Your Novel: How to Attract Agents and Publishers. She went on to secure a two-book six-figure deal with Thomas and Mercer and her debut thriller, Original Twin, is out in bookstores right now.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Jane Sullivan discovers her inner crime writer at the Australian Writers’ Centre

Jane Sullivan was already a published author and journalist when she discovered the Australian Writers’ Centre. But when she wrote the manuscript for her crime novel, she realised she needed specialist skills in order to master the suspense and pacing of the genre. So she enrolled in Crime and Thriller Writing at the Australian Writers’ Centre and rewrote her manuscript with her new knowledge.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

AWC graduate Deborah Frenkel is now a successful picture book author

Deborah Frenkel reignited her long-held dream of becoming an author when she became immersed in the world of picture books after the birth of her daughter. Throw in frequent long walks and she soon started to simmer with stories of her own.

Knowing she needed some direction to get her stories on to the page, Deborah jumped into Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers’ Centre.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Petronella McGovern’s dream of becoming a fiction author comes true

Petronella McGovern came to the Australian Writers’ Centre hoping to prioritise her fiction writing. She had always wanted to publish a novel but was struggling to find the time and motivation to keep writing. Now, her debut novel Six Minutes has just been published by Allen & Unwin, and she spends her mornings writing fiction, working on her next novel.
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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Bec Nanayakkara is a published picture book author

Congratulations to Australian Writers’ Centre(AWC) graduate Bec Nanayakkara whose debut picture book Grow Big, Little Seed has been published by Hardie Grant. Her second picture book The Book Star is out in June published by Affirm Press. It’s based on an idea she workshopped in our Writing Picture Books course with tutor Zanni Louise just a year ago!

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

AWC graduate Anna Johnston scores a two-book deal

​​Anna Johnston started telling stories at a young age, writing plays and short films for her parents as a child. But she left her storytelling passion behind when she went into healthcare and started her family. A course at the Australian Writers’ Centre changed that, reigniting her love of creative writing, and Anna is now celebrating the publication of her debut novel The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, in a two-book deal with Penguin Random House.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Amy Hutton scores two book deals

When television producer Amy Hutton decided she wanted to switch careers and become a writer, she went all in. After making such a decisive move, Amy knew she had to learn the craft of writing if she were to succeed. She liked the variety of courses on offer at the Australian Writers’ Centre and she jumped in, learning the essentials of Fiction and Grammar, Plotting and Planning and how to Pitch Your Novel.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

How Sandhya Parappukkaran followed her creative curiosity to become a published picture book author

Courses taken at AWC: 
Writing Picture Books
When Sandhya Parappukkaran quit her food technology job to pursue her creative dreams, she originally turned to arts and crafts. But while reading with her son, Sandhya’s childhood love of books was rekindled. After completing the Writing Picture Books course, her debut picture book The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name has been published by Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Joanna Nell: From GP to bestselling author

An unexpected incident led Joanna Nell to the Australian Writers’ Centre and the subsequent publishing of her feel-good debut novel The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village (Hachette Australia).

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Kell Woods finds international success after courses at Australian Writers’ Centre

After studying a suite of courses, starting with Novel Writing Essentials, and including History, Mystery and Magic and Plotting and Planning, Kell’s publishing dream came true when she landed a two-book deal with publishing powerhouse Tor US. Kell’s debut novel, After the Forest, was published in 2023, with international publication by Titan Books in the UK and HarperCollins in Australia/New Zealand.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Seth Haddon scores his dream book deal

Seth took all the skills and tips that he learned in that class and has gone on to forge a career as a writer in the gaming industry. He has also published three books with Blind Eye Books and his latest novel, Volatile Memory, is being published by Tor Books. “I absolutely believe I wouldn’t be where I am without having attended the Write Your Novel course,” Seth says.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

Shankari Chandran: From lawyer to award-winning author

When Shankari Chandran took time out of her career as a lawyer to have her fourth child, she turned her hand to writing in between baby feeds and family demands. This pastime has turned into a new career and Shankari has now released her first novel The Barrier, a futuristic fast-paced thriller that has been compared to the works of Michael Crichton and Matthew Reilly.

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Alumni/Student success stories
Australian Writers' Centre Team

AWC courses helped Kyra Geddes become a published author

Kyra had built a successful ten-year career in marketing and was also raising her children. When the family moved to Melbourne for her husband’s work, Kyra took the opportunity to return to university and study English. She also began taking creative writing courses to continue learning her craft, including Reinvent Yourself and 2 Hours to Scrivener Power at the Australian Writers’ Centre.

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