“Sometimes the hardest part is getting started and I knew this course would get me to do that,” Mitch says. “Any process designed to get you 20,000 words into a manuscript is worth doing. The course, more than anything else, gave me something to run with.”

And Mitch is most certainly up and running, with his debut novel A Town Called Treachery out now with HarperCollins.

“When I was told by the brilliant publisher Roberta Ivers that HarperCollins will be publishing my novel, the feeling was pure, unmitigated elation. I'd always hoped, dreamed, imagined it would happen, but it was only in that moment I let myself realise it was what I'd wanted more than anything else in the world.”

Rediscovering the love of writing

When he started his career as a journalist, Mitch also studied creative writing at university and wrote a manuscript. But the constant writing and editing required from his day job left him with little desire to work on his fiction once his degree was finished.

“That study program proved the genesis of my first novel manuscript, one I later dispensed with and chalked up to experience. I always planned to start work on a fresh manuscript but never quite found the time or motivation, which was just an excuse. Deep down I always knew if you have the latter, you'll always find the former.”

That’s why he was drawn to the Novel Writing Essentials course. It offers the accountability of a course structure, the mentorship of a tutor and the process of both providing and receiving feedback from like-minded types – but in a shorter, more condensed form than a degree.

“The wisdom and warm guidance of [my tutor] Angela Slatter was invaluable, as was the feedback of classmates, but I think people really underestimate how beneficial the process of providing feedback to others is for your own work. Training that constructively critical eye is as important as anything else, and working through a program that allows you to do that was more valuable than I had anticipated.”

Publishing success

Mitche’s debut novel is A Town Called Treachery, a crime novel set in a small town on the NSW North Coast.

“An inquisitive 11-year-old boy and a disinterested local journo prove the unlikeliest of detective duos when a brutal murder shocks the town and reopens old wounds. A murder mystery drives the narrative, but it's a coming-of-age story at heart with some very unconventional heroes and alliances,” Mitch explains.

He had originally been drawn to literary fiction, but discovered a love of crime audiobooks as he went on long walks. The crime fiction struck a new creative nerve and so began the idea for A Town Called Treachery.

“It evolved into a crime novel, but I initially set out to explore familial bonds, particularly the father-son variety, and the inevitable loss of innocence that comes with growing up,” Mitch told us. “Crime fiction has always held such perennial appeal for readers, but it's such an exciting genre to work in as a new writer because it can be taken in so many different and interesting directions and explore such complex themes.”

After completing Novel Writing Essentials, Mitch worked with a mentor, author Malcolm Knox, to finish his manuscript before sending it off to agents. While none of them picked up his manuscript, he got some positive feedback, so decided to turn to unpublished novel prizes.

“I had a good feeling about the HarperCollins Banjo Prize. Looking at the previous winners and their books (I loved The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie), I really thought it was a good fit for my manuscript. I submitted and didn't think a whole lot more of it, though the date on which shortlisted writers would be contacted – September 5, 2022 – stayed plastered on my brain. I still somehow missed the call from Catherine Milne at HarperCollins to tell me I'd been shortlisted for the award. It's a tad embarrassing, but I still have her voicemail on my phone more than a year later so I don't forget the feeling I got that day,” Mitch told us. “Win or lose, it was the ultimate feeling of validation. It was a stellar list, with Steph Vizard winning with The Love Contract that was published in August. It was Roberta Ivers who called me to let me know I hadn't won, and it turned into an hour-long chat about how much she loved my manuscript and wanted to publish it. There was a lot of hard work that followed through the editing and acquisitions process, but her enthusiasm, guidance and belief in me and the manuscript have been unwavering ever since that phone call.”

With his first publishing deal secured, Mitch says the impact of Novel Writing Essentials on his writing was ‘monumental.’

“I've always leant pretty hard on [author] Neil Gaiman's analogy equating your writing dreams to a mountain in the distance. You can't see a direct path to the top, but you'll always know if you're moving closer to it, or drifting further away. There's no real linear path to becoming an author and it can seem like a lonely pipe dream. There's nothing wrong with dreaming but, if you want it to be more than that, I think you have to start treating it more like an ambition and do things that make it real. I think enrolling in any course offered by AWC is a step closer to the mountain.”

Courses completed at AWC:
Novel Writing Essentials
Your Author Website

Discovering the magic PING!

Unagented and unpublished, Jenna felt she needed something to help take her writing to the next level. “I didn't know what that something was until I saw the Australian Writers' Centre’s Romance Writing course on Twitter. That was the moment I experienced the magic PING!”

After deciding to enrol, Jenna threw herself into the course. “I literally had nothing to lose. That was the attitude I took into the launch of Romance Writing. I listened and took notes and just threw myself at the pearls of wisdom being shared. The description of the course and what I thought it might give me – clarification around the romance genre, its constituent features and writing tools – ultimately encouraged me to enrol.”

Gaining invaluable knowledge

Despite already having written her novels, Jenna found the course materials incredibly useful. “I used the course materials as a ‘checklist' of sorts to edit The Italian Marriage before I sent it out on query to Jacinta di Mase Management, which eventually signed me. What I found most helpful was the content about the love interests and how to plot and plan for the dynamics that draw them together, pull them apart, or challenge them to grow and change. I also really appreciated the structural tips around plotting for action and tension at particular points of the narrative to ensure maximum interest and reader commitment.”

A transformative impact on her writing

Jenna's writing strengthened significantly due to the course. “My writing is so much stronger for those aforementioned points. Now, as I am plotting and scheming my books, my mind does go back to those key tips. I use them to really think about the connection between my love interests and use the tension tips to decide how to open my chapters and when to close them.”

At the core, Jenna's books are tributes to Italy. “Each is a celebration of language, culture, history, and food, and an exploration as to how these elements weave together to form the most perfectly imperfect ode to my beloved Italia.” Both The Italian Marriage and Love & Rome delve into themes of friendship, family, loyalty, and destiny, asking life's big questions.

The Italian Marriage is a “forced proximity marriage of convenience due to inheritance clause romp through the Umbrian countryside,” complete with villa renovation and endometriosis representation. Meanwhile, Love & Rome involves a “friends to lovers, love triangle, job hunting, searching for life's answers by the full moon adventure across Rome's cobblestoned streets,” with a rich overlay of art history. “In both books, you can expect lively characters, to laugh and cry, plenty of spice, and a healthy dose of destiny at play.”

An unexpected publishing journey

Jenna says that her agent, Danielle Binks, truly understood her book. “She just got it. She just got me. She got the work. She's really passionate about strong, smart romance that just moves and challenges ideas,” says Jenna.

With a firm belief in Jenna’s story, Danielle began approaching publishers. “Four weeks later, I had a three book deal with Pan Macmillan!”

The moment Jenna learned she was going to be published was surreal. “I still don't believe it happened! My agent Danielle called to tell me the news. In the moment, all I remember feeling was relief. I had queried for four years and had received around 160 rejections. That sense of relief was closely followed by joy and jubilation, and then determination. I was going to work my butt off to do the best possible job I could!”

With a writing process that is unique and non-linear, she starts with the first and last scenes and then pieces the rest of the book together. “Once it's ‘done', I take a lot of time and care editing the manuscript, really focusing on things like tension and timeline consistencies.”

Jenna recommends that aspiring writers enrol in courses at the  Australian Writers' Centre. “I recommend the Australian Writers' Centre all the time! I love how flexible the courses are, especially the work-at-your-own-pace courses. It's a really smart investment in your career and skill set. I have all my notes and scribbles from the Romance Writing course and often refer back to them.”

Course completed at AWC:

• Romance Writing

“I hate to sound cliché, but that was the course that changed my life,” Jess says.

Her debut picture book, Bernie Thinks in Boxes, is out now with Affirm Press.

“In true working parent style, I celebrated that evening by making dinner, showering the kids and cracking open a bottle of non-alcoholic wine. I later posted a reel to my Instagram page, sharing my real-time reaction to the news. I’m so pleased that I filmed it because it was such a special moment.”

Getting out of the parking lot

As a proper grown-up with a job and kids, Jess had put her childhood dream of being a published author in the same parking lot as being an astronaut.

“I mean, kids want to be magic and visit Mars and turn every inanimate object into a snack buffet,” Jess told us. “But it turns out that a parking lot of unmet childhood dreams is an excellent place to go digging when you want a new hobby.”

When a friend suggested she enter Furious Fiction, Jess gave it a go. But she knew that if she were to give her writing a proper chance, she needed to learn the ropes, and enrolled in Creative Writing Stage 1.

“For someone who had never formally studied writing, starting with basics was great,” Jess says. “I found it helpful to learn about character development, point of view, scenes, and narrative structure. These were things I had a vague concept of, from reading books and studying English. But prior to this course I always wrote what sounded good to me, without knowing why or how to improve it. The Creative Writing Stage 1 course opened that door for me.”

After that first course, Jess decided to try writing picture books, but found them harder to write than she expected.

“As someone who knew absolutely nothing about the KidLit world and had never heard of the concept of a ‘pitch’, I probably wasn’t best placed to go sending off picture books to publishers. Of course, I tried anyway, because how hard could picture books be, right? Ha! When the publisher didn’t immediately snap up my first manuscript (which I didn’t even know was called a manuscript at the time), I decided perhaps another course was in order.”

And then her life changed …

Enrolling in Writing Picture Books was, Jess recalls, life changing.

“If you want to save yourself a whole bunch of bumbling around and wading through conflicting sources of information, then this is the course for you!

“One of the most valuable lessons I learnt was that picture books have rules. Like most rules, I’m fully aware they’re there to be bent. But I thrive on rules, so having a bunch of them to provide some order in an otherwise creative and seemingly unstructured game was a wonderful thing. These rules included things like the rule of three, show don’t tell (I love that one!) and the three-act structure.

“Another eye-opening discovery I made in this course was just how many words you could chop out of a story. And not only that but how much better a story could be with far fewer words than this wordy brain of mine likes to conjure. I also learnt about a handy thing called drafts, and how picture books need more than one of them (gasp!).

“Finally, the Writing Picture Books course taught me the importance of giving and receiving feedback. The class was a safe place to test those murky feedback waters and discover just how much this enhances your learning. I still give and receive feedback regularly and the process has been my best source of continued learning.”

Thinking out of the box

The manuscript that landed Jess her first contract was one of many she had been working on, and it was also the one that had taken her the longest to write. After going through seven drafts, she knew that it was something special and that she wanted to see it out in the world. But she gave it some breathing space while she worked on other projects.

“During the time I left this manuscript, I worked on many other submissions and immersed myself in the wonderful KidLit community. I believe this time of growth and learning helped shape and polish my manuscript when I returned to it. When it was finally ready, I booked my first editor assessment at the CYA conference. I knew exactly where I wanted this manuscript to land.

“When I met with the editor and she told me she loved my story, I was over the moon. Receiving positive feedback on something I had poured my heart into was gratifying. The process between that assessment and receiving the letter of offer for a contract was around three months and felt incredibly long to endure!”

Jess’s debut picture book Bernie’s Boxes is about an autistic girl who thinks in boxes, and how she overcomes a challenging, ‘out-of-the-box’ situation.

“It’s an ‘own voices’ narrative that provides a relatable analogy of a dichotomous thinking style that many neurodivergent folk experience,” Jess explains. “I hope that when kids read this book, it will broaden their awareness of different ways of thinking and encourage them to put their own needs ahead of social norms and conformity.”

Juggling writing with life

While she waits for the release of her book, Jess continues to find time to write in the chaos of life as a working mum.

“As many working parents could attest to, fitting writing into your life is almost impossible. And yet, if you love it, you make it happen. I continue to work a full-time job in four days per week. I do drop-offs and make dinners and ignore the washing on a daily basis. And sometimes, I write.

“I have a very long writing ‘to-do’ list and far too many projects in progress, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I tend to write in the evenings, and often because my laptop screen makes an excellent shield when watching scary Netflix shows. Occasionally, I take a day or two off work and head to my local café to spend the day writing (bliss!).

“Writing has changed my life in more ways than just giving me another task list. It has given me something to be excited about, something to look forward to, and a shared interest that has welcomed me to the beautiful KidLit community. Writing has brought me new friendships and a new sense of purpose.”

That new sense of purpose started with one simple entry into the Furious Fiction competition – which Jess has gone on to enter a total of 27 times!

“In my experience, the courses at AWC are detailed but succinct, well-structured, and fast-paced. They give you the information you didn’t know you needed! You know how they say, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’? Well, the AWC people know the things you don’t know – let them tell you.”

Courses completed at Australian Writers' Centre:

• Laugh Out Loud
• Writing Picture Books
• Creative Writing Stage 1
• Fiction Essentials Characters

“The courses laid a foundation of self-belief that I could achieve the goal of being a published author one day, which clearly worked as that dream came true!” Paula told us.

Fulfilling a childhood dream

Despite the early encouragement at school, Paula didn’t pursue her passion for creative writing. All that changed when she realised she needed to go back to her childhood dream.

“I had been working in the film/TV industry for decades and was getting majorly burnt out. I had always wanted to be an author but had never given myself permission to do something for myself. I was in my forties and knew that it was now or never, so I signed up for various AWC courses in the hope it would give me the push I needed to take writing seriously.”

Paula was especially attracted by the specialisation offered by AWC courses.

“I liked that I could hand pick subjects that felt relevant to me, my aspirations, and my writing,” Paula says. “The courses promised what they delivered, without feeling overwhelming. Publishing and writing in general can be so daunting when you are first starting out, so finding courses that felt tailor made for me—with goal posts that were achievable—was such a godsend.”

Taking the plunge

With her newfound confidence, Paula threw herself into writing, completing five manuscripts in just a few years. She put the lessons learned in Pitch Your Novel: How to Attract Agents and Publishers to good use, pitching agents and publishers and refining her manuscripts, before being picked up by her current agent, Gwen Beal from UTA. Within two months, Paula had a two-book six-figure deal.

Well, that’s the condensed version. The reality is that Paula went through many rewrites, pivots and hard work to get to her final destination.

“At an age where I should be well and truly settled into my career until retirement, I decided to give writing a real shot,” Paula says.

She wrote her first manuscript, which would become Original Twin, and went out on submission, but was told that it was more suited to YA. She wrote a brand new manuscript for a YA audience and landed her first agent, but when that relationship didn’t work out, she tried for a middle grade novel, while also pitching her other manuscripts.

“I was exhausted, defeated. I wanted to give up multiple times. Not to mention I was incredibly burnt out from writing five manuscripts in a matter of years,” Paula told us. “Only, something exciting happened. An agent I had queried passed over my YA mystery to a colleague and this colleague loved it and could we get on a call? I mean, YES! This call would lead me to my current agent, Gwen Beal from UTA. I knew I had finally found my advocate and it was well worth the wait.”

Working with Gwen, Paula pulled out that original manuscript for Original Twin, and rewrote it again.

“I still kept my late-teen protagonists but I wrote it for an adult market. I did this during the pandemic, while going through a divorce and couch surfing (1/10 do not recommend).”

With this newly polished manuscript, Paula secured her publishing deal with Thomas and Mercer.

“I think I went from joy to tears pretty quickly because of how hard the journey was and the absolute relief of finally knowing all that hard work was worth it. Even now that my book is out, it still doesn’t feel real. Sometimes being comfortably numb is as good an emotion as any. LOL. So the hustle and pivoting was worth it—but yikes what a journey to get here. (Insert ‘it was 84 years’ meme here.)”

A page-turning thriller

Paula’s debut novel Original Twin is an adult/crossover thriller about twin sisters May and June who couldn’t be more different. May is quiet, self-conscious, withdrawn; June is boisterous, beautiful, magnetic…and missing. It’s been a year since June disappeared, a year of May waiting for her to turn up with an explanation of where she’s been and why she left. But with the discovery of an old newspaper article comes a secret: their mother once vanished, too, on the same date when she was nineteen years old. Just like June. This was no coincidence. June was investigating this buried family mystery, and she left May a series of clues to pick up where she left off. Now, if May wants to find June, she’ll have to retrace her footsteps through their mother’s past. The more answers she digs up, the more questions May has. And the biggest one of all: When her sister’s trail of breadcrumbs runs out, what or who will she find?

Seeing her novel on bookshelves and garnering rave reviews has been a dream come true for Paula.

“I didn’t debut until I was 50 so there were many decades in between. I certainly imagined it and knew that if I worked hard enough and never gave up that I could turn my dream into a reality.”

After securing her deal with Thomas and Mercer, Paula can now write full time. It just goes to show, you should always follow the advice of your grade four teacher. But it’s also never too late to follow your dreams.

“Sign up to an AWC course immediately! There is something for everyone, no matter where you are at in your writing journey.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Reinvent Yourself
• Anatomy of a Crime: How to Write About Murder
• Pitch Your Novel: How to Attract Agents and Publishers

“With a tauter, more suspenseful narrative and much more at stake for my two main characters, I began to approach agents. Sally Bird from the Calidris literary agency took me on and secured a publishing deal with Echo. They have been a joy to work with and as a result my first historical crime novel, Murder in Punch Lane, is coming out in July,” Jane told us.

Back to basics

Jane has had a successful career as a journalist. She also reviews books and has published two novels and a nonfiction book.

“So you’d think I’d know what I was doing, right?” she says. “Wrong. I was having trouble with my third novel. It was going to be a literary coming of age story set in Melbourne in 1868. I’d done a heap of research and I’d spent years and years writing it, draft after draft, and I’d had lots of valuable mentoring and feedback from readers. Yet somehow it just wasn’t coming together.

“The penny finally dropped when I realised I was writing something that didn’t want to be a literary coming of age novel at all. It wanted to be a crime novel. Somehow I had never realised this, even though there was a murder in the story, and a hunt to find the murderer.”

Despite being an avid crime reader, Jane felt she didn’t know how to start writing one, so she enrolled in Crime and Thriller Writing with LA Larkin.

“Louisa took me back to basics, and that was what I needed. The different kinds of crime novel, the difference between a crime novel and a thriller. This gave me a much more focussed picture of what my book wanted to be. She stressed the importance of building and releasing tension, creating a high-stakes world for my characters. Of course these things are important in any novel, but I hadn’t quite realised how crucial they would be for a crime novel.”

A new direction for her characters

The course also highlighted to Jane that she needed to change her initial characters to fit into the crime narrative she was building.

“Character was vitally important. I realised that yet again I would have to rethink my two main characters. I’d begun with a story centering on a naïve young man, a journalist, and a worldly young woman, an actress, who form an unlikely alliance to track down a murderer. My naïve young man was my protagonist and my worldly young woman was his sidekick.”

But after the course, she changed tack and made the young woman, now named Lola, her protagonist.

“Despite all her courage, she had more dangers to face than any man because 1868 Melbourne was a viciously hierarchical and misogynistic place, and actresses were at the bottom of the pile. It’s her best friend, also an actress, who is murdered,” she says. “And the naïve young fellow, much as I loved him, had to go. His replacement was Magnus, a smooth-talking, rakish man about town who tries straight away to seduce Lola. He drives her mad. And they are working together as amateur sleuths? Oh boy, I’d have some fun writing this. In the end, I loved the maddening Magnus even more than the naïve fellow he replaced.”

With her manuscript now in better shape, Jane started sending it out to agents and publishers. 

“Several were keen to see the manuscript and the emails that came back were enthusiastic, but there was always that word ‘But…’ which meant another rejection. When I got an email back from Sally Bird at the Calidris literary agency I had to read it several times before I realised there was no ‘But’. She wanted to sign me up! From there it was a matter of weeks before I found a publisher. Both Sally and the Echo people have been a dream to work with and I really feel my novel has found its rightful home.”

A mystery set in history

Murder in Punch Lane is set in the heady gold rush era of 1868 Melbourne. When dazzling theatre star Marie St Denis dies in the arms of her best friend, fellow actress Lola Sanchez, everyone believes it was suicide. Everyone except Lola. On the brink of stardom herself, she risks everything by embarking on a quest to find Marie’s killer. Journalist Magnus Scott, writing as “The Walking Gentleman”, publishes a compassionate obituary about Marie, so Lola decides to seek his help. A fraught attraction develops between these two amateur detectives from opposite sides of society, and their volatile relationship soon begins to compromise their investigation.

“Although I made up the story, and both Lola and Magnus are fictional, I’ve used real events, places and characters based on the real powerful people who ran Melbourne, a brash goldrush city of wealth and poverty, piety and vice and hypocrisy, orgies and opium dens and all kinds of violence.”

Jane is still working as a freelance journalist. But having now published her third novel, and her first crime novel, Jane is keen to keep learning and also enrolled in the Historical Fiction course. “I’m particularly interested in finding out more about how to research.

“I think what I've learned generally from this experience is that it's not just beginners who need help. Whatever your level of experience and success, there's always more to learn, whether craft or the practical business of finding a publisher.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Crime and Thriller Writing
• Historical Fiction
• FOCUS ON… The Second Act
• Your Author Website

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. Since then, she has gone on to publish four picture books, with more under contract. Her latest release is 100 School Days, out now with Affirm. She has also published The Truck Cat, The Sydney Harbour Fairy and Naturopolis.

Inspired to write

When creativity struck, Deborah was working as an advertising copywriter, so she already knew that writing was a practical skill she could learn. But she had never tackled a book or a work of fiction before. That’s why she turned to the Australian Writers' Centre.

“I was coming to the end of my maternity leave with my first child. My daughter was one of those babies who would only nap in a baby carrier while moving, so I spent months and months walking the streets of my neighbourhood with her snoring gently on my chest. It turns out there's something very meditative about walking without anywhere to get to – it stirs up so many ideas,” Deborah told us.

“I couldn't stop thinking about stories, many of them inspired by the piles of picture books we were reading every day. I realised this was my opportunity to actually do something about the need-to-write that I'd squashed inside myself for decades.

“I knew I needed some kind of instruction. In my day job – the one I was on maternity leave from – I was (and still am) an advertising copywriter, so I already had a very pragmatic approach to writing, borne of years of working on whichever brief I was allocated. I knew it's a craft you can hone, but I didn't know the first thing about writing a book. And I was looking for a course I could do from home, flexibly. So I started with Writing Picture Books.”

She was particularly drawn to the no-nonsense nature of AWC courses, which deliver detailed and actionable content.

“They're extremely practical. I've done a few other writing short courses, and often hit a point where I'm frustrated by the vagueness of the lessons – sometimes the whole thing feels like the introduction. I don't need broad strokes inspiration from a course, I need nuts and bolts! All the AWC courses I've done have delivered that,” she says.

A whole new world

Deborah says that that first course unlocked the floodgates of creativity for her.

“About 18 months after completing the course, using what I'd learned, I applied for and was awarded an Australian Society of Authors mentorship for a non-fiction picture book manuscript. It was a manuscript inspired, appropriately, by wandering the streets with my daughter, who was by then a toddler and fascinated by all the weeds, moss, ants, and lizards she could inspect at toddler-height.”

This manuscript eventually became her debut book Naturopolis.

“A year or so later, I submitted the same manuscript to a publisher's open submissions window, and then a few months later received a mysterious email from the publisher asking if we could talk on the phone. As soon as I answered, she said, ‘Congratulations, I'd like to publish your manuscript!' and I nearly fell over – only I didn't, because by that stage I had a second baby who, if I recall correctly, had just pooed all over my hands. Glamorous!,” Deborah recalls.

Naturopolis is beautifully illustrated by debut illustrator Ingrid Bartkowiak, and went on to be awarded by the Children's Book Council of Australia and elsewhere.

The start of a career as an author

“As soon as I got a little momentum with the mentorship and this first contract, it snowballed. I kept writing and submitting and joined critique groups full of staggeringly talented writers, and soon I had a second picture book under contract, The Sydney Harbour Fairy, which was published in 2023 by Affirm Press. I have two more picture books out this year, The Truck Cat and 100 School Days. And I have others under contract for release in the coming years,” she says.

The Truck Cat tells the story of Tinka, a cat who lives on a B-double truck with his human, Yacoub. But while Tinka and Yacoub live literally everywhere, home feels very far away, for both of them. Then when Tinka and Yacoub get separated on the highway, everything changes, and in finding their way back to each other, they discover something new about what home might mean. 

“It's a story about cats and humans, immigration and identity, and homes lost and found… and there's even a hint of a love story, too! It's illustrated by Danny Snell and published by Bright Light.”

100 School Days is a celebration of growth and learning, in a rhyming narrative that also incorporates elements of a counting book. 

“It's the first picture book in Australia about the ‘100 days of school' milestone that many primary schools celebrate in the first year of school,” Deborah says. “It's fun and heartfelt and I think it encapsulates the joy and drama of the first year of primary school! It's illustrated by Laura Stitzel and published by Affirm Press.”

Deborah continues her work as an advertising copywriter while fitting her creative writing into evenings and weekends. And while she is bubbling with ideas for older readers and writing short stories, picture books are her main focus for now. Her adventures with her three-year-old provide ongoing inspiration.

“That's the benefit of living with your target audience – it's constant market research!”

Deborah’s writing process

Fitting writing in around her work and family means she has to be flexible.

“My writing process is very fluid and often happens on-the-go – it normally involves me stabbing single-sentence thoughts into my Notes app, or emailing myself a couple of words before I forget them! Ideas find me and I find that if I can't stop thinking about something, it's probably a good idea that's worth pursuing.

“Once I get to the laptop, I generally write a picture book manuscript in a single sitting, and then edit it furiously over a longer period of time.”

One surprising aspect of creating picture books that Deborah loves is working with an illustrator and an editor.

“I love the collaboration of it, and how other minds make your words far, far better than they ever could have been in your little Word document! I also love the visual thinking required, which is its own language, and it’s one I'm slowly learning, book by book.”

As Deborah continues to pursue success with her picture books, she is thankful for those first steps she took with her newborn – and the AWC.

“Do a course! There's nothing to lose,” she says. “You hear a lot about how fiendishly difficult it is to get a publishing contract, so I'd tucked away any hope I had of that happening. But it happens! Persistence pays off, and so does owning your goals and dreams.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Writing Picture Books
• SEO Copywriting
• Writing Children's Novels
• Presenting to Kids

“I’d always wanted to write fiction and have my own novels published… When Allen & Unwin made an offer, I was home alone in my study and I literally jumped for joy! It was so validating to have others believing in your story.”

When she took her first course at the Australian Writers' Centre, Petronella had had success in professional writing and ghost writing, but her dream to become a published fiction author was getting lost in the business of everyday life.

“I work from a home office as a professional writer and editor… I was writing a manuscript in my ‘spare time’ but it was hard to find ‘spare time’ with the juggle of work and children in primary school. The necessities of everyday life had overtaken my writing routine. I felt that doing a course, face-to-face, would help me to carve out the time I needed for writing my novel and prioritising it once again.

“The first course I did at AWC was Crime and Thriller Writing with L.A. Larkin. My aim was to write a psychological thriller so I wanted to find out more about how to create tension, set up suspense and drive the action.”

After that short course, Petronella enrolled in Write Your Novel: 6-month program with Pamela Freeman. “I signed up to the Write Your Novel: 6-month program to kick-start my novel… We had deadlines for chapters, we had deadlines to workshop and give feedback and it really helped give you the support to write a really long piece of work. When you sit down to look at writing a novel of 100,000 words, it’s a large task and the classes really supported me all the way through that process.

“The six-month course created the space for me to focus on writing. I could say to my kids, ‘I have to do my homework’ and they understood that! It showed my commitment to my writing and, I guess, validated it in a way.

“The workshopping process and editing was particularly useful, in terms of looking at a novel as a whole. That always feels daunting but reading other people’s manuscripts and having feedback on your own provided different perspectives on how the story was working.”

Petronella McGovern
Graduate of Australian Writers' Centre, author of “Six Minutes”

Petronella finished her first draft of Six Minutes during Write Your Novel and continued to work on several drafts after that. “Getting published often takes time and involves setbacks, so being resilient, persevering and being prepared to re-write are essential skills for authors.”

Keeping on track
While working through drafts of Six Minutes, Petronella continued to learn. “I did the online course, Anatomy of a Crime: How to Write About Murder, which was fascinating… As a result of that course, I decided I needed to do more research into my police character. I had interviewed a few police officers in Canberra and I decided I needed to get a bit more detailed information, so I managed to find two more police officers who generously gave me a lot of time and information about their career. 

“When life was again overtaking my writing routine, I signed on to the online course, Make Time to Write. It gave plenty of motivation and inspiration to get me back on track. As part of that, I had the bonus 30-day Writing Bootcamp. It emails a reminder task every day. I really like the ‘write 500 words in 30 minutes’ exercise. So often when I’m writing, I start researching online and fall down a rabbit hole! Setting a timer to write for 30 minutes, with no other distractions, is good discipline and gets the words on the page.”

Petronella also had the help and support of four friends from her Write Your Novel course. “When we finished the Write your Novel course, five of us continued to meet… Pamela Freeman encourages students to create a writing community and I think this is really important when writing is such a solitary undertaking.

“We still meet up, support each other and give feedback on our writing. We all write in different styles and in different genres and I think that helps us in critiquing each other. I was so appreciative of their feedback on Six Minutes – in particular, they helped me to sort out some plot issues and make it a better book.”

Within Petronella's writers group, Margaret Morgan published her novel The Second Cure in 2018 and Frances Chapman‘s YA novel Stars Like Us was released in 2020. Katy Pike and Catherine Hanrahan are working on fascinating novels which Petronella is confident will also be successful.

The road to publication
When Petronella felt her first manuscript was ready, she sent it out to a number of publishers, but she wasn’t successful right away. “One publisher had just commissioned a book with similar themes but she thought it was good and encouraged me to keep sending it out. Others said the writing was great but it was the wrong story for them at this time.”

She decided to do one more edit, changing the first chapter and the climax. “At this point, I sent it to Brian Cook of The Authors’ Agent, who stayed up half the night reading the manuscript because he couldn’t put it down. He emailed it out to a number of interested publishers.” Allen & Unwin got in touch with their offer not long after.

“It has been fabulous working with Allen & Unwin and to have a whole team who care so passionately about the book. Across the publishing process – editing, final proofreading, marketing and publicity – everyone has been great to work with and very enthusiastic about Six Minutes.”

Petronella released her second novel, The Good Teacher, in 2020. She still has her professional writing and editing work but has wound it back slightly so she has more time for her creative writing.

“If it wasn’t for the Australian Writers' Centre it would have taken me a lot longer to finish my first draft of Six Minutes, and a lot longer, I think, to get it published. I really enjoyed the feedback and the support that I got through the Australian Writers' Centre through the tutors and the other people in our class.

“Even though I came to AWC with strong writing experience, there was always more to learn and take away from each class.  

“The AWC courses are very practical and you’ll find lots of different aspects that you can apply directly to your own writing. The presenters are experienced authors who can share their advice on the industry. I liked the online courses for their ease of working at your own pace at home but the face-to-face courses provide a chance to meet other writers in person and create a writing community. The AWC courses give you both the practical skills and the motivation to make your creative writing a priority.”

Petronella’s advice to writers: I would say get started on a course as soon as you can.

Courses taken at AWC:
Crime and Thriller Writing
Write Your Novel
Anatomy of a Crime: How to Write About Murder
Make Time to Write / Creative Writing 30-day Bootcamp

Congratulations to AWC graduate Bec Nanayakkara who now has two picture books published. Grow Big, Little Seed has been published by Hardie Grant. And her second book The Book Star is out now with Affirm Press.

The Book Star is based on an idea she workshopped in our Writing Picture Books course just a year ago!

“I wrote a story for one of the assignments, and soon after the course, I polished it up and submitted it to Affirm Press. It was my first picture book submission to a publisher,” Bec told us. “Six months later they got in touch, and I have just signed a contract with them.”

Finding a creative outlet
Bec had always loved picture books, but it was while she was on maternity leave that she turned to writing as an emotional and creative outlet. Her long-held desire to write for children was reignited and she enrolled at the Australian Writers' Centre. 

“Learning how to present a picture book manuscript was a real game changer. We all have stories – amazing stories! But what next if you don’t know how to turn those stories into a manuscript?” she says. “We were given a manuscript template, and we were taught heaps of rules about things like formatting, page numbers and illustration notes. This information gave me the confidence to take my stories, turn them into manuscripts, and actually submit them to publishers.”

What inspired Bec’s story?

“Keeping it child-centred, I started to think about Book Week Dress-Up days,” Bec says. “My daughter loved all her costumes from prep through to Grade 6 but, prior to every Book Week, there was always that discussion – ‘What should I wear? What is everyone else wearing? What does everyone else think I should wear?’ I felt certain that this Book Week Dress-Up Day dilemma was one that many young readers could relate to, and so I began writing.”

Although Bec felt that she intuitively knew many of the elements of storytelling, the course helped her to apply those principles to her own stories. She also developed a commitment to a regular writing practice.

Getting into the flow of writing
“The course was only five weeks long, but it helped me build up a writing momentum,” Bec says. “Each week we had to submit a writing task of approximately 200–500 words. At first, it seemed like a big commitment – we had nine-month-old twins who liked to cluster feed all evening. But once I was in the flow, and once I realised how much I loved my writing time, it didn’t feel so hard. Since the course has finished, I’ve kept up with writing three or four nights a week.”

While she waited to hear back from Affirm Press, Bec continued to work and rework her manuscript. So when they came back with positive news, her story had actually changed!

“We talked about the original and the updated version of my manuscript. The Kid’s Team were keen to keep some parts from the old, but also really loved some of my new changes. I happily agreed to blend the two together. A month or so later, the Kid’s Team took this new blended version to their acquisition meeting, and it was a success,” Bec says. 

A book deal!
“Amazingly, the day I signed my contract was the same date that my Writing Picture Books course had started, 12 months ago.”

Now that she’s had her first taste of success, Bec is keen to keep writing and submitting manuscripts and work on her social media presence. But the important thing is to keep loving what she’s doing.

“I’m reminding myself not to get overwhelmed or to let writing become a burden. Above all else, I want writing to be my creative outlet, a source of joy, and a mindful and therapeutic practice.”

Bec is based in Armidale, in the New England region of New South Wales.

Courses taken at AWC:
Writing Picture Books

“I don’t think I would be a published author without the AWC courses; they were the seed from which everything else grew. The fantastic lessons aside, recommendations for great books on writing, connections with other writers and news of publishing opportunities all came through the AWC,” Anna told us.

The start of a new chapter

Anna started toying with the idea of returning to her first passion during a stay at an Enid Blyton-like cottage in the English countryside. A friend recommended she try the Australian Writers' Centre, so Anna enrolled in Creative Writing Stage 1, followed by Novel Writing Essentials.

“I’d been concerned about how my brain (which often feels like mashed banana) would hold up to further education after such a long time away from study, but I needn’t have been. The lessons in the AWC courses were incredibly clear and easy to follow. My tutor (Bernadette Foley) was sensational. She not only provided practical feedback but made me believe I had something worth writing, and her initial words of encouragement have stayed in my head to this day.”

Anna found the community aspect of the courses to be particularly beneficial. “The opportunity to be surrounded by other writers from all different walks of life and give and receive feedback on each other’s work was priceless. It gave us the skills and insight to critique and edit our own work as well as providing a good sense of how our writing was tracking rather than going it alone and just hoping for the best.”

Write about what you know

For her first manuscript, Anna drew on her experiences working in aged care. “Before having children, I was studying to become a doctor, yet ended up as a social support coordinator after following my heart into my grandfather’s nursing home after he was diagnosed with dementia.”

Anna feels privileged to have cared for residents with varying stages of dementia and to have provided support to their families, knowledge which she later passed on to the protagonist of her first novel. 

“Sadly, an injury and multiple surgeries left me unable to return to aged care, so I began to write about it, channelling my experience and love for older people onto the page.”

Her debut novel, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, is about a bizarre case of mistaken identity that gives a desperately lonely elderly man one last chance at being part of a family. He just has to hope that his poker face is in better nick than his prostate and that his lookalike is never found! It’s a life-affirming story about redemption, forgiveness, grief and finding family, coated thickly in Aussie humour.

“The idea for the novel began with the creation of my protagonist Fred, who not only shares my late grandfather’s name but also his delightful, selfless, and endearing nature. Pa was my best friend, whose gratitude, humour and kindness lit up any room he was in. People over eighty are often under or misrepresented in the arts, so I wanted to create not just an elderly character but an elderly hero who inspires hope and shows that worth, unlike eyesight, does not diminish with age. 

“Pa provided the perfect inspiration. He had countless strengths, but his poker face wasn’t one of them! He was so honest that he found it terribly difficult to even play a card game that required bluffing. Plot stems from conflict, so I contemplated what would happen if you placed such a man in a situation where he was desperate enough to deceive (if he believed he wasn’t hurting anyone). Doppelgängers and cases of mistaken identity have always fascinated me, and I began developing the idea of one man being able to redeem another man’s life, even after death. The story grew quickly from there.

“My experience in aged care provided the setting for the book and influenced its themes of grief, ageing, isolation and the power of identity, purpose, love, and connection. I was also greatly inspired by my grandparents’ beautiful marriage which breathed life into the novel. I often wonder what prompted multiple people to publish this story and I can only believe that their love somehow got into my keyboard and onto the page. The characters, plot and setting of the novel are all fictional. But the love? That’s entirely real.”

Building on her knowledge

Anna took the skills she learned in additional courses, including Fiction Essentials: Scenes, Fiction Essentials: Grammar and Punctuation and Fiction Essentials: Structure to polish her manuscript to the best of her ability before looking for a publisher. 

“I entered a couple of writing competitions to little avail and began preparing a query letter to submit to agents and publishers. However, my big break came when I decided to give Virtual Literary Speed Dating a go, as suggested by my AWC tutor. This is a unique and fabulous opportunity offered by the Australian Society of Authors in which you have three minutes to pitch your novel to a publisher or agent on Zoom. 

“I pitched to the lovely Bev Cousins at Penguin Random House, and she requested my full manuscript the following week. I began preparing myself for a ‘no’ with my Stephen King rejection nail and hammer at the ready – it’s a thing, google it!. But I never needed the nail because this was THE YES! And not for one book, but two. I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to have had this door open so quickly and don’t take it for granted that everything aligned that day.”

Anna celebrated the good news with spaghetti, seafood, dancing, tiramisu and champagne. “Not necessarily in that order!” Anna says. “It was a similar feeling to when the boy I really liked called me for the first time, which made me so happy that I screamed and jumped into the pool. I didn’t jump into the pool when I heard I was being published, but I did tell that same boy (who is now my husband) and we screamed and cried and jumped up and down along with our daughters and geriatric Italian Greyhound.”

Anna then secured herself an agent, and now has publishing deals with Harper Collins USA and Nemira Publishing Romania. 

“I’m also thrilled that the manuscript is now with a media rights agent in Los Angeles who is pitching to writers and producers for screen adaptation, which for me was always the ultimate aspiration from the minute I typed the first word. Not too long ago, I would have told myself I was dreaming. Now that my dreams and reality have begun to merge like the perfect gin and tonic, I’m starting to believe that anything is possible.”

A career as an author

Anna is working on the second book in her two-book deal, currently titled Ratbag. “It’s about a retired Michelin-star chef called Griff who now lives in a nursing home, widowed and depressed. He has created a death menu—a list of ways in which he could take his own life. He just has to choose which one…by Friday. There is no way his last meal is going to be the flavourless mush they serve at the home, so the night before he plans his demise, he breaks into the nursing home kitchen to cook himself his last meal, sparking a long-forgotten joy. 

“It’s a story about the power of food, purpose, family, and love. I drew inspiration for this from the delightful Maggie Beer who is doing great work with her foundation to improve food in nursing homes.”

And while the achievements keep rolling in, for Anna the most important thing is sharing her dream with her family.

“Showing my kids that dreams were possible was one of my proudest moments as a mum. Because of my physical health limitations, they had never seen me climb a mountain, until now. My youngest daughter has already planned her book week costume based on my debut – even though it’s not a kid’s book – and I get teary even thinking about that! They are both wonderful writers and I love sharing this passion with them.

“Because this book grew from such a personal family connection, I also felt delighted and proud that my grandparents’ love, which inspired everyone who met them, could be shared beyond their lifetime and geography. That’s the magic of books.”

A winning recipe

Anna has found the winning recipe, combining her love for her family, storytelling and aged care into stories that will resonate with readers. Her aim is to write uplifting and meaningful books that make the reader laugh and cry in equal measure and leave them seeing a little of the glitter in the world.

“I feel so incredibly grateful and in awe that this little story that began in my head has really meant something to people in the publishing industry and because of that it will have the opportunity to reach, and hopefully capture the hearts of, people on a global scale. It’s just mind-blowing. I hope that it’s not just an enjoyable read but that it might also be a tonic to people whose lives have been touched by ageing and loss.

“If you are even remotely curious about writing, enrolling in an Australian Writers' Centre course is the single best thing you can do, whether you are after a career change or just want to enjoy it as a hobby. It not only teaches you the craft of all kinds of writing – from novels to picture books to copywriting and grammar – but also offers very practical advice on getting published and invaluable insight into how the industry works.

“The courses also put you in touch with other aspiring authors, which helps to keep your writing momentum. Writing a book is a bit like trying to get fit – but with less sweat and more chocolate. In both pursuits, having accountability buddies gives you the highest chance of success. My origin story is not uncommon – so many authors I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to also began their journey to publication at the Australian Writers' Centre.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Inside Publishing
• Your Author Website
• Fiction Essentials: Scenes
• Plotting and Planning
• Fiction Essentials: Grammar and Punctuation
• Fiction Essentials: Structure
• Novel Writing Essentials
• Creative Writing Stage 1

After a 17-year career in the army, M. Dane was facing a medical discharge. The dramatic change in lifestyle was a difficult period for Dane, and after some soul searching he decided to embark on a transformative journey to realise a long-held dream – becoming a successful author. This led him to the Australian Writers' Centre.

Dane immediately felt the impact of the courses, which allowed him to focus on specific areas of improvement. In fact, he went on to do more than a dozen courses.

“I appreciated the variety of course formats, from self-paced modules to weekly sessions with an instructor and classmates, which was a fun experience. Engaging with my peers and taking part in critique exchanges was incredibly beneficial,” Dane says.

Dane has now gone on to find success as a self-published author, with his novel Born Upon a Curse gaining considerable attention on TikTok, attracting over 1150 applicants for the role of advanced reader.

“The courses at AWC are absolute game changers. They've elevated my skills in so many ways, and I wouldn't be where I am without them.”

Unlocking the power of feedback

One of the most impactful aspects of the courses was the invaluable feedback received from both instructors and classmates. 

“I'm a huge fan of the instructor feedback,” Dane told us. “Submitting my project and receiving their experienced input worked a treat in helping me understand strong and weak areas of my writing. I appreciated the time and effort they invested in each of my submissions. [The presenter] Tim Harris was a standout; I loved his breakdown of my Laugh Out Loud submission.”

Feedback from classmates also revealed blind spots in his writing. “Apparently, I can't get enough of similes. Now, being aware of this tendency, I've learned to rein in my similes like a shepherd herding sheep.”

He also found that the courses provided the structure and guidelines that he needed to write better and faster. 

“The number of lightbulb moments I experienced during my courses at AWC is unbelievable,” he says. “I now write a faster first draft that is significantly cleaner than any of my previous works. I spend less time pulling my hair out, frustrated and confused with writer's block, as I now have a solid understanding of story structure, character development, and effective plotting techniques. This allows me to write more books, which is my passion.”

He was also able to connect with other writers. “Since completing the courses, I've expanded my network, connecting with fellow authors, graduates like Reece Carter, and instructors such as Tim Harris. These connections have been invaluable.”

Born Upon a Curse: A dream realised

Dane's latest novel is Born Upon a Curse, a new adult paranormal romance.

“The story follows Alina Rose, a 19-year-old struggling to control her alter ego, Machina, when a night out reveals there's more to her split personality than she could have imagined: she's a demon, and her powers have just awakened. This leads her to Astaroth Academy, a prestigious institution in an alpine France-like setting, where she hopes to learn to control her powers and silence Machina once and for all.”

He was inspired by his love for the fantasy books that he read voraciously as a child.

“I wrote this story because I was obsessed with Hogwarts as a kid. I'd dream of attending so I could explore the secret passageways and eat all the food. In a way, Astaroth is Hogwarts for college-aged demons. Swap out broomsticks for beers, and you're close to experiencing the world I've created.”

Although a paranormal romance seems quite different from a soldier’s life, Dane was able to draw on his military experience in his writing.

“The army was such a huge part of my life for so long, it would be impossible for it not to rub off on my writing,” he acknowledges. “In Born Upon a Curse, some action scenes are directly inspired by my military experience, with the terminology and strategies reflecting my background.

“Additionally, I'm working on a middle-grade series where each book is a standalone in a unique location around the world. My goal is to introduce young readers to different customs, myths, and ways of life, encouraging them to explore the world with an open mind. My extensive travel with the army gave me an appreciation for the wider world, and I hope to pass that sense of wonder and curiosity on to my readers.”

A process that works

Dane kicks off all his stories by reading Save the Cat, a popular plotting book, and he did the same when starting Born Upon a Curse.

“Once I felt confident in my structure, I outlined each chapter by hand, filling an entire notebook – what I call my ‘draft 0.5'. I then wrote drafts 1 to 3 on my laptop in Scrivener and sent them to a list of beta readers for feedback. After reviewing their thoughts, I dove into another three drafts before sending the manuscript to my copy editor. That's when the real fun began. I turned to TikTok to find readers for my ARCs (Advance Reader Copies), offering my book in exchange for honest and fair reviews. This strategy helped me gather over 1150 advance readers, ensuring I had reviews ready on Amazon and Goodreads at launch. Now, it's all about promoting, promoting, promoting.”

Dane was initially hesitant to try out TikTok, but was encouraged by his girlfriend to use it to connect with other authors and bookish people. 

“I don't enjoy being the centre of attention, and recording myself for everyone to see was outside my comfort zone. But as I made more videos (including one terrible one with me dancing, which I later deleted), I became more comfortable, and now I can't imagine life without it. The bookish community of TikTok is phenomenal – they're incredibly supportive and friendly, and I've made some fantastic friends there. Plus, TikTok is a hotspot for books going viral, and I'm hopeful that one day, one of my stories will join the ranks of TikTok-famous books.”

He aims to post at least five times a week, but ramped up his activity during his book launch.

“I make it a point to respond to every comment because if people take the time to engage with my posts, I want them to know I appreciate it. I try to be as authentic as possible because I believe people can sense when something isn't genuine. My content varies from me talking to the camera about various topics, showcasing my books, to sharing snippets of my life, like my writing retreat in England last year. This mix helps keep my feed engaging.

“Through TikTok, I've found my beta readers, ARC readers, and customers. It's been significant in building my audience. I've also created a mailing list to keep people informed about upcoming books, which is invaluable. Plus, I've gained a lot of insights from the community, taking their feedback on what works and what doesn't, and making sure to incorporate those points in future books.”

A resounding recommendation

As well as his new-adult novel, Dane has published a picture book called Beyond the Clouds, which he illustrated himself.

“I’ve also worked on another picture book titled Dino Masters, which I authored and illustrated. These projects wouldn’t have seen the light of day without the skills and confidence I gained from the Australian Writers' Centre.

“The instructors are fantastic, and the courses are broken down into easy-to-follow chunks. Take a look through their course library and pick ones you think will benefit you the most. The value for money is unmatched. Trust me, if these courses weren't top-notch, I wouldn't have completed 16 of them.

“Writing has become a central part of my life, and I'm very pleased to say I dreamed and hoped it would happen. I worked hard and gave up a lot to make time for my writing. So, yes, I dreamed and I hoped, and I'm still pinching myself that it actually happened. The Australian Writers' Centre has been an indispensable part of that journey, and I can't recommend it enough to aspiring writers.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Writing Picture Books
• Laugh Out Loud
• Fiction Essentials: Scenes
• Cut, Shape, Polish
• Romance Writing
• Short Story Essentials
• Fiction Essentials: Characters
• Writing Chapter Books
• Inside Publishing
• Pitch Your Novel: How to attract agents and publishers
• Writing Picture Books Masterclass
• Novel Writing Essentials
• Fiction Essentials: Dialogue
• Your Author Website
• Your Audiobook Advantage
• Book Covers That Sell