blog – Page 100 – Australian Writers' Centre

How part-time lawyer Libby Hakim carved out a successful career as a freelance writer

Libby Hakim had a simple goal: to see her byline in a magazine or newspaper. After completing a course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, she not only achieved that – she’s now been published in many top publications.

Working as a part-time lawyer, Libby first completed a five-week online course in Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1. That changed the course of Libby’s life. “Before I started the course I actually had the goal of getting published, I wanted to see my byline in a magazine or a newspaper,” says Libby, who was working part-time as a lawyer.

Writing Podcast Episode 93 Meet thriller author Jaye Ford, author of ‘Darkest Place’

In Episode 93 of So you want to be a writer: What writers need to know about defamation when writing memoirs, win a writer’s residency in

Q&A: The Force Awakens vs Wakens vs Wakes?

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules,

COMP CLOSED: Win The Mapmaker Chronicles trilogy – signed!

We’re triply excited this week, with not one but THREE books to give away. They form the trilogy of The Mapmaker Chronicles – A.L. Tait’s

Catherine Rodie: overcoming dyslexia to become a successful writer

Catherine Rodie never thought she would become a writer. This limiting belief, coupled with her experience with dyslexia, meant that she hadn’t considered that writing could be a real career for her. But after completing a course at the Australian Writers’ Centre, that all changed. And now, she’s not only become one of the most prolific freelance writers in Australia, she’s laid the foundations to pursue a career in publishing, recently scoring a coveted part-time role at Bauer Magazines.

8 writing competitions to enter in January and February 2016

The new year is the perfect time to stretch your creative legs and enter a writing competition. Perhaps you have a little extra time on your hands

Writing Podcast Episode 92 Meet Holly Seddon, journo-turned-author of psychological thriller ‘Try Not to Breathe’

In Episode 92 of So you want to be a writer: CLEO magazine is closing, Penthouse drops print magazines, copyediting and grammar mistakes to avoid, the book

Don’t have a high profile? Well, do something about it.

This post is by Valerie Khoo, National Director of the Australian Writers’ Centre I’m a little bit cranky. Why? Well, I was talking to an

Rob Grant: From nine-to-five corporate cubicle dweller to exotic adventures as a travel writer

Rob Grant loves travelling. But it can be hard to satisfy your wanderlust when you’re consumed by a nine-to-five corporate career. That’s exactly the position Rob was in until he discovered the Travel Writing course at the Australian Writers’ Centre. Now he’s swapped his corporate job for his new path in life – working part-time as a travel writer and part-time as a marketing consultant.

COMP CLOSED: Win Tony Cavanaugh’s Kingdom of the Strong

It would be a crime if we didn’t let you know about this week’s book giveaway. And it’s a crime that we have on offer

Writing Podcast Episode 91 How to achieve your writing goals in 2016

In Episode 91 of So you want to be a writer: How to know you’re dating a writer, look out for this fake Penguin publicist fishing for

Your writing goals for 2016 – do they sound familiar?

In December, Valerie asked the AWC community (via our newsletter and this blog) to let us know what writing goals they had for the coming

Author Ellie Marney’s TOP 3 tips for YA writers

In a recent episode of our top-rating podcast So you want to be a writer, Allison Tait chatted with popular Young Adult (YA) writer Ellie Marney.

Licence to WIN Trigger Mortis – the new James Bond story!

Bond is back! No, not that Spectre movie – we’re talking about in print, and with considerably less singing by Sam Smith. The book is

Elizabeth Farrelly’s journey to becoming a published children’s book author

It’s not only brand new writers who find worth in an Australian Writers’ Centre course. Elizabeth Farrelly is one of Australia’s most respected journalists and columnists, but she wanted to step outside her usual element and explore a new genre.

And that’s where the power of 21^st century learning took centre stage. Elizabeth enrolled in the five-week online course Writing Books for Children and Young Adults. “I chose to do the course online – it suited my unpredictable days,” she says.

How Susannah Hardy’s new year’s resolution turned into a new career

One new year’s day, Susannah Hardy made a decision that would change the rest of her life. She decided she wanted to earn money from writing. Already working as an actor, Susannah then enrolled in a course at the Australian Writers’ Centre. That set her on a path where she now has dual careers – as an actor, as well as a successful freelance writer, published in Australia’s top magazines and newspapers.

17 writing courses to do this summer!

Ahhhh summer – the sound of crashing waves, the gentle evening chirp of the cicadas, the sizzle of the BBQ, the tapping of the keyboard…

Ground-breaking new project from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Downton Abbey and we love advancements in publishing. Downton Abbey’s creator Julian Fellowes is embarking on a

COMP CLOSED: Win Bill Bryson’s “The Road to Little Dribbling” this week!

Our weekly book giveaways are back for 2016 and we’re kicking off the year with a cracker read from the master of observational travel, Bill

Valerie and Allison’s favourite podcast interviews of 2015

In episode 90 of our top-rating podcast, So you want to be a writer, hosts Allison Tait and Valerie Khoo named their favourite three interviews for

Q&A: Thank you, thankyou, thank-you!

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its

The Day Jobs that Inspired Famous Authors

If you have work commitments that make it difficult to find the time to write, take heart: not only have some of the world’s most

Writing Podcast Episode 90 The best of 2015

In Episode 90 of So you want to be a writer: Margaret Atwood is writing a graphic novel, writing rituals and why they work, tips on how

“Dear Santa…” An aspiring writer’s Christmas wish list

Dear Santa, How’s things? It feels like it’s been, what, a year since we last caught up? Wow, yes, I think it may have been

Affect vs Effect – which one is it?

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its

How part-time lawyer Libby Hakim carved out a successful career as a freelance writer

Writing Podcast Episode 93 Meet thriller author Jaye Ford, author of ‘Darkest Place’

In Episode 93 of So you want to be a writer: What writers need to know about defamation when writing memoirs, win a writer’s residency in a bridge, a writer is arrested after winning illegal narcotics in a writing competition and a tax return is hailed as a masterpiece of contemporary

Q&A: The Force Awakens vs Wakens vs Wakes?

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, we’re in a galaxy far far

COMP CLOSED: Win The Mapmaker Chronicles trilogy – signed!

We’re triply excited this week, with not one but THREE books to give away. They form the trilogy of The Mapmaker Chronicles – A.L. Tait’s hugely successful adventure series for middle grade readers (and older!). In a nutshell, the books follow the fate of Quinn, a reluctant player in a

Catherine Rodie: overcoming dyslexia to become a successful writer

8 writing competitions to enter in January and February 2016

The new year is the perfect time to stretch your creative legs and enter a writing competition. Perhaps you have a little extra time on your hands and a long list of writing goals to smash for the coming months. When we asked you, our community, a few months ago what your

Writing Podcast Episode 92 Meet Holly Seddon, journo-turned-author of psychological thriller ‘Try Not to Breathe’

In Episode 92 of So you want to be a writer: CLEO magazine is closing, Penthouse drops print magazines, copyediting and grammar mistakes to avoid, the book The Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe, and Allison’s top blog posts about blogging. Meet journalist-turned-author Holly Seddon, whose new book is the psychological thriller Try

Don’t have a high profile? Well, do something about it.

This post is by Valerie Khoo, National Director of the Australian Writers’ Centre I’m a little bit cranky. Why? Well, I was talking to an author the other day and she was bemoaning the fact that her books aren’t selling to her expectations. I tried to explain to her that

Rob Grant: From nine-to-five corporate cubicle dweller to exotic adventures as a travel writer

COMP CLOSED: Win Tony Cavanaugh’s Kingdom of the Strong

It would be a crime if we didn’t let you know about this week’s book giveaway. And it’s a crime that we have on offer – Australian author Tony Cavanaugh’s latest novel, Kingdom of the Strong, published by Hachette Australia. Cavanaugh is no stranger to writing, having been a screenwriter

Writing Podcast Episode 91 How to achieve your writing goals in 2016

In Episode 91 of So you want to be a writer: How to know you’re dating a writer, look out for this fake Penguin publicist fishing for book reviews, how to craft a page-turning plot, and things to know about writing life. Plus our step-by-step guide on how to achieve your 2016

Your writing goals for 2016 – do they sound familiar?

In December, Valerie asked the AWC community (via our newsletter and this blog) to let us know what writing goals they had for the coming year. We received a huge response – with the image above an actual word cloud of the most popular sentiments sent in from everyone. And

Author Ellie Marney’s TOP 3 tips for YA writers

In a recent episode of our top-rating podcast So you want to be a writer, Allison Tait chatted with popular Young Adult (YA) writer Ellie Marney. (And when we say popular, we’re talking about her novel, Every Breath, being one of only two Australian novels on the 2015 list of most

Licence to WIN Trigger Mortis – the new James Bond story!

Bond is back! No, not that Spectre movie – we’re talking about in print, and with considerably less singing by Sam Smith. The book is Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz and it’s our book giveaway for this week. Ever since Ian Fleming’s death in the mid-1960s, his estate has commissioned

Elizabeth Farrelly’s journey to becoming a published children’s book author

How Susannah Hardy’s new year’s resolution turned into a new career

17 writing courses to do this summer!

Ahhhh summer – the sound of crashing waves, the gentle evening chirp of the cicadas, the sizzle of the BBQ, the tapping of the keyboard… Wait, what? That’s right. Summer is actually a GREAT time to learn a new writing skill, especially considering it coincides (here in the Southern Hemisphere

Ground-breaking new project from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Downton Abbey and we love advancements in publishing. Downton Abbey’s creator Julian Fellowes is embarking on a brave new project that marries digital technology and Victorian serialised storytelling. From the press release: Ground-breaking new project will see story published in weekly chapters on

COMP CLOSED: Win Bill Bryson’s “The Road to Little Dribbling” this week!

Our weekly book giveaways are back for 2016 and we’re kicking off the year with a cracker read from the master of observational travel, Bill Bryson! His latest book is The Road to Little Dribbling – his first travel book in fifteen years, and a follow up to the enormously

Valerie and Allison’s favourite podcast interviews of 2015

In episode 90 of our top-rating podcast, So you want to be a writer, hosts Allison Tait and Valerie Khoo named their favourite three interviews for 2015 (well, Allison named four because she’s a rebel). You’ll find out what made these interviews so great and why you should listen (or re-listen

Q&A: Thank you, thankyou, thank-you!

The Day Jobs that Inspired Famous Authors

If you have work commitments that make it difficult to find the time to write, take heart: not only have some of the world’s most famous authors managed to balance writing books with a day job, but sometimes those day jobs have actually inspired their books. That’s the message from

Writing Podcast Episode 90 The best of 2015

In Episode 90 of So you want to be a writer: Margaret Atwood is writing a graphic novel, writing rituals and why they work, tips on how to get to know your characters and the intricacies of naming them well, and the book Worst Words by Don Watson. PLUS: our 12 Days

“Dear Santa…” An aspiring writer’s Christmas wish list

Dear Santa, How’s things? It feels like it’s been, what, a year since we last caught up? Wow, yes, I think it may have been exactly this time last year. I’m sure the elves will have grown and I hope Rudolph’s nose is not still giving you grief. You really

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