FWA: We’re thrilled to be taking our flagship Writing a Novel course to Tasmania. We’ve already had a huge amount of interest and support for this program. Why do you think people are responding so positively?
LE: There is a very strong literary culture in Tasmania, and a lot of successful writers are based here, but until now, there haven’t been very many opportunities in terms of long-term structured courses for aspiring authors. There are plenty of workshops on offer, and the University of Tasmania runs excellent creative writing units within the English department, but the Faber Writing Academy course is the first to provide students with ongoing tuition from published novelists as well as input from guest authors, and the chance to work in a small, focused group of dedicated writers for the best part of a year. The Academy’s alignment with the publishing industry is also very attractive. Unlike the mainland, Tasmanians are not spoiled for choice with lots of annual writer’s festivals, so a course like this is really filling a gap.
FWA: Hobart is a UNESCO City of Literature and is home to a slew of award-winning authors, including our special guests! Could you tell us about who will be joining you in this program?
LE: Firstly, the best-selling, award-winning author, Lucy Christopher, will be my co-tutor for the course. Lucy is a senior creative writing lecturer here in Tasmania and is a highly gifted and very experienced teacher. She is also extremely active within the local writing community and was instrumental in Hobart becoming a City of Literature. Our list of guest authors is pretty stunning, and includes novelists Kate Kruimink, Nadia Mahjouri, Erin Hortle, and the brilliant short story writer, Adam Thompson. We will also be hearing from publisher and literary critic, Geordie Williamson, and the dynamic literary agent, Tara Wynne, of Curtis Brown.
FWA: We’ve been fortunate enough to secure some fabulous venues in Hobart for Writing a Novel. What can you tell us about the places our students will be studying?
LE: We’ll be spending Tuesday evenings in the sumptuous Henry Hunter reading room at the City Hall, which boasts an opulent salon with comfortable seats and large shiny tables, and a library of books by Tasmanian based authors. And for the Saturdays, we will meet in a large, elegant room tucked away in the beautiful Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts at the State Library. Both venues are very special, and I am so grateful to the City of Hobart and the library for providing such gorgeous surrounds.
FWA: What are you most looking forward to about this course?
LE: I am very excited about working in a sustained way with a small team of writers, on their long form projects. It takes time and dedicated attention for all aspects of a story to evolve properly, so having the opportunity to facilitate this process over several months, feels like a real luxury for me, as a teacher. Also, there is nothing more inspiring and enriching than developing a manuscript through practical workshopping within a trusted peer group, and I am really keen to watch and support students flourish together over the duration of the course.
FWA: Our scholarship applications are currently open for Writing a Novel (Hobart). What makes for a strong application and what are you hoping to discover amongst the candidates?
LE: Well-crafted prose, a good grasp of narrative drive, convincing characters, and fresh new, assured narrative voices are all things I would love to see among the applications. All types of writing are welcome, but I will be looking for originality and different perspectives. For example, genre fiction with a bold twist, speculative or experimental writing delivered with restraint, efficient and economic writing, and stories that manage to be both dynamic and feasible. Personally, my favourite authors are those who understand the power and depth of ordinary life, and have an eye for detail, and these are principles that translate to all genres and modes of writing.
FWA: You have an impressive background as an award-winning writer, journalist, author and novelist. What have been your career highlights?
LE: As a music journalist, there were a lot, but my trip to Seattle in 1990 is a definite contender. At that point, the scene was on the verge of exploding, and I spent three weeks out there, interviewing and hanging out with Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and the guys who would go on to form Pearl Jam. I also spent time at the offices of indie record label, Sub Pop, and wrote the first live review of Alice In Chains for the British press. Other highlights include interviewing Bjork and Marianne Faithfull for my first book, being given a pair of John Fluevog shoes by Kim Gordon straight from her closet in her New York apartment, and visiting Kurt Cobain at home in Aberdeen, as well as a few years later, in the Hollywood Hills.
Other highlights include signing with my first agent in the 1990s, my second agent in 2022, the publication dates of all three of my books, and being awarded my Creative Writing PhD scholarship at the University of Tasmania.
My next career highlight is already on the horizon – I am set to review Patti Smith’s new book….!
FWA: What are you currently reading?
LE: I’m working through Mandy Sayer’s enthralling memoirs for my next review essay for The Conversation, but I always need a novel on the go, so I’m reading Nobody’s Empire by Stuart Murdoch, the lead singer with indie band, Belle and Sebastian. The novel is set in the 1990s and is based on his personal experience of living with chronic fatigue, as well as playing in a band, and I’m reading it partly because my current novel is also based in the 90s music industry.
Writing a Novel (Hobart)
with Liz Evans and Lucy Christopher
HOBART
Tuesdays 6 – 8pm (AEDT/AEST) + 6 full day Saturday sessions
17 February – 15 September 2026