Writers you'll be working with:
Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan is a widely published and commended writer of adult fiction and non-fiction and children’s picture books. Her work has appeared in publications including New Australian Writing, The Sleepers Almanac, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, The Griffith Review and Best Australian Stories. Her children’s picture books were published by Penguin and Lothian. She won the…
Anna McFarlane
Anna McFarlane has worked for several publishing houses during her thirty-year career, and is currently at Allen & Unwin where she publishes books for children and young adults. Recently published books include the CBCA award-winning picture book My Friend Fred by Frances Watts and Anne Yi, award-winning middle grade novel Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee,…
Beau Wylie
Beau Wylie is the creative moniker of Newcastle based creative Cam Beau Wylie Foster. From an inquisitive childhood spent wading through wild creeks and building scraggly nooks in the bush around his home, Beau began drawing his own wondrous worlds full of brilliant frogs, nipping yabbies and curious marsupials from the moment he could grasp…
Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan is a widely published and commended writer of adult fiction and non-fiction and children’s picture books. Her work has appeared in publications including New Australian Writing, The Sleepers Almanac, Meanjin, Kill Your Darlings, The Griffith Review and Best Australian Stories. Her children’s picture books were published by Penguin and Lothian. She won the…
Anna McFarlane
Anna McFarlane has worked for several publishing houses during her thirty-year career, and is currently at Allen & Unwin where she publishes books for children and young adults. Recently published books include the CBCA award-winning picture book My Friend Fred by Frances Watts and Anne Yi, award-winning middle grade novel Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee,…
Beau Wylie
Beau Wylie is the creative moniker of Newcastle based creative Cam Beau Wylie Foster. From an inquisitive childhood spent wading through wild creeks and building scraggly nooks in the bush around his home, Beau began drawing his own wondrous worlds full of brilliant frogs, nipping yabbies and curious marsupials from the moment he could grasp…
Course outline
The course consists of: 12 x evening sessions, 6.30 – 8.30pm Tuesday nights (AEDT / AEST)
Session 1: Tuesday 18 February
Introduction: Developing a practice, finding material, identifying your ‘guide books’ and outlining the workshopping process.
Session 2: Tuesday 25 February
Guest Publisher, Anna McFarlane. Meet an experienced publisher of children’s books, learn about the difference between picture books, chapter books, and middle grade fiction, and find out about what publishers are looking for in an author.
Session 3: Tuesday 4 March
Structure and Shape: Discuss the basics of storytelling, share your initial ideas, and learn how to craft them into well-rounded stories.
Session 4: Tuesday 11 March
Music and Metrics 1: Music and metrics are alive and well in children’s literature. This week we’ll begin to get our heads around rhyming verse and learn how to write out loud, while walking the dog!
Session 5: Tuesday 18 March
Visual Storytelling with guest illustrator Beau Wylie. Meet a seasoned illustrator, learn how they work, and how to leave room in your text to let them shine.
Session 6: Tuesday 25 March
Music and Metrics 2 with guest author Davina Bell. This week we’ll continue to look at rhyme and metre and also consider the sonics of prose. We’ll learn how to re-draft while reading aloud.
COURSE BREAK
Session 7: Tuesday 29 April
Chapter Books and Middle-Grade Fiction: Character with guest author Sue Whiting. Learn how to develop characters kids want to spend time with. We’ll read a range of chapter books and middle grade novels and analyse them for character arc and development.
Session 8: Tuesday 6 May
Chapter Books and Middle-Grade Fiction: World-building with guest author Jessica Millar. This week we’ll explore different ways we might create worlds kids want to get lost in.
Session 9: Tuesday 13 May
Chapter Books and Middle Grade Fiction: Plot and Pace for Younger Readers with guest author Jeremy Lachlan. What’s a hook, and how can you catch your reader with it? Learn how to keep kids turning the pages.
Session 10: Tuesday 20 May
Editing your work with guest editor Kate Whitfield from Allen & Unwin. Turn your clichés into glittering details, polish your work until it sings. Have an eye for style, grammar and register.
Session 11: Tuesday 27 May
Writing as a career. Besides writing, what’s involved in the life of a writer? How to make a “living” from school tours, writing cover letters, choosing publishers, etc.
Session 12: Tuesday 3 June
Pitching Your Work with guest publisher Anna McFarlane. Present your book to a publisher and get feedback on your work. We will use your one-page illustration example as a way for you to demonstrate to the publisher your proof of concept.
Please note, the exact course content could be adjusted according to the experience and concerns of the group and availability of guest writers.
How to Book
You can secure your place by paying the deposit or the full course fee at the New Year Sale rate saving up to $200 on the regular course fee.
If you pay the deposit only, four monthly payments of $525/ $446.25 alumni, will be required at the end of March, April, May and June. Payment instructions will be sent closer to the time.