By Sarah Gates Wattpad.com is a part book distributor, part social platform with over forty million users. Anyone can upload a story or become a reader, accessing over 100 million stories on their phone, tablet or computer. Stories are serialised and updated chapter-by-chapter. It’s used by writers of all levels, from young writers trying their […]

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT An Australian first study of Australian authors highlights the dramatic and profound impact that technology is having on authors and the publishing industry. Technology has opened up significant opportunities for self-publishing with the study showing that 84 per cent of fiction authors are changing the way their work is published or distributed. Technology […]

DON’T FORGET TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR THE CHILDREN’S AND YA CREATORS FESTIVAL. ALAA Agents share their top tips for writing children’s books. Brian Cook, The Authors’ Agent: Read Australian books as widely as possible.  You are most likely to get a publishing opportunity in your home market first so read, read and read some […]

Clare Forster from Curtis Brown Australia brings us an inspiring summer reading list of some of her favourite works of life writing as we edge towards the warmer months… Some of Australia’s most remarkable and inspiring stories stem from true life. Told in voices plain, ornate, and everything in between, first-person accounts serve many purposes […]

By David Chapple   1. You don’t have to write what you know but you do have to write what you care about. Stories can have technical frailties but honest, brave, challenging content are always worth reading. 2. Write what you have to write. I think short stories should burst out of you. They don’t […]

As well as the Melbourne Writers’ Festival this past weekend, the First Nations Australia Writing Network’s Annual Conference was held at the Wheeler Centre in the heart of Melbourne. Aboriginal writers from all over the country came together, to collaborate and celebrate ideas for future projects both as a collective and as individual artists with […]

By Danielle Clode Writing well requires much the same set of skills no matter whether we are writing fiction or nonfiction, but the success of fiction often rests in part on the architecture of the whole story or book. In nonfiction it is structure at the level of the sentence and paragraph that is often […]

Susan Murphy is a South Australian based romance author. Her works include Confetti Confidential: They Do, I Don’t  and  Annabel’s Wedding. Currently she is our writer in residence, and will be working on a historical romance during her time at the Centre.   What attracted you to the romance genre? What’s not to love about romance? To […]

We asked Twitter what was the best writing advice they’ve ever heard. He’s some useful tips we collated:   David Grayson ‏@sasanof  “Find your own voice” Christopher Hitchens http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/06/christopher-hitchens-unspoken-truths-201106 …   Janie Mac ‏@jatosha If you’re stuck, that’s ok, but just write something, anything, for 10 minutes. Write first, edit later. #amwriting     calanthe_b ‏@calanthe_b  […]

By Fiona Inglis  What you are selling Who to sell to How to sell, where to sell – fairs, co-agents How to pitch How to build on momentum I begin every talk I ever give – not matter what the subject – by telling people they need to have something worth selling. It applies to […]

Applying for a grant? Our Director, Sarah Tooth, gives her top tips for a writing a successful grant: Include EVERYTHING but ONLY THE THINGS that they ask for. For example, if they ask for three pages of writing, don’t submit zero pages and don’t submit ten pages. Just submit three pages. Great support materials are […]

  Work on one thing at a time until finished. Start no more new books, add no more new material to Black Spring. (Apparently he’s giving himself this advice.) Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand. Work according to the program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed […]

by Melanie Casey ‘Life is stranger than fiction.’ It’s a quote we hear often and recent events in Adelaide have had me pondering the fine line between fiction and real life. The very sad passing of Rose-Marie Sheehy who was homeless and believed to be living rough at the time of her death brought home […]

While navigating the streets of Sydney from one festival event to the next, author of 48 Shades of Brown, Bachelor Kisses, and most recently, Analogue Men, Brisbane’s Nick Earls speaks to Madeleine Manglaras about the Sydney Writer’s Festival, the joy that is Netflix and the difficulty of sourcing good quality pistachio gelati. How many festivals […]

By Megan Sougleris Fear. Like Springsteen said, ‘it can turn our hearts black and fill our souls with devils and dust’. I think at times, it’s easy to become our own worst critic. And with something as intimate as writing, fear can often rule us. Whether it’s finding the motivation to get those words down, […]