We have an amazingly talented community of Writers SA members, many of whom have had their book launches cancelled or delayed during the pandemic. To help get the word out, we’re introducing a monthly spotlight of new and recently-released books from our member community. Congratulations to all of our members with books coming out! Happy […]

By Alice Grundy When I started in this industry nearly a decade ago most publishers didn’t accept short story collections, submissions were made via post and social media accounts for Australian publishers were still a relatively new phenomenon. Self-publishing was taboo – an embarrassing endeavour – and no one had imagined that books by Youtubers […]

Today, The Lifted Brow announced that they are plunging headfirst in the book publishing game, and that their first foray will be with one of their longtime and favourite contributors, Briohny Doyle. Her book — a debut novel for both her and TLB — will be yours to read in August 2016. Read more about […]

By Jillian Schedneck Think back to when you first learned to read. What was it like? Back then, you read word by word. You focused on what each word or phrase was communicating. You read closely. Today we are all practiced readers. We have become too familiar with skimming, skipping words, daydreaming. Yet writers’ words […]

An Unsentimental Bloke by Adelaide biographer,Philip Butterss, has won the prestigious 2015 National Biography Award. An Unsentimental Bloke: The life and work of C.J. Dennis has just been announced as the winner of this year’s National Biography Award (Monday 3 august 2015). (more…)

By Vanessa Jones Digital marketing tools work at their most optimum when they are used together and when they all talk to each other. Consider them a community, a family or a team that work together with one end goal in mind. Let’s think of your marketing as a sports team. Each marketing activity is […]

We were joined by Laura Kroetsch, Director, Adelaide Writers’ Week today as she regaled us with her hot tips of – as writers – who we should pay particular attention to during this year’s Adelaide Writers’ Week. We were also fortunate enough to have Laura impart some solid wisdom about being a writer/author from her […]

by Raelke Grimmer Serialised fiction was once the way people read fiction, published in instalments in newspapers or magazines. Dickens’ work first appeared in serialised form, with fans anticipating each new instalment of his work. Over the years, serialisation has given way to completed novels, but with the advent of the internet and ebooks and […]

By Tracy Marsh There is an old saying that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Publishers think differently: You might not judge a book by its cover, but you sure sell a book by its cover. And yes 75% of readers use the cover as a deciding factor when they consider purchasing a […]

By Steve Evans We all form opinions, and more or less continuously. You finish reading a book and ask yourself, would I recommend it, and why? Perhaps you began to realise early on in which direction such thoughts were heading. On the other hand, maybe you got part way through and were later surprised at […]

By Katrina Germein    JOIN KATRINA FOR HER EXAMINING EXCELLENT PICTURE BOOKS WORKSHOP   Dear Katrina, I want to write a picture book but I want to do it my own way. I’ve read that picture books should have repetition and I think repetition is boring. I’ve read that publishers like stories where children solve […]

Book reviewing is a tricky business. As Kerryn Goldsworthy’s recent extended essay in Australian Book Review shows, knowing what a review’s purpose is (or should be), who it serves (or should serve), what its value is (or should be), are complicated and contested questions. I approach book reviewing with several anchoring principles, although these principles […]

By Victoria Purman Part of being a writer is talking about yourself and your writing. I know, I know, that idea scares the proverbial out of some people. If you write purely  for yourself, to experience the joys and heartbreaks and deliciousness of assembling words on the page just because you like the writing, all […]

SAWC member, Diane Hester, was published in March this year by Random House. How did she get published?  She pitched her story face to face to a publisher at a conference and was invited to submit her manuscript, which was then accepted for publication. ‘This approach seems to be growing more popular. If you register […]

By Katrina Germein Join Katrina for her Perfecting Your Picture Book Story workshop. One very good reason not to write a picture book: you’re hoping to retire on the royalties. Let’s talk actual figures. The standard royalty paid to a picture book author in Australia is 5% of the full priced book. (The illustrator also […]