Join award winning children’s and YA author, freelance writer and educator, Charlie Archbold, to explore the role of place in fiction for younger readers.

With Twilight making use of the cloudy Seattle settings, The Hunger Games, The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-Bottomed Boat making obstacles out of the landscape, and Mallee Boys set in a small but isolated Australian town, you might ask yourself how important the imagery of place is in stories told for kids and teens, especially when word counts are limited and simple sentences have to do a lot.

Recognised for her ability to ground a story in a particular setting, in this masterclass Charlie will discuss how writing characteristics of place adds depth and authenticity, allowing the reader to imagine places they’ve never been. Participants will explore how audience and readership guide where you set your story and how places take on their own identity in fiction. You'll discover how point of view can change the way writers write place and delve into the role of place to develop character backstories.

This masterclass is an opportunity for aspiring and emerging writers, across genres, to build skills in this important element of narrative writing. Come prepared to engage in writing exercises that will ground your story and add light and shade to your plot, characters, and dialogue.

This special masterclass, presented in association with Adelaide Writers Week, provides rare insight and practical writing guidance with an unparalleled Australian author.

About Charlie Archbold

Charlie is a freelance writer and educator. Her middle grade novel The Sugarcane Kids and the Red Bottomed Boat won the 2022 Readings Children’s Prize and was shortlisted for the Text Prize. Charlie’s debut YA novel Mallee Boys won the Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award and was a Children’s Book Council of Australia Honour book. Her novel Indigo Owl is a YA science fiction adventure and her newest book Raised by Moths will be out in 2023.

Venue: The State Library, North Terrace, Adelaide SA

Members $88 / Non-members $140

—Not yet a Writers SA member? Join here for as little as $60!

—We strongly recommend all staff, speakers, and attendees of in-person events be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. You cannot attend if you or a household contact has tested positive within 7 days of the event or if you are ill.

—Writers SA members must be logged in to receive the member discount. If you would like to use a workshop credit to book in, please contact [email protected] at least five working days before the workshop commencement date. Our staff don’t work full time and we don’t want you to miss out! Members of other state based writers centres can access the Writers SA member price by emailing [email protected].