Writers Victoria offers courses run by Victorian, interstate and international tutors. Get to know them here.
Carrie Tiffany was born in West Yorkshire and grew up in Western Australia. She spent her early twenties working as a park ranger in Central Australia and now lives in Melbourne and New Zealand where she works as a writer and agricultural journalist. Carrie has published two award-winning novels: ‘Everyman’s Rules for Scientific Living’ and ‘Mateship with Birds’.
Hidden Stories, Emerging Knowledge (Lake Tyers)
Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky is a renowned storyteller, musician and writer, whose first gig, in 1971, was as a founder of the now famous Bushwackers Band. His credits post-Bushwackers include performing his solo show ‘Canakkale Gallipoli’ before the Dawn Service at Gallipoli; the runaway best-selling biography of Tommy Woodcock, ‘Me & Phar Lap’; the 2014 National Folk Fellowship for his acclaimed storytelling masterpiece ‘Bilarni’; the Victorian History...
Kate Mildenhall is a writer and teacher. Her debut novel, ‘Skylarking’ (Black Inc., 2016) was named in Readings bookstore’s Top Ten Fiction Books of 2016 and longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017 and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. Kate lives in Hurstbridge, Victoria, with her young family and is currently working on her second novel. Kate co-hosts ‘The First Time’ podcast – a podcast about the first time you publish a book.
Katherine Collette’s first novel ‘The Helpline’ comes out with Text Publishing in September 2018. Katherine had been awarded a retreat fellowship at Varuna, the Writers House and was part of the ACT Writers Centre’s 2016 Hardcopy program. Katherine works as an engineer and lives in the northern suburbs of Melbourne with her partner and their two kids. Katherine co-hosts ‘The First Time’ podcast – a podcast about the first time you publish a book.
Winter School: Writing the Self in Creative Non-Fiction
Lee Kofman is an author of four books, including the memoir 'The Dangerous Bride' (Melbourne University Press), and co-editor of 'Rebellious Daughters' (Ventura Press), an anthology of personal essays by prominent Australian memoirists. Her short works have been widely published in Australia, UK, Scotland, Israel, Canada and US, including in Best Australian Essays. Her blog was a finalist for Best Australian Blogs 2014. Her next creative non-...
Lucy Treloar is a writer, editor, and creative writing teacher. Her short fiction has appeared in ‘Sleepers’, ‘Overland’, ‘Seizure’, and ‘Best Australian Stories’ and her non-fiction in a range of publications. Her novel ‘Salt Creek’ was published in 2015. Lucy’s awards include the 2016 Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction and the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Pacific region. ‘Salt Creek’ is shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize, and shortlisted for the...
Mary Borsellino has published work with a variety of micropress publishers in Australia and internationally. Her first foray into professional fiction writing was self-publishing a lurid YA novel at eighteen to supplement her babysitting income. Since then she’s. Her mother asked her to use a pseudonym for romance novels, so sometimes Mary’s known as Julia Leijon. Her heart still lies in YA, though, where her novels have inspired cosplay, tattoos and some incredible fan...
Online: Advanced Short Story Clinic
Paul McVeigh’s short fiction has been published in journals and anthologies and been commissioned by BBC Radio 4. He has read his work for BBC Radio and at many international festivals. His award-winning debut novel ‘The Good Son’ was published by Salt Publishing in 2015. Paul is Director of the London Short Story Festival and Associate Director at Word Factory, the UK’s national organisation for excellence in the short story. He is also a judge for...
Sonia Marcon is the chick with the stick. She has been working as an actor, writer, singer, producer and director for nearly twenty years. Since 2015 Sonia has performed in Quippings: Disabiity Unleashed events to deliver self-devised performances exploring the challenges and changes of disabled life with humour and pointed commentary. Sonia is one of the 2017 recipients of the Writers Victoria Write-ability Fellowship. Her works have been published with ‘ABC Open’, ‘...
Sonia Marcon is the chick with the stick. She has been working as an actor, writer, singer, producer and director for nearly twenty years. Since 2015 Sonia has performed in Quippings: Disabiity Unleashed events to deliver self-devised performances exploring the challenges and changes of disabled life with humour and pointed commentary. Sonia is one of the 2017 recipients of the Writers Victoria Write-ability Fellowship. Her works have been published with ‘ABC Open’, ‘...
Alice Pung is the award-winning Melbourne author of ‘Unpolished Gem’, ‘Her Father’s Daughter’ and ‘Growing Up Asian in Australia’. Her work has been published in ‘The Age’, ‘The Monthly’, ‘Good Weekend’ and ‘The Australian’.
Winter School: Who, What and Why - The Plotting Triangle
Annabel Smith is the author of digital interactive novel/app ‘The Ark’, US bestseller ‘Whisky Charlie Foxtrot’, and ‘A New Map of the Universe’, which was shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Awards. Her short fiction and essays have been published in ‘Southerly’, ‘Westerly’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’ and the ‘Review of Australian Fiction’. She has a PhD in creative writing and teaches creative writing at the Australian Writers Centre.
The Humanising Power of Story (Daylesford)
Arnold Zable is an acclaimed Australian writer, novelist, storyteller, and human rights advocate. His books include ‘Jewels and Ashes’, ‘The Fig Tree’, ‘Café Scheherazade’, ‘Scraps of Heaven’, ‘Sea of Many Returns’, ‘Violin Lessons’, and most recently, ‘The Fighter’. He is the author of numerous essays, columns, stories, features and...
Notes on a Walk – Writing The Bibbulmun Track (Apollo Bay)
Catherine Noske is a lecturer in creative writing and editor of ‘Westerly Magazine’ at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on contemporary Australian writing of place. Her creative work has been awarded the Elyne Mitchell Prize for Rural Women Writers (2008 and 2009), received a Varuna fellowship in 2014 and was shortlisted for the 2015 Dorothy Hewett Award. She is currently working on a poetry...
Editing and Enhancing Your Work
Ellen van Neerven is a Mununjali person from the Yugambeh language group of South East Queensland. Her first book ‘Heat and Light’ (UQP, 2014), a collection of interlinked short stories, won several awards including the NSW Premiers Literary Award for Indigenous Writing. ‘Comfort Food’ (UQP, 2016), a collection of poems, is her most recent release. Until 2016 Ellen was the Managing Editor of 'black&write! Indigenous Writing and Editing Project...
Gabriella Muñoz is a Mexican-Australian writer and editor. She has published feature articles and essays in English and Spanish on a wide variety of topics ranging from film and the music industry, to celebrity culture and women’s health. Her literary work focuses on motherhood, exile and the mysteries of blood and origin. She is a Digital Writer in Residence at Writers Victoria.
Hidden Stories, Emerging Knowledge (Lake Tyers)
Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky is a renowned storyteller, musician and writer, whose first gig, in 1971, was as a founder of the now famous Bushwackers Band. His credits post-Bushwackers include performing his solo show ‘Canakkale Gallipoli’ before the Dawn Service at Gallipoli; the runaway best-selling biography of Tommy Woodcock, ‘Me & Phar Lap’; the 2014 National Folk Fellowship for his acclaimed storytelling masterpiece ‘Bilarni’; the...
Winter School: Poetic Voice Masterclass
Jane Hirshfield is the author of eight much-honoured books of poetry, most recently ‘The Beauty’, long-listed for the National Book Award, as well as two now-classic books of essays, ‘Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry’ and ‘Ten Windows’. A chancellor-emerita of the Academy of American Poets, Hirshfield has been visiting professor at Stanford University, UC Berkeley and elsewhere.
Julia Prendergast’s short stories have been acknowledged in many forums including the Lightship Anthology International Short Story Competition (UK), Ink Tears International Short Story Competition (UK) Glimmer Train International Short Story Competition (US), Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley Prize and Josephine Ulrick Prize. Julia has a PhD in Writing and Literature, and is a lecturer in Writing and Literature at Swinburne University in Melbourne...
Structural Editing for Writers
Laurel Cohn is a book editor, passionate about communication and the power of stories in our lives. Since the 1980s, as a developmental editor, she has been helping writers prepare their work for publication. She also works with publishers, businesses and community organisations, and is a popular workshop presenter. Laurel has a PhD in literary and cultural studies and publishes in the academic world.
Winter School: The Novel of Ideas
Lia Hills is a Melbourne-based novelist, poet and translator. Publications include her novel ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Living’, shortlisted for the Victorian, Queensland and West Australian Premier’s Literary Awards, and her prize-winning poetry collection ‘The Possibility of Flight’. She has written about and translated works by Marie Darrieussecq and Alain Badiou. Lia’s latest novel, ‘The Crying Place’, set mostly in Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara...
Winter School: Problem-Solving in Literary Fiction
Lyndel Caffrey is a writer, mentor and creative writing teacher. She works with writers to help them build a deeper understanding of the story they have to tell, and how to tell it. Lyndel’s novella ‘Glad’ was published in ‘Griffith Review 38’, and her literary fiction manuscript ‘Gunclub’ was shortlisted for the inaugural Hachette Australian Richell Prize in 2015.
Hidden Stories, Emerging Knowledge (Lake Tyers)
The Memory Code in Practice (Lake Tyers)
Dr Lynne Kelly is the author of 17 books including one novel and various education titles. Currently an Honorary Research Associate at LaTrobe University, her PhD was published by Cambridge University Press. She has four popular science titles with Allen & Unwin, the most recent being ‘The Memory...
Misbah Khokhar runs her own creative writing workshops through her company Witch and Wolf and her first book is ‘Rooftops in Karachi’ out through Vagabond Press. She holds post-graduate qualifications in creative writing, editing and publishing. She has performed and continues to perform her work in many festivals and events, and is published extensively through ‘Australian Poetry Journal’, ‘Cordite’, ‘Peril’, ‘Mascara Lit Review’ and ABC radio's ‘Poetica’.
Nick Gadd is the author of ‘Ghostlines’ (Scribe, 2008), which won a Victorian Premiers Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript in 2007 and a Ned Kelly Award for best first crime novel. He has written non-fiction about signwriting and psychogeography for ‘Meanjin’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’, ‘Griffith Review’ and ‘The Guardian’. Nick was the 2015 winner of the Nature Conservancy Australia Nature Writing Prize and was shortlisted in the essay category of the...
Rafeif Ismail, a third culture youth of the Sudanese diaspora, is an emerging writer who aims to explore the themes of home, belonging and Australian identity in the 21st century. Her current project aims to recreate the folktales of her childhood in English. She is committed to writing diverse characters and stories.
Roanna Gonsalves is the author of ‘The Permanent Resident’, winner of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Multicultural Prize 2018, and longlisted for the Dobbie Literary Award 2018. It is on several lists of must-read books, and on the syllabi of university courses. Roanna is a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Award, is co-founder co-editor of ‘...
Bella Li is the author of 'Argosy' (Vagabond Press, 2017), which won the 2018 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Poetry and the 2018 NSW Premier's Literary Award for Poetry. Her work has been published in a range of journals and anthologies, including ‘Best Australian Poems’ and ‘The Kenyon Review’, and was displayed in the inaugural Triennial of the NGV. Her most recent book is ‘Lost Lake’ (Vagabond Press, 2018).
Photo credit: Lisa Businovski
Winter School: Voice and Point of View
Robert Gott is the author of more than 90 works of non-fiction for children and seven adult crime novels, two of which have been shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction. He is also the creator of the long-running cartoon in ‘The Age’ newspaper, ‘The Adventures of Naked Man’.
Ellie Marney is a teacher and YA author of the Every series, contributor to 'Begin End Begin', a #LoveOzYA advocate, and a Stella Ambassador. Her first independent title, 'No Limits', made No1 in Amazon category bestseller lists on its first day of release. Find out more at www.elliemarney.com(link is external).
Winter School: Writing Long-Form Journalism
Anna Krien is the author of ‘Night Games: Sex, Power and Sport’, ‘Into the Woods: The Battle for Tasmania’s Forests’, ‘Booze Territory’, ‘Quarterly Essay 45 Us and Them: On the Importance of Animals’ and ‘Quarterly Essay 67 The Long Goodbye: Coal, Coral and Australia’s Climate Deadlock’. Her work has been published in ‘The Monthly’, ‘The Age’, ‘The Big Issue’, ‘Best Australian Essays’, ‘Best Australian Stories’, ‘Griffith Review’ and ‘...
Write-ability Online: Never Just Description - How Setting Can Enhance Your Story
Angela Savage is a Melbourne writer and Director of Writers Victoria. She has lived and travelled extensively in Asia, and her first novel, ‘Behind the Night Bazaar’, won the 2004 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.
How to kick-start your story… and how to finish it! (Mildura)
Cate Kennedy is the author of three poetry collections, a novel, a memoir and two collections of short stories. Her work has been published internationally and her story collections are both on the Victorian School Literature syllabus. She is the recipient of several awards for her work including the Queensland Literary Prize for her collection ‘Like a House on Fire’, the NSW Premier’s People’s Choice Award for her novel ‘The World...
The Salon Goes Regional (Port Fairy)
Demet Divaroren is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and creative writing teacher. Her writing has appeared in ‘Griffith Review’, ‘Island magazine’, ‘The Age Epicure’, ‘The Big Issue’ and ‘From the Outer’. Her debut novel ‘Living on Hope Street’ won the 2018 Victorian Premier's Literary Award Young Adult category. Demet is...
Eli Glasman is a Melbourne-based author. His debut novel, ‘The Boy’s Own Manual to Being a Proper Jew’ (Sleepers Publishing), concerns a homosexual boy in the Melbourne orthodox Jewish community. His short fiction has appeared in magazines across Australia.
Winter School: Writing Grief and Trauma
Eliza Henry-Jones is a Melbourne-based writer. Her debut novel ‘In the Quiet’ was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction and longlisted for the ABIA and Indie Book Awards. She has qualifications in grief, loss and trauma counseling and psychology, and has completed a thesis exploring bushfire trauma. Her work has also appeared in ‘Daily Life’, ‘Southerly’, ‘Island’, ‘Seizure’, ‘LiNQ’...
Winter School: Writing for the Education Market
George Ivanoff is a Melbourne children’s author with more than 100 titles under his belt. Although best known for his ‘You Choose’ and ‘Other Worlds’ book series, he has written extensively for the education market. He’s won a few awards, including a YABBA, and has books on the Victorian Premier’s Reading Challenge booklists.
Writing a Non-Boring Family History or Memoir
Hazel Edwards writes quirky, thought-provoking fiction and fact for adults and children, across varied media. Known for ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake’ and ‘Authorpreneurship’, Hazel’s 200 books have been translated into 10 languages.
Jax Jacki Brown is a disability and LGBTI consultant, writer, spoken-word performer, public speaker, disability sexuality educator and workshop designer and facilitator. Her written work has been published on websites such as ‘Junkee’, ‘Daily Life’, ‘The Feminist Observer’, ‘Writers Victoria’, ‘ABC’s Ramp Up’ and in print for ‘Archer Magazine: The Australian Journal for Sexual Diversity’, ‘Queer Disability Anthology (2015)’ and...
Jessica Walton is a 2017 Write-ability Fellow, picture book author, teacher, parent, daughter of a trans parent and proud queer disabled woman. She wrote 'Introducing Teddy: a story about being yourself' to help explain gender identity in a simple, positive way to her kids. 'Introducing Teddy' is published in the US, UK and in Australia by Bloomsbury.
Jess is presenting a workshop as part of the Write-ability Goes Regional and Online Own Voices: Why Writing Matters forum in Horsham, ...
Online: Beginners Short Story Clinic
Laura Jean McKay is the author of ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ (2013), shortlisted for three national book awards in Australia, including the Asher Award in 2015. Her work has appeared in ‘The Best Australian Stories’, 'Award-Winning Australian Writing' and 'The North American Review' and she won the Alan Marshall Short Story Award in 2011. Laura is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne.
Online: Intermediate Short Story Clinic
Laurie Steed is the author of ‘You Belong Here’, published March 2018. His short fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and has appeared in ‘Best Australian Stories’, ‘Award Winning Australian Writing’, ‘The Age’, ‘Meanjin’, ‘Westerly’, ‘Island’, and elsewhere. He is the recipient of fellowships from The University of Iowa, The Baltic Writing Residency, The Elizabeth Kostova...
Reality and Fantasy in Fiction
Leanne Hall is the author of two novels for young adults: the Text Prize-winning ‘This Is Shyness’ and its sequel ‘Queen of the Night’. Leanne has had shorter pieces published in ‘Meanjin’, ‘The Age’, ‘Best Australian Stories’ and the anthology ‘Growing Up Asian In Australia’. Her work plays with the borders of reality and fantasy.
Winter School: Writing the Self in Creative Non-Fiction
Lee Kofman is an author of four books, including the memoir 'The Dangerous Bride' (Melbourne University Press), and co-editor of 'Rebellious Daughters' (Ventura Press), an anthology of personal essays by prominent Australian memoirists. Her short works have been widely published in Australia, UK, Scotland, Israel, Canada and US, including in Best Australian Essays. Her blog was a finalist for Best Australian Blogs 2014. Her...
Winter School: Making Social Media Work
Karen Andrews is an award-winning multi-form writer, author, editor, poet and publisher. Her work has appeared in journals and publications throughout the country. She is currently creative director of www.karenandrews.com.au, an established and popular parenting/personal blog and two-time finalist in the Best Australian Blog Awards. Her latest book is ‘Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and...
Winter School: Building Emotional Resonance
Kate Cuthbert is Managing Editor of Escape Publishing, Harlequin Australia's digital-first imprint. She is also an award-winning book reviewer and critic, a genre fiction advocate and an in-demand moderator, presenter and teacher. She is currently pursuing a PhD examining rural settings in Australian popular fiction.
Kate Mildenhall is a writer and teacher. Her debut novel, ‘Skylarking’ (Black Inc., 2016) was named in Readings bookstore’s Top Ten Fiction Books of 2016 and longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017 and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. Kate lives in Hurstbridge, Victoria, with her young family and is currently working on her second novel. Kate co-hosts ‘The First Time’ podcast – a podcast about the first time you publish a book.
Own Voices: Why Writing Matters forum (Sale)
Michelle Roger is a blogger and speaker, and writes about Dysautonomia and life as a disabled woman. Her work has appeared in ‘The Victorian Writer’ and ‘Kill Your Darlings’ and online for Writers Victoria, ABC RampUp and multiple support groups. Michelle received a Write-ability Fellowship in 2014 and was a panellist at the Emerging Writers Festival in 2016 and has performed at several Writers Victoria Salons. Michelle blogs at ...
Winter School: Finding the Loose Brick - Writers' Block
Myfanwy Jones is the author of two novels: ‘The Rainy Season’, shortlisted for The Melbourne Prize for Literature’s Best Writing Award 2010, and ‘LEAP’, longlisted for the Voss Literary Prize and shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award 2016. She is also co-author of the bestselling ‘Parlour Games for Modern Families’, awarded ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children 2010. She works freelance as a structural editor...
Business Writing: Editing Workplace Documents
Nicolas Di Tempora is a professional copywriter and editor and a qualified educator, who works with a diverse range of commercial, government, academic, social, and not-for-profit organisations.
He divides his commitments between freelance writing, editing and designing, and delivering professional development courses to professional communicators.
His qualifications include BA (English Literature and History), Monash University; Dip...
Paddy O’Reilly is the author of three novels, a novella and three short story collections. Her work has won awards and been published in Australia, the UK and the USA. Her latest book is ‘Peripheral Vision’, a short story collection (UQP, 2015).
Sarah Vincent works at Writers Victoria as their Membership Officer. She is a graduate of the scriptwriting course at The Victorian College of the Arts and of The Professional Writing and Editing program at RMIT. Her memoir, 'Death By Dim Sim' was published by Penguin Random House in March 2017.
Online: Digital Novel Intensive
Phillipa ‘PD’ Martin is the author of five crime fiction novels published in 13 countries. Her Sophie Anderson series – ‘Body Count’, ‘The Murderers’ Club’, ‘Fan Mail’, ‘The Killing Hands’ and ‘Kiss of Death’ – met with international acclaim. In 2011 she moved into ebooks, releasing ‘Coming Home’, ‘Hell’s Fury’ and two novels for younger readers. She’s currently working on a drama with a mystery twist and studying for her PhD in Creative Writing....
Dr Sian Prior has been a writer and broadcaster for 25 years and has written for newspapers, magazines and literary journals and won awards for her short stories. She has taught non-fiction at RMIT and for writers centres around Australia. Her book ‘Shy: A memoir’ was published in 2014.
Winter School: The Body, Writing
Quinn Eades is a researcher, writer and award-winning poet. He is the author of ‘All the Beginnings: A Queer Autobiography of the Body’ and ‘Rallying’, and is currently working on a book written from the transitioning body, titled ‘Transpositions’.
Winter School: Series Fiction for Children
Sally Rippin has over sixty books published, many of them award-winning, including the best-selling 'Billie B Brown' series, which has sold more than three million copies since first published. In 2017, she launched a new imprint with Bonnier Publishing called Sally Rippin Presents. This year, Sally released the second book in a new series called 'Polly and Buster - The Mystery of the Magic Stones'.
Steven Amsterdam is the author of ‘Things We Didn’t See Coming’ (Winner, The Age Book of the Year), ‘What the Family Needed’ (shortlist, Encore Prize), and most recently, ‘The Easy Way Out’, which was shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal Award and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award. His short fiction and non-fiction has appeared in The Age, The Guardian, The Monthly, Heat, The Lifted Brow, Meanjin, Overland, Salon, and Virginia Quarterly Review. He is also...
Terry Jaensch is an Australian poet, director and monologist. His first book of poetry, ‘Buoy’, was shortlisted for the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ Anne Elder Award. He has worked as a writer-in-community, Poetry Editor of ‘Cordite’, artist-in-residence, dramaturge, Director of the 2005 Emerging Writers’ Festival, poetry teacher and more. His latest volume of poetry is ‘Shark’.
Melanie Ostell has been in book publishing for twenty years – as an editor, publisher, consultant, literary agent and educator. A senior editor at Text Publishing for more than ten years, she has since worked with all the major publishers and held publisher positions at UWA Publishing in Perth and Murdoch Books in Sydney. She has led writing workshops across the country, taught at several universities and is a registered mentor with the ASA. In 2015 she founded...
How to Write and Sell True Crime
Vikki Petraitis marks 25 years of crime writing this year with her new book ‘Inside the Law’. For the first time, she steps into her stories to give a behind-the-scenes look at the crime writer’s journey. One of Vikki’s best-known books is ‘The Frankston Murders’ about serial killer Paul Denyer’s seven-week killing spree in 1993. Vikki has a Masters degree in Education and has taught writing skills to budding authors for many years.
Travelling in Time - Writing History
Sophie Cunningham is a former publisher and editor. She is the author of two novels, ‘Geography’ (2004) and ‘Bird’ (2008) and two books of non-fiction: ‘Melbourne’ (2011), and ‘Warning: The Story of Cyclone Tracy’ (2014) which was shortlisted for several major literary prizes. Soon to be released is book of linked essays, ‘Tree of the Day’ (2019), and her third novel, 'This Devastating Fever’ (2020). She is an Adjunct Professor of RMIT...
Shivaun Plozza is the author of 'Frankie' (2016) and 'Tin Heart' (2018). She's also been published in anthologies and journals, and works as a freelance editor and manuscript assessor.
