Amanda has a PhD in biology; she’s also a literary novelist. The Breeding Season, her debut novel was short-listed for The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award, and she’s been awarded a Queensland Writers Fellowship for her next novel, Relativity. Please join us for a chat about her transition from science to writing. Continue reading Amanda Niehaus on the Intersection Between Science and Art
Patti is a prolific author with a wealth of experience in teaching and mentoring authors. Her specialties are life writing and creative non-fiction, and she works for writing centres in Australia and around the world. Please join us for a chat about her books, her training courses and the joy she derives from working with … Continue reading Patti Miller on the Art of Life Writing
Yasmin is a talented editor, writer and English teacher who recently won the Sisters in Crime Eleanor Taylor Bland award for her unpublished novel. One of her areas of expertise is sensitivity reading, a field of growing importance as authors become more aware of their responsibilities when they write minority characters. Join us for a discussion about appropriation, agency and author intent. Continue reading Yasmin A. McClinton on Being a Sensitivity Reader
Journalist Nicole Webb worked her way up to become a newsreader at Sky News Australia, but then gave it all up on a whim to move overseas. After six years in Hong Kong and then Xi’an, China, she returned to Sydney a different person and completed her memoir, China Blonde. Read on for more about the transformative nature of her expat life and writing journey. Continue reading Nicole Webb From Newsreader to Author
An invitation to the Facebook group Expat Writers for bloggers, authors, editors, memoirists and anyone else who puts fingers to keyboard about their experiences living away from home, even if it’s simply write emails to their friends. Continue reading Calling Expat Writers
When I first decided to write a book, I didn’t give much thought to genre. In blissful ignorance, I rejected the idea of ‘writing to a formula’ and merrily scribed whatever took my fancy. Years later, I see this has been my biggest mistake on the road to traditional publication. Continue reading The Importance of Understanding Novel Genres
Cassie’s frank memoir about her life as a model explores how the fashion and beauty industries objectify and exploit women. She tells the story with insight, humour and self-awareness. Read on for our discussion about the impact of the memoir on her life, tips for memoir writers and what she is working on next. Continue reading Cassie Lane on Writing Memoir
After the atmospheric Half Moon Lake, Kirsten Alexander is back with Riptides, a novel that explores actions and consequences, and how personal deeds can have ramifications at a far greater level. Although this is her second published book, she actually wrote it first. In this interview, she shares the steps that led to its publication as well, insights to her writing process and thoughts about learning from the past. Continue reading Kirsten Alexander on Riptides
Wouldn’t it be great if we had a surefire formula for publishing success? Should you conform to genre conventions and write about topical issues, or remain true to your instincts? Well look no further – to answer this question, I’ve developed the Publishing Success Flowchart. Continue reading The Publishing Success Flowchart
Are you in a mad scramble to finish your Christmas shopping? Let me take some of the sting out of it for you. For your book-lover friends, here are ten book ideas from interviews I’ve done with female authors I’ve met through various writing activities. The books vary in style, length and genre, so there should be something for everyone: contemporary or historical, memoir or fiction, romantic or gritty. Continue reading Christmas Book List
