Amanda Willimott was working in marketing, a job she enjoyed but saw as just that – a job, not a career. Her true passion lay in writing, but she wasn’t sure where to start. After discovering the Australian Writers' Centre, Amanda went on to complete ten courses over eight years, and ultimately became a published author.

Amanda's debut novel Winter of the Wolf has now been published by Penguin Random House.

“I'd always hoped I would become a published author one day, but I never dreamed it would actually happen! It felt so far out of my reach and about as likely as me wanting to grow up and become a unicorn,” Amanda told us.

Bridging the knowledge gap

Amanda had long harboured a dream to write, but felt she lacked the necessary skills and knowledge. “Although I did go to university, I studied anthropology and history, not creative writing or literature. I'd been a voracious reader my entire life, but I didn't know how to write,” Amanda says.

That's when she decided to invest in herself and her writing dream. She started by completing History, Mystery and Magic followed by nine more courses. “AWC has a wide variety of courses, so I was able to pick and choose which courses best suited my needs at the time,” Amanda explains. She found the self-paced courses particularly useful, allowing her to listen to lessons and complete exercises at her own pace.

“The information was practical and easy to follow. It explained both what you needed to do and why you needed to do it, which really helped it stick,” Amanda says. “Because I had tried and failed to write an entire book so many times in the past, I knew this time I needed to do something different. I decided to play to my strengths. In my day job, I’m known for my organisation and structure – and my passionate love of spreadsheets. The first thing I did was create a plan. I already knew that I wanted to write a historical fiction novel, and I set a target word count of 100,000 words. I set aside a chunk of time to research my book, relying on books, journal articles, maps, artwork, anything I could get my hands on.”

After completing the research and plotting her novel, Amanda created a writing routine – 500 words on a weekday and 2,000 words on Saturday and Sunday – and followed it until she reached her goal. “When I reached the end and hit those 100,000 words, I printed out a copy of my manuscript to celebrate! And then I completed the AWC Cut, Shape, Polish course and self-edited my book. I spent six months doing my own structural and copy edits and proofreading. After that, I sent the manuscript to two friends for their feedback.”

A new way of life

Amanda's debut novel, Winter of the Wolf, is inspired by a real werewolf trial in 16th century France. “It blends history with paranormal and feminist themes and has a moving queer romance at its core,” Amanda explains. “Set in a time when women’s lives were not their own, and to be different was to be suspect, Winter of the Wolf is a sweeping tale of family secrets, betrayal and the abuse of power, the redeeming power of friendship, and finding your true home.”

The journey to publication was not without its challenges. Amanda faced numerous rejections but persevered, even completing a mentorship to improve her manuscript's structure. 

Her hard work paid off when Penguin Random House Australia accepted her novel for publication.

Now, writing forms an integral part of Amanda's life. “I work full-time as a communications specialist for an international disability charity. I'm lucky that I can work from home, which means that the time I would normally spend commuting I can instead spend writing,” she says. “I needed to make writing a part of my everyday routine, so that it would become absorbed into the regular rhythm of my life.”

Amanda credits the Australian Writers' Centre for her success. “The AWC courses literally taught me how to write! With every course I took I gained not only knowledge but also confidence in my own ability. I was learning and growing as a writer. There's no doubt in my mind that if it wasn't for the courses I took through the AWC I would not be a published author today.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Plotting and Planning
• Fiction Essentials: Characters
• Fiction Essentials: Scenes
• Fiction Essentials: Structure
• Build Your Author Platform
• Inside Publishing
• Cut, Shape, Polish
• Historical Fiction
• Creative Writing Stage 1
• History, Mystery and Magic

This comes after the publication of her two previous novels. And Sarah says she couldn’t have done it without the Australian Writers’ Centre.

Sarah’s debut novel, Good Little Liars, was published by Hachette UK imprint Bookouture in 2019; Bookouture also published her second novel, The Daughter’s Promise in 2020.

Practical help
Before taking courses with the Australian Writers’ Centre, Sarah had worked as a commercial lawyer and then moved to a rural town and became a full-time mum. She wanted to become a writer, but didn’t know how to get started, and says the Australian Writers’ Centre’s courses helped her where a previous online writing course through a major university had been underwhelming.

“The Write Your Novel course was critical to me getting a book deal,” Sarah says. “I had written about 40,000 words of my first novel when I suddenly realised I had no idea how to write a novel! That course popped up on my feed on the Friday afternoon and by Monday I was enrolled and by Tuesday, I had started.

“All of the wonderful readings and resources in that course were brilliant. And I continue to follow resources online and to make sure that I give myself the best possible chance of writing well.”

Working together
The course offered plenty of detailed, usable help, Sarah says, and she valued the network it provided.

“To write a novel… It's a bit like raising a child. It can take a village,” she says. “You're sometimes too close to your own work and taking away the ego from your work and having it stripped down to all its flaws, and workshopped can make it so much better. So I've learned that workshopping is critical.”

The feedback and online friendship with other writers has continued to help Sarah in her writing career, she says.

“I’m still in touch with some of them, and my novel ‘partner’ in the course has been a beta reader for both my novels.”

“I've also learned that I respond really well to deadlines – without them, I do struggle. It was brilliant for getting the work done and finished.”

Beyond the novel

As well as Write Your Novel, Sarah has taken Freelance Writing Stage 1, Writing for the Web and Mobile, 2 Hours to Scrivener Power and Build Your Author Platform. She says all the courses helped get her to where she is today – a novelist and freelance writer. 

“I have been happily impressed by how useful and practical the AWC courses are. They get down to the nitty gritty and offer real opportunities to workshop and network.”

Now, Sarah has a varied freelance career which works for her.

“I think the key to getting work as a writer is just to say ‘yes’ to any opportunity that comes along, then enrol in a course if you need to!  As a freelance writer, everything I have learned has been useful. And fun!

“I’ve done everything from write a private memoir with antiquarian book doyen, Leo Berkelouw, to writing menus and signs for restaurants, to writing real estate copy, to writing websites for various kinds of businesses. It’s all a learning curve.”

You can go your own way
Before taking the Write Your Novel program, Sarah says she never thought of herself as the type of person who could do it – but she’s learned that there’s no one way to be a writer.

“I always imagined writing as part of my work, but I didn’t imagine I’d publish a novel (or two),” she says. “I always thought I wasn’t ‘the sort of person’ who could finish a novel, or even someone who could imagine a whole plot and story arc and then keep it in my head.

“What I realised was that it really is ‘bit by bit’. For me, it’s plodding along, just keeping at it. I don’t believe there is any right way, or any one type of person who can write a novel. I think it’s more about stickability. Just sitting down and doing it.

“The practical workshopping and all of the wonderful feedback we got from the other participants in the [Write Your Novel] course was really excellent. And what it helped me to do when I was giving feedback to them was to see the exact same problems in my own writing, I was quite formal in my writing. And I realised I needed to just loosen up. Just how to give feedback and how to receive feedback – that was really a revelation for me.

“I've learnt that writing is an ongoing process of learning. You can never learn enough and there's always something else to learn.”

If you’ve got a novel just bursting to get out but you need that extra helping hand, our Write Your Novel program will help you finish your first draft, improve your manuscript and explore your publishing options.

Courses taken at AWC: 
Write Your Novel program
Freelance Writing Stage 1
Writing for the Web and Mobile
2 Hours to Scrivener Power
Build Your Author Platform

“Becoming a published author was always in the back of my mind, but it was a dream which seemed out of my reach. AWC has helped me so much to gain confidence to write stories that are worthy of publication. My dream has now come true,” Brigitte told us.

Investing in herself

Brigitte had long harboured a dream to write and had even started a few manuscripts, but was unsure about plotting, characterisation and point of view.

“The lack of training and insight into what potentially creates a great story was frustrating. That is when I decided to look for a creative writing course. I came across Australian Writers’ Centre,” Brigitte says. “It was just what I had been looking for. Affordable, online and enough time to complete the course. The rest is history and I have now completed nine courses with the AWC.”

Brigitte found the combination of audio recordings and written notes was comprehensive and user friendly. Being online meant she could complete the work in her own time, while the feedback from tutors was supportive and helpful.

“Doing the courses made me realise that writing was very important to me. I finally felt confident putting words on paper and creating engaging stories. I love the challenge of finding inspiration and then turning an idea into a manuscript. It involves patience and a lot of problem solving. I now sleep with a notepad next to the bed, because I do a lot of my plotting and thinking at night.”

The realisation of a dream

Brigitte’s debut picture book, Wanda Needs a Haircut, was inspired by her three-year-old grandson.

“He was quite afraid of having his hair cut and it was a real challenge for any hairdresser to go anywhere near his hair. Haircuts are a challenge for many young children. I decided to write a funny and relaxed story about this and show children that haircuts are not so bad after all.

“Wanda is a sweet little witch whose hair just keeps growing because she thinks a haircut will hurt. Hattie, her hat, is getting worried that she won’t fit on Wanda’s head anymore. Luckily Hattie comes up with a great idea to have Wanda’s locks snipped.”

Brigitte has now retired and moved with her husband to a small country town, and writing forms a major part of her life.

“I start with an idea, an inspiration, a ‘what if’ thought. I just write down random thoughts, characters, settings, etc. From that I start writing my first draft. It may take four or five drafts before I am happy with my manuscript. When my final draft is complete, I start writing a blurb, a synopsis, a letter to publishers. Researching publishers is important, as not all publishers publish all types of books. I thoroughly read their submission guidelines and follow these to the letter.

“Everything I learned in the AWC courses finally paid off. It inspired me to write more and more and I am loving it.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Your Author Website
• Fiction Mentorship
• Novel Writing Essentials
• Writing Children's Novels
• Writing Chapter Books for 6-9 year olds
• Writing Picture Books
• 2 Hours to Scrivener Power
• Anatomy of a Crime: How to Write About Murder
• Creative Writing Stage 1

W

“Completing the course, combined with my tutor’s feedback on my stories, filled me with confidence. It was my springboard to jump further into the world of writing and start submitting stories with the aim of getting published,” Sandhya says.

Fast forward, her debut picture book The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name was published by Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing. Her second picture book, Amma’s Sari, was released in 2022. Sandhya published her third picture book, Stay For Dinner, in 2023 and it won the Multicultural NSW Award as part of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2024. Her latest picture book Words That Taste Like Home is out now.

Even as a published author of multiple picture books, Sandhya says it doesn't necessarily get easier to write. “Getting the idea down onto a blank page is just as hard and the first draft is still dreadful. I find that each story has its own pattern. Once I’ve got the beginning, middle and end (sometimes it takes a long time for all the elements of the story to arrive in my head!), I spend a lot of time pondering, moving things around, critiquing with my writing friends and re-writing to get a completed manuscript I’m happy with,” she told us.

Her sights set on the stars

Before enrolling at the Australian Writers' Centre, Sandhya had been blogging and Instagramming about picture books and crafting stories for her son. But despite this solid background in the world of children’s literature, she was reluctant to join a class.

“I was hesitant at first, thinking that the AWC was for writers and wondering if six months of blogging and bedtime stories made me a writer?” Sandhya says. “But then, with the urgency of being the same age as Voyager 1 and the burning desire to give it a go, I jumped straight in.”

What Sandhya found was a wealth of information, a supportive tutor, and deadlines to keep her on track.

“I knew nothing about the physical and narrative structure of picture books when I started,” she says. “I loved that the course covered not only important aspects of story structure but also delved into how to do your research on where your story fit and with which publishers. The experienced eye of an industry professional such as Zanni Louise on my work was exactly what I needed. I knew I was getting the perfect base to start writing stories for picture books.”

Catching her dream and running with it
Sandhya started to play around with the idea for The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name shortly after finishing the course. 

“Having the AWC notes handy when you’re writing a new story is awesome, and the handouts are excellent resources that you can refer back to,” she says. The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name is about a boy, Zimdalamashkermishkada, who desperately wants a shorter name when he starts school. Armed with the confidence the course had given her, Sandhya decided to pitch the story at the CYA conference.

“The story was an early draft when I took it to the conference,” Sandhya says. “I met Alyson O’Brien, Associate Publisher of the Bright Light Imprint at Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, at an in-person editor assessment. I went in nervous but full of hope. I was over the moon when she loved it and suggested I submit it after some reworking. I feel so lucky to have met Alyson; her encouragement and belief in me and my story was a vital factor in my success.”

Sandhya recalls the moment she found out that her book would be published.

“I was in our backyard taking down the laundry when I heard the phone ringing inside. I was expecting Alyson’s call because I knew my story was at their acquisitions meeting that week. So, I ran in and was thrilled to hear they wanted to publish it. I felt the exhilaration of reaching the summit of a gigantic mountain. I remember my hands shaking and just flopping down, overcome with relief and emotion. I also felt immense gratitude for everyone who cheered me on and helped me on my journey and for my own courage in catching a dream and running with it.”

Always finish what you start
While working on The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name, Sandhya continued to have ideas for more stories.

“I’d develop those into rough drafts and shelve them in a drawer,” she says. Then one day, she heard a kernel of advice on the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Magic and Mayhem podcast that gave her the push she needed at the time.

“One of the authors on the podcast mentioned going back and finishing all the story ideas you started on. That was awesome advice, and I was motivated to do that.” 

Sandhya returned to one of her many ideas and finished it. She submitted the manuscript to the 2020 ASA/CA Award Mentorship program – and gained a spot!

All of Sandhya's stories are inspired by her own experiences.“My childhood walks with my sari-wearing mum inspired Amma’s Sari. I’ve always eaten food (rice, curry, and side dishes) with my hands and that is an important part of who I am. I hadn’t seen a picture book in which characters eat with their hands, so I was motivated to write Stay For Dinner. I have a strong connection with my first language, Malayalam. I’m trying to pass that onto my kids as well. I’m aware of the dwindling use of first languages among bilingual kids and I wanted to write a story about it. That’s how Words That Taste Like Home was born.”

It’s been a whirlwind ride for Sandhya, who initially channeled her creativity into sewing and embroidery before rediscovering her love of books. She also enjoys sharing her love of books with children during the occasional school visit. “When I do get to go to schools, I love chatting about names, food and my culture. We examine my saris and I show the kids how to wear one. I also take along a banana leaf, which features in Stay for Dinner, and they love to hear that you can eat on it like a plate,” Sandhya told us.

“I am so happy to be in the children’s literature industry. I’ve met so many amazing people and made friends who love books and reading. Prior to this I hadn’t met any adults who loved to read children’s books and wanted to chat about them! So, it really is my ultimate dream come true.”

Course taken at AWC:
Writing Picture Books

“I wish I could tell my ten-year-old self that this would happen. I had always wanted to be an author, but as I skidded into my 50s, I began to worry that it was a bit of a pipe dream,” Troy told us.

The course that helped him fix the story

When Troy realised the middle of his first draft wasn’t working, he knew he needed help.

“I liked the setup and act one, and the last quarter, but I felt like there wasn’t enough tension or momentum in the middle section. It was like I was treading water, holding back until the big events of act three. As I was writing detective fiction, I needed to keep the story going, pursuing different suspects, cranking up the tension, while obfuscating the identity of the true villain until the big reveal,” Troy says.

When he looked at the AWC courses he was particularly drawn to FOCUS ON… The Second Act with Pamela Freeman.

“It was the course’s subtitle that really grabbed me: ‘How to avoid the saggy middle and write a page-turning story'. A saggy middle was exactly what I had, so I knew this was the right course for me.”

Troy found the clarity of how structure works and the various elements and how they come together very helpful.

“I specifically remember finally understanding how a ‘pinch point’ could change a characters' beliefs and be a stepping stone to move them forward in the story.”

An award-nominated debut

Troy’s debut novel, Gus and the Missing Boy, has been shortlisted in the 2024 Ned Kelly Awards for Best Debut Crime Fiction. It follows Gus Green who is a true crime enthusiast and doesn’t feel like he belongs.

“Gus’s life is flipped on its head one day when he finds a missing persons website with a digitally aged picture of a missing boy who looks eerily like him. Could he be a kidnapping victim? It would explain a lot about his patchy background, but what would that make his mum – his kidnapper?”

Troy works as a marketing and communications consultant at the University of Melbourne, so he’s writing most of the time in his day job.

“I find it relatively easy to flip between writing for work and writing for me. I think using different laptops helps as I literally shut one and open the other.”

The journey to publication wasn’t straightforward. Troy initially wrote the story as an adult psychological thriller, but a chance encounter at a “speed dating with publishers” session led him to rewrite it as a YA novel. He then entered competitions and won a place in the Hachette Manuscript Development Program, where he met his agent.

“It was brilliant news when I heard from Wakefield Press! It was a strange time for publishing during the pandemic. I'd had a couple of ‘no’s’ from publishers, so I was trying to manage my own expectations around the process. I told myself that finishing writing a full novel was achievement enough, which I still think it is.”

Troy says FOCUS ON… The Second Act gave him the tools to keep his story moving.

“The course helped me make my book more logical and dynamic. This is particularly important in detective stories, where new clues need to be uncovered, authentically leading the detective from one suspect to the next.”

Course completed at AWC:

• FOCUS ON… The Second Act

“Life lesson learnt: do the work, show your work and share your work no matter how bad or unfinished you think it is, because you never know who is watching,” Sarah Jane says.

But with the contract also came the doubt that she didn’t quite know what she was doing. 

“Following the joy and a jubilation quickly came the fear and overwhelming sense that I didn't deserve it. Impostor syndrome had entered the chat,” Sarah Jane admits. “This inevitably led me to take charge of that feeling and make myself feel more qualified and deserving. Hello AWC. I enrolled in the Writing Picture Books course to learn as much as I could about the industry I was entering and build on my confidence and capabilities as an author. I'm so incredibly grateful that I did.”

With her newfound skills and confidence, Sarah Jane spent ten months working on her manuscript and illustrations. Her debut picture book Down the Road, Little Bee was published in 2021 and her latest picture book When Dinosaurs Roamed Australia is out now.

“I loved the course and got so much out of it. Having the opportunity to flesh out ideas and receive feedback from the course instructor as well as the peers was wonderful. The course really helped me understand the key elements of picture books as well as the process that goes into creating and publishing one.”

Kickstarting a love of writing
Inspired by author and illustrator Graeme Base when she was younger, Sarah Jane knew that that’s what she wanted to do as well. She has always loved art and illustration and has built a career for herself as an artist, so moving into picture books seemed like a logical step. But the actual writing part had taken a back seat.

“I've always been focused on drawing. I think about drawing all the time. Not a day goes past where I don't illustrate in some way. Whether it's for my full time job as a textile/graphic designer or for an upcoming exhibition or pet portrait commission, I'm obsessed,” Sarah Jane says. “The course opened the door for me to channel ideas into writing instead of drawing. It really triggered something in me that I didn't realise was there. I enjoyed writing but previously I saw it as a means to getting to the good part, the illustrating. After learning all about the formulae and methods used to create a picture book manuscript and then putting it into practice I became hooked. I love writing and tinkering on words just as much as illustrating now and that's something I wasn't expecting after completing the course.”

Sarah Jane had been visualising the moment she would be a published author since she was five years old, so when she got the contract confirming she was going to be published, she was over the moon.

“I started jumping up and down and literally screamed out loud. I didn't know where to put all my excited energy so I just started dancing and skipping. I couldn't believe it, I was so happy.”

After signing the contract with Affirm Press and completing the Writing Picture Books course at the Australian Writers' Centre, Sarah Jane had to then put in the hard work of finishing her manuscript and illustrating it.

“Affirm Press was amazing. I loved working with them so much. My editor was incredible. She was so good at pushing me to get the manuscript and illustrations to where they ended up,” Sarah Jane says. “The entire process took about 10 months from signing the contract to handing over the finished art. The illustration took the longest and in the beginning I did quite a few roughs as I was learning the intricacies of picture books. Once all of the rough pages were signed off I got stuck into the final art which was a mammoth job but also a lot of fun. So much love and dedication goes into picture books and the process from start to finish was challenging but so rewarding in the end.”

In Down the Road, Little Bee, readers go on a search for pollen across the Australian suburban landscape, from flowering gums in January to Jacaranda in December, exploring the wonders of nature that can be found just outside the door.

Onwards and upwards
Having realised her publishing dream, Sarah Jane is now building her illustration portfolio so that she can work on more picture books, while also still working full time for fashion brand Peter Alexander. 

“At the moment my focus is on generating ideas and filling my notebook with characters and story prompts. Once an idea swirls around in my head long enough for an aha moment I'll put everything else aside and write it down.”

When we asked Sarah Jane if she had any advice for other aspiring picture book author-illustrators, she didn’t hold back.

“DO IT!!” she responded. “I loved this course so much. It not only gives you an immense amount of knowledge for picture book writing it highlights so many different aspects of the industry that you may not have considered. It also gives you the opportunity to make friends who share a common goal and interest and create a support group where you can bounce ideas off and encourage each other's progress. 10/10 would recommend.”

Course completed at AWC:
Writing Picture Books

“I phoned my husband in tears, read the email another half a dozen times in disbelief, then had two glasses of red wine and a profiterole for dinner.”

Craving creativity

Lisa had always been a keen reader and, in her forties, started writing in secret as a creative outlet. 

“I craved creativity, and as a lifelong reader, I eventually found my way to writing as a hobby. But with a type A personality, it was never going to remain just a relaxing pastime,” Lisa told us. “When I began to take my hobby more seriously, I sought out courses to learn about the publishing industry and the craft of writing, and the AWC courses fit the bill.”

She had finished writing a manuscript but wasn’t sure what to do with it, so started out with Inside Publishing at the Australian Writers' Centre.

“I had no author friends, I wasn’t on social media and had no writing credits to put in a bio. That self-paced course set me on the path to building a career as a writer. Although my first novel manuscript will never be published, the course gave me practical tips that led to me becoming part of the writing community, and for that I will be forever grateful.”

After completing her first course, Lisa realised she had a lot more to learn about writing and the publishing industry. 

“I live in a regional area and fit writing in around work and parenting, so the online self-paced AWC courses were perfect for me. I could gain knowledge in my own time without having to travel from my regional centre to a major city for face-to-face learning, and I could target areas of weakness with focused short courses. In that first year, I also did three other courses: Build Your Author Platform, 2 Hours to Scrivener Power and Short Story Essentials. I guess you could say I was hooked.”

Lisa was inspired by those courses to build her author platform. She developed a website, interacted with other writers on social media and attended events. And of course, she kept writing!

“The courses have impacted my life and my writing in many ways. Craft-based courses like Creative Writing Stage 1 and Short Story Essentials reinforced the essential elements of story structure and offered invaluable professional feedback on my work. After applying the feedback from Cathie Tasker to the short story I wrote for the Short Story Essentials course, that story was published in a literary journal, and my author bio began to grow.”

A stunning debut

Lisa’s debut novel is All You Took From Me, a thriller brimming with great characters and nail-biting tension, set between the Blue Mountains and a Sydney hospital.

It follows anaesthetist Clare Carpenter who has just lost her husband and her memory in a single-vehicle accident, who finds herself being followed by a stranger. After questioning patients about their dreams, she becomes convinced that an anaesthetic drug might help her access missing memories. But there’s no way to be certain without jeopardising her career or her life.

As unexplained threats escalate, Clare must take matters into her own hands to learn the uncomfortable truth about her secretive husband, his connection to a mysterious club and what she did to trigger a stranger’s crusade for vengeance. But how far will she go?

The manuscript started life during Nanowrimo, a yearly challenge to write 50,000 words in a month.

“I wrote 50K words, which astonished me because I’m not a fast writer. At the end of November, I had half a first draft, then I promptly collapsed in a heap. It took another eleven months to finish that draft, so about a year in total. After that, I spent another eight months self-editing the manuscript based on feedback from beta readers before engaging a freelance editor to undertake a structural edit.”

During this time, Lisa was also attending writing conferences, and taking part in pitching opportunities such as the Australian Society of Authors virtual speed dating events.

“I also entered unpublished manuscript competitions and was delighted when All You Took From Me made the Richell Prize longlist in 2020 and was runner-up in the 2022 CYA conference competition.”

While those prize listings opened doors, it took another three years of submitting and revising before an offer finally came through for that manuscript.

“The publishing offer came through when I was in the Blue Mountains on a solo writing retreat to work on a different manuscript, having almost given up on finding a publisher for All You Took From Me. But amazingly, only two and a half weeks after sending my manuscript to Transit Lounge’s open submissions with zero expectations, my publisher emailed to tell me that he’d like to publish my novel.”

Lisa now works part time and devotes two days per week to her writing. She also goes on regular writing retreats and squeezes writing time into her workday whenever possible. 

“I prioritise writing and reading over other activities; that’s how I get the work done,” she says. “There were many days when the dream of being published seemed like it would never become a reality, but the warmth and inclusivity of the Australian writing community kept me going through the inevitable rejections and disappointments. Watching friends who had been on a similar trajectory to me become published and hearing their stories on podcasts like So You Want to be a Writer made becoming an author seem possible and kept me motivated to keep trying.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Cut, Shape, Polish
• Inside Publishing
• Fiction Essentials: Characters
• Short Story Essentials
• Build Your Author Platform
• 2 Hours to Scrivener Power
• Pitch Your Novel: How to Attract Agents and Publishers
• Creative Writing Stage 1

“I was lucky enough to receive a few offers and in the end decided to sign with Sophy Williams at Black Inc. She knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and I knew immediately that she was the one who was going to help me bring my book to life,” Ariane told us. “The day her email appeared in my inbox I jumped up and down and called my husband immediately. My whole body was shaking. It was a dream come true and has been every day since.”

Writing the book she needed to read

Ariane was a child protection caseworker and mental health professional before she developed postpartum psychosis, which is a rare mental illness that occurs in one to two in every 1000 new mums.

“The book charts my experience of being a new mum, and mental health professional who found herself on a mother and baby psychiatric unit. It's also about finding humour, beauty and purpose on the other side of serious mental illness. I wrote the book I needed to read when I was unwell,” Ariane says.

While working on the proposal for her memoir, Ariane completed the Creative Non-fiction course.

“My main motivation to do it was because I was struggling with how to structure the book (which is common with memoir!). It really helped me get my head around the different options for approaching memoir as well as great advice around ethics, research and comparative titles.”

Ariane wrote a proposal and 10,000 words and then started pitching to agents. 

“I was lucky enough to sign with Benython Oldfield at Zeitgeist Writers and together we refined the proposal and polished the words before submitting it to a list of publishers. It was out on submission for a month which was a strange nerve-wracking time. I checked and re-checked my email and held my breath every time I saw his name on my phone!”

Then came the news that Black Inc wanted to commission her memoir.

“This is the book I needed when I was unwell and feeling alone and scared. I hope it finds its way to others who might need it too,” Ariane says. “While the book tackles severe mental illness, it's also an exploration of what we call matrescence or the transition to motherhood. I think most mothers will find themselves somewhere in these pages and hopefully feel seen and less alone. I hope it makes people laugh too!”

Ariane knew that writing a memoir would be hard, particularly one that deals with such a difficult part of her life, so she put strategies in place to help her during the process.

“I knew it would be taxing but going over painful memories again and again was incredibly draining and certainly took its toll at times. I made sure I was communicating with my editors and letting them know if I needed more time to meet deadlines. (The answer was always yes, take your time!) I also made sure I was still doing things that bring me joy outside of writing the book — dance classes and long walks and seeing friends. I also continued to seek mental health support if I needed it, too.”

From psychologist to writer

Before taking on the challenge of writing a memoir, Ariane had written about her experiences for news sites and magazines. She threw herself into the world of freelance writing after completing Freelance Writing Stage 1.

“This course changed my life! I was still recovering after my postpartum psychosis and too unwell to work as a psychologist. I always wanted to be a writer so I thought I'd do the course and see where it took me. And gosh — after publishing my first piece about my illness with Mamamia I then started freelancing for other parenting and lifestyle publications. Not long after, I was offered a staff writer role at Fairfax Media's Essential Baby and Kids. I wrote for them for four years until we merged with Nine and became 9Honey.”

Ariane is now out actively publicising Because I'm Not Myself, You See, and continues to work at The Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) and teach ballet to beginner adults.

“I do a lot of writing for work but I'm also looking forward to tackling a lighter topic with the next book!”

Ariane continues to recommend AWC courses to friends and family. “I always say that the first course changed my life — it taught me how to structure a news piece and pitch my writing. I'm very grateful.”

Courses completed at AWC:

• Creative Non-fiction
• Freelance Writing Masterclass Program
• Freelance Writing Stage 1

“I’ve always loved children’s picture books,” Matt told us. “I can spend hours in a book store, searching for the right picture book present for a child…And I’ve always wanted to write my own picture book. I’ve even had a couple of ideas over the years. But I never really did anything about it.”

Matt decided to enrol in Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers' Centre and was hooked. Finally, he could put his picture book ideas into practice. After a meeting with an editor at Yellow Brick Books, Matt was offered a contract and his debut picture book The Other Side of the Clouds is out now.

“I was sitting with my husband and brothers and sisters when I first saw the email from Rowena Beresford [editor at Yellow Brick Books],” Matt told us. “It was the most incredible feeling. I was in shock! I kept thinking – ‘This is actually happening!’ I really couldn’t believe it.”

Turning a dream into reality

Matt went through a period where he found himself walking a lot more, which led to a lot of thinking time. He realised that he really wanted to achieve his dream of writing a picture book. He started to look into courses he could fit around his life and discovered Writing Picture Books at the Australian Writers' Centre.

“For me the course was all about my weekly writing assignments and delving into the video feedback that I received from the tutor. I also loved seeing what my fellow classmates submitted and learning from their feedback too,” Matt says. “The course work and lessons were all very informative and I loved how they fed into our writing assignments each week. But it was the writing workshop part of the course that truly hooked me.”

Matt finished the course with several stories that he then started pitching to publishers. Knowing that it can be difficult to reach the top of the slush pile, Matt signed up for an editor assessment event at the CYA Writers & Illustrators Conference. During that event, he found himself face to face with Rowena Beresford of Yellow Brick Books.

“Rowena and I only had 15 minutes to discuss two manuscripts. But in that time, she suggested a few things to help improve one story in particular and she invited me to submit that story to her once I had made a few changes. I took her feedback on board and submitted my changes. Then a few weeks later I was offered a contract,” Matt says. “To say I was thrilled was an understatement. To have someone else believe in one of my stories enough to publish it is the most incredible feeling.”

Publishing success

Matt’s picture book is called The Other Side of the Clouds, and it draws on Matt’s own experiences at the time he was writing it.

“I wrote my story while I had a lot going in my life and I was surrounded by a lot of sadness. This made me want to write something about a child navigating their way out of that,” Matt says. “I’ve now seen the illustrations and they are wonderful, adding more to my story than I could have imagined. It was truly an incredible experience seeing my story being interpreted so powerfully. It has made me love this beautiful art form even more.”

Matt is still working fulltime in advertising, and considers writing a vital part of his relaxation, saying it helps him to unwind.

“The course really gave me the confidence to write and get my stories out there. I often look back at the notes I’d taken and the course work. But now, it is all about taking the skills I’ve learnt – and still learning – and writing as much as I can in my spare time,” Matt says. “I never ever expected that I would become a published author. It was something I dreamed of, but never thought it would happen. But looking back, I think while I was in the Writing Picture Books course – something just clicked inside me and I was like ‘Right! I want this. It’s going to be a challenge. But I really want to do it.’

“I would recommend AWC to anyone that is interested in learning how to write picture books, or wanting to develop their skills in it. Quite honestly it was one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had. I loved every minute of the Writing Picture Books course. I keep referring to all the notes I took, even two years later. I wouldn’t be in the position now of having a book being published later this year if I hadn’t done the course, that’s for sure.”

Courses completed at AWC:
Build Your Author Platform
Writing Picture Books

Cassy Polimeni always wanted to become an author and even studied creative writing at university. She followed this with a career in magazines and publishing, while putting her own creative pursuits on the back burner. But while he was on maternity leave, she took the opportunity to enrol in a course at the Australian Writers' Centre, which came highly recommended from writer friends. That investment and commitment to her craft paid off: Cassy has now published two books for children with another on the way.

“Being published was the dream since I was about seven years old, and is something I have always been slowly working towards – although it took me a lot longer than I imagined it would back then!” Cassy told us.

The course that changed everything

Cassy was working from home as a freelance editor and proofreader when the Australian Writers' Centre course caught her eye.

“Going on maternity leave gave me a chance to do a hard reset on work and life and figure out what I really wanted to devote my time to. Online courses were an easy, focussed way to dip back into that while I was at home with my little one.”

She particularly liked that the course offered flexibility, but also had deadlines to meet and feedback on the finished story.

“Without restrictions and external pressure I tend to flounder a bit. I liked that it was designed to be done in weekly sessions over a few months, and the fact that you were working towards submitting a finished short story. The opportunity for personalised feedback from the course tutor was probably the biggest incentive of all. Feedback from writers at all levels can be really helpful, even if you don’t take it all on board it can help you interrogate your own writing and work out what you’re prepared to defend and what you might need to work on, and shine a lot on any blindspots,” Cassy says. 

Establishing an author career

Making time for her craft has led to publishing success for Cassy, whose debut picture book, The Garden at the End of the World, came out in 2023. Published by UQP and illustrated by Briony Stewart, it is a fairytale adventure to the real-life Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway.

She has recently published a chapter book for five to eight year olds, Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra.

“It’s particularly for fans of books like What Zola Did, Violet Mackerel and Lemonade Jones. It’s the first in a four-book series all about friendship, conservation and frogs,” Cassy says. “I like to call it the story of a girl, a frog and a rescue mission without a prince or princess in sight. It’s about a girl, Ella, who moves house and isn’t happy about it. She misses her old home and school and her best friend who lived next door. But then she discovers a secret frog pond in the neighbours’ backyard filled with an orchestra of frogs and starts to think her new home might not be so bad after all. At her new school she befriends Mai and learns about the school frog bog, and when renovations threaten the frogs’ habitat at home, she and Mai have to come up with a plan to save it.”

Cassy also has a narrative nonfiction picture book coming out next year with CSIRO Publishing, focused on science and wonder.

“I guess there is a bit of an accidental theme emerging. Science and wonder and nature are magic!”

Embracing the creative process

Now that her daughter is at school, Cassy can find time to write during the day, but her previous manuscripts were written in whatever snatches of time she could find.

“My best writing hours would be after bedtime, as it was the only time I knew I could get a solid block of uninterrupted writing time and build up some momentum. I learned to write in the cracks too, of course, but sometimes you need a longer stretch. My daughter is at school now, which means I have more time during the day, and I’m trying to set boundaries about when I take on freelance work or do household chores to make the most of that time. I find writing the first thing after drop off works best, that way it’s done before I have time to overthink it or waste time waiting for the perfect conditions. When I get stuck I try to write in a different location, like a library or a different room of the house. I’d love to be a cafe writer, and have attempted it, but I’m far too self conscious and easily distracted!”

Having achieved her publishing dreams, Cassy recommends the Australian Writers' Centre to anyone looking to pursue their own creative writing journey.

“Courses are a great way to keep you on track, and add to your writing toolbox. They can help you kickstart (or get back into) a writing habit, get unstuck or fill a gap in your writing knowledge. Enrolling in a course can also be a sign to yourself that you’re taking your writing seriously, and that alone can open up all sorts of possibilities. The flexibility of AWC’s online courses make them very easy to slot into your life, so really, why wouldn’t you?”

Course completed at AWC:

• Short Story Essentials