Australian Writers’ Centre- Kids’ Books Review Unpublished Picture Book Award & How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel & Many Writing Courses

Having trouble viewing this? View in your browser.   Home Sydney Melbourne Online Courses Contact Us 23 May 2013 Sydney: (02) 9929 0088 Hi Randy, In this issue TIP: Alright versus all right Kids’ Books Review Unpublished Picture Book Award TIP: How to avoid a run-on sentence Plan ahead – How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel WEBPICK: Judging Luhrmann’s Gatsby I really wish I could clone myself this week. That’s because the Sydney Writers’ Festival and the Emerging Writers’ Festival in Melbourne are both on at the same time. They’re both a wonderful celebration of all things writing. I’m keen to catch my favourite authors and to discover some new voices from both festivals (and yes, we’ll be at bits of both!). I love the world of creative writing. You can get lost in your story and characters – there is nothing limiting you except your imagination. However, there are still valuable techniques you can learn about plot, structure and dialogue; techniques that will only make your storytelling better. If you want to immerse yourself in a world of Creative Writing, you’ll enjoy our intensive weekend course. You’ll discover how to: Kick-start the creative writing process Tap into your imagination to let the ideas flow Draw from everyday experiences and memories Examine the many different types of creative writing Build a framework – giving structure to your writing Create memorable characters and bring dialogue to life and MUCH more!       TIP: Alright versus all right Do you say “I’m alright” or “I’m all right”? This is a tricky one because it’s not simply a matter of writers confusing two similar words. The problem here is that the use of alright has been disputed for many years by grammarians who say that alright as one word is never correct.   As often happens in English, however, alright is slowly gaining acceptance. The Macquarie Dictionary lists it but does add the caveat that some editors don’t like it. The Oxford Dictionary Online doesn’t give alright its own definition, but does offer it as an alternative to all right.   So, which should you use? Is it ever okay to use alright? If you’re not sure you should first check your style guide (if you have one). The Fairfax Style Guide insists on the two word form, all right. Here’s what our Australian edition of English Grammar for Dummies suggests:   If someone asks you how you went in your test and you say (with a smile) that you got it all right (you didn’t make any mistakes) they’ll pat you on the back and congratulate you. If you say (glumly) that it went alright, they’ll know that it was really a bit of a disaster. So go ahead and use alright with your friends, but remember that you shouldn’t use it if any sticklers are going to read what you’ve written. Kids’ Books Review Unpublished Picture Book Award The Kids’ Book Review, the children’s literature and book review site, has launched its annual Unpublished Picture Book Award and is seeking picture book submissions. The winner will receive $300, a manuscript appraisal and the chance to have their work viewed by Sue Whiting, Publishing Manager at Walker Books! Two runners-up will win $100 each, and a short manuscript appraisal. While there’s no guarantee the winner will be published, this is a unique opportunity to get your manuscript seen by the editor of one of Australia’s leading kids’ book publishers. There’s more information on the submission details on the Kids’ Book Review website. Make sure you read them carefully before sending your entry. Entries close on Monday 17 June 2013. TIP: How to avoid a run-on sentence What’s a run-on sentence? That’s a sentence with more than one complete idea, or clause, in it. In other words, it’s more than one sentence “run together”. Often a run-on sentence is joined by a comma (creating a comma splice, which we covered in our newsletter on 18 April) but occasionally writers will use no punctuation at all. For example: I can’t stay my dog needs to be walked or They went for a walk in the bush kangaroos hopped by them. To correct them, you simply need to insert the correct punctuation. For instance, the first example would work better with a conjunction: I can’t stay because my dog needs to be walked. While the second sentence would benefit from being split into two sentences: They went for a walk in the bush. Kangaroos hopped by them.   Build Your Profile Using Twitter How can you build your online profile with just 140 characters? Twitter guru and author Kerri Sackville will show you how. In this two-hour seminar she’ll demystify this powerful social media tool and show you how you can boost your followers and connect with a new audience. Two-hour seminar on Monday 27 May 2013 Time: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm Cost: $85   WEEKEND INTENSIVE: Magazine and Newspaper Writing What are your interests or hobbies? Do you like travel, books, politics? Chances are if you’re doing it, there’s an article in it. Learning the art of writing feature articles for newspapers and magazines could be a way for you to turn your interests into a freelance writing career. During this weekend intensive course you’ll learn what editors want, how to research your story, where to find inspiration and, most importantly, how to sell your articles. Weekend intensive course on Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 June 2013 Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395  Writing Books for Children and Young Adults Learn to unlock the imagination of young readers in our five-week Writing Books for Children and Young Adults course. Kids’ books expert, Judith Ridge, will show you how to write engaging fiction for readers over the age of 8. You’ll learn how to create convincing characters and believable dialogue, how to structure your story, and how to get your story published. Five-week course starting Wednesday 5 June 2013 Time: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Professional Business Writing Thursday 30 May 2013 Only 3 places left!     Plan ahead – How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel   If you’re a fan of authors such as Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Helen Fielding, then you already know the appeal of good chick-lit. So why not join us to find out how you could be writing it! Join Australian author Lisa Heidke for our two-day How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel course. She’s written four best-selling chick-lit novels including Stella Makes Good and Claudia’s Big Break, so who better to teach you how to write for this growing genre. You’ll learn all about the chick-lit market and why it’s so popular and how to craft your own chick-lit manuscript. By the end of this two-day course, you’ll be well on your way to writing your own chick-lit novel.     Just for fun Who hasn’t done this?   This week on Writing Bar The Sydney Writers’ Festival was launched this week and we were there for a captivating opening address by renowned storyteller, Daniel Morden. In fact, we’ll be there all week! We’re interviewing authors and reporting from as many sessions as we can squeeze in, so keep an eye on Writing Bar for updates. Also on Writing Bar this week we spoke to Hannah Richell about her latest novel, The Shadow Year; Peter Baines about the life-changing journey he recounts in his memoir, Hands Across the Water; and freelance writer, Bianca Nogrady. WEBPICK: Judging Luhrmann’s Gatsby So film critics haven’t been blown away by Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, but what about those people who’ve studied Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, the scholars of American literature?   Here five literature scholars give their take on the film, and the results are a little surprising. Sara Kosiba, the program director of the 12th International F. Scott Fitzgerald Conference, says the film “was not nearly the potential nightmare I envisioned.” Okay, so it’s not glowing praise, but she and the other scholars reviewing the film all agreed the performances were outstanding and some have even called this the best of all the adaptations of The Great Gatsby.   Don’t believe me? Check out all the reviews here.   “It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water.” Words of wisdom from – Franklin P. Jones       Upcoming courses   Online Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White/Allison Tait When: Week beginning Monday 27 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Cathie Tasker/ Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 3 June 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Travel Writing with Sue White When: Week beginning Monday 10 June 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge/Cathie Tasker When: Week beginning Monday 10 June 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Cathie Tasker/ Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 17 June 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with James Roy – FULL When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 23 May 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Build Your Profile Using Twitter with Kerri Sackville When: Monday 27 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Sue White When: Thursday 30 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman When: Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Weekend course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White When: Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: How to Get Your Book Published with Geoff Bartlett When: Monday 3 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Kim Berry – FULL When: Wednesday 5 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 5 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Writing for the Web with Grant Doyle When: Thursday 6 June 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Screenwriting Stage 2 with Tim Gooding When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 11 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Jeni Mawter When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 12 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Daytime seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop When: Thursday 13 June 2013 (two-hour morning seminar) Time: 10 am – 12 noon Cost: $85 Seminar: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle When: Friday 14 June 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Jeni Mawter When: Every Monday starting Monday 17 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Self-Publishing: How to do it with Geoff Bartlett When: Monday 17 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett When: Tuesday 18 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Business Writing Essentials with Kate Hennessy When: Thursday 20 June 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.30 am – 4.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: How to Create and Sell Your eBook with Anna Maguire When: Thursday 20 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Weekend Course: Write a Chick-Lit Novel with Lisa Heidke When: Saturday 22 June and Sunday 23 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Course: Writing Picture Books with Cathie Tasker When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 25 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm Cost: $395 Seminar: From Blog to Book with Kerri Sackville When: Thursday 27 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Weekend course: Life Writing with Patti Miller When: Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Writing About Food with Carli Ratcliff When: Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Program: Write Your Novel with Pamela Freeman – FULL When: Every Monday starting Monday 1 July 2013 for six months Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $2150 Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Holly Nott When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 4 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Writing About Interiors, Style and Design with Nigel Bartlett When: Tuesday 16 July and 23 July 2013 (2 evening classes) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $175 Course: Travel Writing with Sue White When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 17 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Thriller Writing with L.A. Larkin When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 18 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Sue White When: Friday 19 July 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Screenwriting Stage 1 with Tim Gooding When: Every Monday starting Monday 22 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Editing Essentials with Deb Doyle When: Wednesday 24 July 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Travel Memoir with Claire Scobie When: Saturday 27 July and Sunday 28 July 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard When: Wednesday 31 July 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $495 Course: History, Mystery and Magic with Kate Forsyth When: Saturday 3 August and Sunday 4 August 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 OVERSEAS WRITING TOURS Writing in the Senses in Bali with Patti Miller When: Saturday 10 August to Saturday 17 August 2013 Memoir Writing in Paris with Patti Miller – FULL When: Thursday 24 October to Saturday 9 November 2013 Writing About Food in Vietnam with Carli Ratcliff Dates for 2014 TBC   Thanks for signing up to this newsletter. Wishing you much writing success, About Valerie: Valerie Khoo is a journalist, author of six books and founder of the Australian Writers’ Centre. Valerie writes regularly for smh.com.au, theage.com.au, brisbanetimes.com.au, watoday.com.au, canberratimes.com.au and businessday.com.au. The Australian Writers’ Centre runs a range of popular writing courses in Sydney, Melbourne and online. She is author of Power Stories: The 8 Stories You MUST Tell to Build an Epic Business (Wiley). Australian Writers’ Centre Suite 3, 55 Lavender Street Milsons Point NSW 2061 www.WritersCentre.com.au

 

 

THE WRITERS STUDIO- IMITATION, CONSCIOUS IMITATION, IS ONE OF THE GREAT METHODS & Writing Courses

THE WRITERS STUDIO- IMITATION, CONSCIOUS IMITATION, IS ONE OF THE GREAT METHODS & Writing Courses

“Celebrating 26 years of helping writers reach their potential”

>> “IMITATION, CONSCIOUS IMITATION, IS ONE OF THE GREAT METHODS, perhaps THE method of learning to write….The final triumph is what the language does, not what the poet can do.” Theodore Roethke.

>> “THE WRITERS STUDIO BROUGHT ME BACK FROM THE CREATIVE DEAD.”

“Therese Eiben, my first instructor and former editor of Poets & Writers magazine, instilled the one reading habit that has had the most influence on me: seek out the limestone. Since writers are coming into the Studio with drastically different life experiences, ages, and expectations (unlike a traditional MFA program), I found a great deal of diversity in the voices I was hearing. I was also trained by Joel Hinman and Cynthia Weiner, two wonderful writers and instructors who taught me how to create persona narrators, masks, for each of my narrators….And the poet/instructor Peter Krass provided invaluable feedback in my attempts to separate tone from mood…. The Studio’s weekly deadlines provided me with both structure and discipline in an encouraging, non-pretentious environment. And that last element was key. Even though I took my courses live in NYC, I found that the students, instructors, and administrators were extremely down-to-earth, plain personable.” – Jamez Chang, Writers Studio’s former student. Read the full interview in Counterexamplepoetics.com 

>> EXERCISES TURNED INTO PUBLICATIONS AND PUSHCART PRIZES: 

* Taymiya Zaman‘s short story “Thirst,” which received the Third Prize in Narrative Magazine‘s Fall 2012 Short Story Contest, will appear in the Pushcart Prize 2014 anthology. Taymiya is a student in the San Francisco Workshops, She wrote “Thirst” as an exercise in last summer’s beginning workshop and is a firm believer in the Writers Studio’s method. * Christina Frei’s “The Botanist” (which started as an exercise in Peter Krass’ class) has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poem “Pierre” was accepted by the Canadian journal, Sterling. * Three poems by Jo Ann Baldinger were recently accepted for publication: “Mazurkas” (Monarch Review), “Swallows” (White Whale), and “Eve” (Burningword). All the poems began in Lisa Bellamy’s Online Advanced Poetry workshop. * Writer’s Studio alumnus, Karen Hildebrand, has a play, “The Old In and Out” running June 14, 15, 21 and 22 at Stage Left Studio in Manhattan. The play is based on her poetry, with some of the pieces started in Philip Schultz’s master class. For more info, click here. MORE SUCCESS STORIES FROM OUR STUDENTS.

>> NEW CLASSES BEGIN EVERY WEEK:

> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Anamyn Turowski, begins Wednesday, May 15 <wait list only>
> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Michele Herman, begins Monday, June 3
> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Rachael Nevins, begins Tuesday, June 4

> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Whitney Porter, begins Monday May 20
> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Elliot Satsky, begins Monday, May 20
> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Therese Eiben, begins Tuesday, May 28

> SAN FRANCISCO WORKSHOP (Financial District), taught by Lorraine Babb, begins June 18
> SAN FRANCISCO WORKSHOP (Rockridge), taught by Lela Scott MacNeil, begins June 12

> TUSCON WORKSHOP, taught by Lela Scott MacNeil begins June 18

> AMSTERDAM WORKSHOP, taught by Lynn Kolbe, begins May 22

COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES | TO REGISTER. 

>> BECOME A FB FAN AND FOLLOW US ON TWITTER to receive news and special offers about cultural events, publishing opportunities, and free workshops in your area.
 
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Australian Writers’ Center- Writing Books for Children and Young Adults & Many Writing Courses

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Home Sydney Melbourne Online Courses Contact Us 2 May 2013 Sydney: (02) 9929 0088   In this issue TIP: Can you start sentences with “and” or “but”? Student success – Patricia Barton Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competitionwinners announced Plan ahead – Writing Books for Children and Young Adults WEBPICK: Qwiklit
It was wonderful to meet so many students last week in Brisbane and Perth. Thank you all for coming to the meetups, it was such a pleasure to catch up with you. Hope you enjoyed meeting each other too! One of the best things about my job is seeing people achieve their writing dreams, or taking the first steps towards getting there. It honestly makes me happy to see other people find joy or feel creatively fulfilled in this way. So bring on more meetups I say! (Stay tuned for more dates soon). Without a doubt, a rewarding – but slightly daunting – journey can start when you’re thinking about writing your own novel. If you’ve already done one of our foundation courses – like Creative Writing Stage 1 or Writing Books for Children and Young Adults – you might be ready forIntroduction to Novel Writing. This six-week course makes the process a lot less daunting and you’ll be with a group of peers who are at the same stage in their journey as you are. This is a powerful course with many groups of students ending up firm friends or forming their own on-going writers group to support each other after the course is complete. This course will suit people who have: started a project and have already written a few thousand words or have a reasonable idea of their story’s structurebut haven’t started writing. You’ll be mentored by the wonderful Pamela Freeman who will guide you in workshopping and provide you with themomentum you need to get your own novel underway.
	TIP: Can you start sentences with “and” or “but”? There are some pedants and old-school grammarians who cringe at the idea of starting a sentence with a conjunction like “and” or “but”. Maybe you were taught this golden rule at school and have stuck by it ever since. Well, language has to move with the times, and it’s not wrong – or right. It depends. Starting a sentence with “and” or “but” is not some heinous sin that can never be forgiven. It’s informal and casual. So it’s acceptable when informal language is the tone you’re going for. Let’s say you’re writing a report on a serious issue that’s to be tabled at the next board meeting, or writing policy that’s going to become legislation, or an invitation to Kate and Will’s wedding – then don’t use conjunctions to start a sentence. But, if you’re writing an article for Dolly magazine, or connecting with surfers on a surf website, or a brochure about fun online dating methods, then using informal language like this is perfectly acceptable. And you’ll see it all the time. But just don’t go nuts and use it at every opportunity. Student Success – Patricia Barton One of the many things we love about working at the Australian Writers’ Centre is seeing students realise their writing dreams. One of our graduates, Patricia Barton, who went on the “Writing in Paris” tour in 2009 and found it life-changing, has released an inspiring memoir Why God Hates Me. It’s the beautifully written story of her determination to triumph over the homelessness and abuse that marked the early years of her life and find lasting happiness. Why God Hates Me will be officially launched on 11 May at Gleebooks. Here’s what Patricia had to say about the Writing in Paris tour with Patti Miller: “Patti Miller suggested I come to ‘Writing in Paris’ and I needed no coaxing. We were the first ones to go. I resolved to fill my notebook by writing in cafes like Hemingway did. Twice a day. I still found time for shopping, music, and making friends. “I had to buy a new notebook, a new bag, and a French beret for my return to Sydney but I had 78 foolscap pages to take home with me which was the substance of my memoir. Now, Why God Hates Me is available on Amazon and in bookshops. If it is meant to happen make it happen in Paris! You can do it. I did. And it changed my life. Thanks Patti.” Winners announced in the Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition This week we announced the winners of the Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition, which was sponsored by publishing company Random House Australia. With 1122 entries and over 16,350 votes for the People’s Choice Award, the competition for the category winners was tight. Congratulations to Suzi Dafnis (Business winner), Clint Greagan (Personal/Parenting winner), Sneh Roy (Personal/Lifestyle winner), Stephanie Campisi (Words/Writing winner) and Paula Matthewson (Commentary winner). The overall winner and Best Australian Blog for 2013 was Sneh Roy’s Cook Republic. The People’s Choice Award was won by Chris Lang’s blog, Home I Own, with 1,468 votes. This year’s competition also had a series of special awards for smaller blogs, as well as for outstanding new blog. You can see the full list of winners and links to their blogs here. ONLINE COURSE: Creative Writing Stage 2 If you’ve completed our Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 and want to take your writing to the next level, then join us for Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 2. In this course you’ll take those skills you’ve learnt in stage 1 and really start to put them to good use. This course is packed with practical exercises that will give you a chance to workshop your writing in a collaborative and positive environment. Five week online course starting the week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 Time: Whenever it suits you Cost: $395 Editing Essentials Reviewing and editing someone else’s writing can be a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Editing Essentials will equip you with the skills and confidence you need to bring clarity to any piece of writing. You will learn all the rules and standard conventions you will ever need to know to edit with speed, accuracy and efficiency. One-day seminar on Friday 16 May 2013 Time: 9 am – 5 pm Cost: $450 Creative Writing Stage 1 Whether you’ve been writing for a while or just starting your creative writing journey, knowing all the elements of good fiction can only enhance your stories. If you’ve decided it’s time to let that book you’ve always had in you out, ourCreative Writing Stage 1 course will help you. In this five-week course author James Roy will show you how you too can write engaging and inspiring stories. Five-week course starting Thursday 23 May 2013 Time: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 PR and Media Releases that Get Results One-day seminar on Thursday 23 May 2013 9 am – 4.30 pm Only 4 places left Did you know? Where exclamation and question marks come from We use these punctuation marks every day but have you ever wondered where they originated? Thanks to oxforddictionariesonline, I have the answer: Both these punctuation marks were originally manuscript abbreviations in Latin texts. To take the exclamation mark first: it derives from a vertical version, written in the margins, of the Latin word Io, meaning ‘exclamation of joy’. The vertical stroke was the ‘I’ above the ‘o’, in which the ‘o’ eventually became a dot. The question mark, meanwhile, goes back to the word Quaestio meaning ‘questioning, investigation’ and indicating a question. Quaestio was eventually abbreviated to a curly ‘q’ above the ‘o’, while the ‘o’ became a dot. Why were these marks needed in the first place? Their prime function in Latin manuscripts was to show people the right intonation: a question, a surprise, a shout, etc. If you combine them you get a different effect: ?! delivers an immediate sense of incredulity: a little like smileys or emoticons in our text messages today. TIP: To boldly go We covered this a while ago in this newsletter but we get asked about it so many times, I thought it was worthwhile to clarify again. Grammar sometimes has atendency to sound more complicated than it needs to. For example, split infinitives. What’s an infinitive? And how do you split it? Here’s the simple answer borrowed from Star Trek. This is a split infinitive: To boldly go where no man has gone before! The infinitive is to go, and it has been ‘split’ by the adverb boldly. Here’s what http://www.askoxford.com says: Split infinitives are frequently poor style, but they are not strictly bad grammar. In the example above, to avoid the split infinitive would result either in weakness (to go boldly) or over-formality (boldly to go): either would ruin the rhythmic force and rhetorical pattern of the original. It is probably good practice to avoid split infinitives in formal writing, but clumsy attempts to avoid them simply by shuffling adverbs about can create far worse sentences.
	Plan ahead – Writing Books for Children and Young Adults
	Are you overflowing with great book ideas for children and young adults but aren’t sure what to do with them? Writing Books For Children and Young Adults gives you the skills you’ll need to bring your ideas to life in a way that captures the imagination of young readers. You’ll learn how to work out what age group your story will best suit, vocabulary rules for children and teens, and what topics are suitable for that age group and much more. And of course, you’ll also cover the essentials of good writing – voice, plot, character, and structure. So come and join us for the five-week evening course, or if you can’t get to our training rooms in Milsons Point, we also have an online course available.
	This week on Writing Bar We interviewed successful author, Allison Rushby. She is about to release her new book The Heiresses so we thought that made this the perfect opportunity to ask her about all things writing-oriented … and naturally, find out about her cider making skills … We also took some time out to meet Kylie Ladd, who is a novelist and freelance writer, and the presenter of the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Creative Writing Stage 1 course in Melbourne.   WEBPICK: Qwiklit You may not be able to gain a literature degree without a few years at university, but you canenhance your knowledge of classic fiction, thereby impressing your fellow book clubbers with your literary insight, by giving Qwiklit a visit. This is a new site and still under construction. In fact, I’ve been watching it for a while waiting for it to launch its series of five-minute videos on selected novels, plays, poems and non-fiction. And they’ve started in style – their first featured novel is Henry James’s Portrait of a Lady. The video includes an overview, analysis and Qwikfacts on this classic 1881 novel. There’s currently just the one video on the site but you can also check out a series of blog posts on essential reading, including 15 Modern Classics You Should Read and 50 Reasons You Should be a Bookworm. Check it out here.
	“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” Words of wisdom from – Robert Frost
	Upcoming courses
	Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 6 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Travel Writing with Sue White When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White/Allison Tait When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge/ Cathie Tasker When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Seminar: Business Writing Essentials with Kate Hennessy When: Friday 3 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.30 am – 4.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Writing for the web with Grant Doyle When: Monday 6 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $450 Seminar: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle When: Wednesday 8 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Introduction to Novel Writing with Pamela Freeman When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 9 May 2013 for six weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $495 Daytime seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop – FULL When: Friday 10 May 2013 (two-hour morning seminar) Time: 10 am – 12 noon Cost: $85 Course: Plotting and Planning with Kate Forsyth When: Every Monday starting Monday 13 May 2013 for two weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $175 Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 14 May 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop – FULL When: Thursday 16 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Editing Essentials with Deb Doyle When: Thursday 16 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with James Roy When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 23 May 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard When: Thursday 23 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $495 Seminar: Build Your Profile Using Twitter with Kerri Sackville When: Monday 27 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett When: Tuesday 28 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Sue White When: Thursday 30 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman When: Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Weekend course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White When: Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: How to Get Your Book Published with Geoff Bartlett When: Monday 3 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: From Blog to Book with Kerri Sackville When: Tuesday 4 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Kim Berry When: Wednesday 5 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 5 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Screenwriting Stage 2 with Tim Gooding When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 11 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Jeni Mawter When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 12 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Daytime seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop When: Thursday 13 June 2013 (two-hour morning seminar) Time: 10 am – 12 noon Cost: $85 Seminar: Self-Publishing: How to do it with Geoff Bartlett When: Monday 17 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: How to Create and Sell Your eBook with Anna Maguire When: Thursday 20 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Weekend Course: Write a Chick-Lit Novel with Lisa Heidke When: Saturday 22 June and Sunday 23 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Course: Writing Picture Books with Cathie Tasker When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 25 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm Cost: $395 Weekend course: Life Writing with Patti Miller When: Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Writing About Food with Carli Ratcliff When: Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Program: Write Your Novel with Pamela Freeman – FULL When: Every Monday starting Monday 1 July 2013 for six months Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $2150 Course: Screenwriting Stage 1 with Tim Gooding When: Every Monday starting Monday 15 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Writing About Interiors, Style and Design with Nigel Bartlett When: Tuesday 16 July and 23 July 2013 (2 evening classes) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $175 Seminar: Successful Freelancing with Gayle Bryant When: Wednesday 17 July 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Course: Travel Writing with Sue White When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 17 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Thriller Writing with L.A. Larkin When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 18 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Travel Memoir with Claire Scobie When: Saturday 27 July and Sunday 28 July 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Course: History, Mystery and Magic with Kate Forsyth When: Saturday 3 August and Sunday 4 August 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 OVERSEAS WRITING TOURS Writing in the Senses in Bali with Patti Miller When: Saturday 10 August to Saturday 17 August 2013 Memoir Writing in Paris with Patti Miller – FULL When: Thursday 24 October to Saturday 9 November 2013 Writing About Food in Vietnam with Carli Ratcliff Dates for 2014 TBC
	T Wishing you much writing success, About Valerie: Valerie Khoo is a journalist, author of six books and founder of the Australian Writers’ Centre. Valerie writes regularly for smh.com.au, theage.com.au,brisbanetimes.com.au, watoday.com.au, canberratimes.com.au andbusinessday.com.au. The Australian Writers’ Centre runs a range of popular writing courses in Sydney, Melbourne and online. She is author of Power Stories: The 8 Stories You MUST Tell to Build an Epic Business (Wiley).

Australian Writers’ Centre- SD Harvey Short Story Award & Best Australian Blogs 2013 & How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel & Many Writing Course

Having trouble viewing this? View in your browser. Home Sydney Melbourne Online Courses Contact Us 24 April 2013 Sydney: (02) 9929 0088   In this issue Perth meetup this Friday TIP: Do you overuse quote marks? SD Harvey Short Story Award Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competitionfinalists announced Plan ahead – How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel WEBPICK: The Last Bookstop I’m writing this week’s newsletter from Brisbane and I’m so excited to meet our wonderful Australian Writers’ Centre community here tonight at the Empire Hotel. This is our very first Brisbane meetup so I look forward to seeing you there. If you are a last minute signup, click here for details. Yesterday, this book landed on my desk and I just can’t wait to get stuck into it. Written by AWC graduate Allison Rushby, The Heiresses published by Pan Macmillan, is the story of triplets “estranged since birth, who are suddenly brought together and forced to compete for their inheritance in 1920s London.” I’m heading to Perth tomorrow so guess what I’ll be taking on the plane with me! (More details on our Perth meetup this week below). If you’re interested in writing fiction, a great place to start is Creative Writing Stage 1. You’ll discover how to: Kick-start the creative writing process Tap into your imagination to let the ideas flow Draw from everyday experiences and memories Examine the many different types of creative writing Build a framework – giving structure to your writing Create memorable characters and bring dialogue to life and MUCH more! See you in Perth on Friday I know this is short notice, but we’re holding an informal meetup in Perth THIS Friday 26 April 2013. This is open to anyone in the Australian Writers’ Centre community – or simply anyone interested in finding out more about writing. I’ll hold an informal Q&A to chat about writing, publishing, blogging and so on – so feel free to join us! I would love to see you. However, you MUST RSVP. Details are here. TIP: Do you overuse quote marks? People often make the mistake of overusing quote marks. Check out this passage: “I went to the grocery store,” says Melanie. “I bought milk, sugar and marmalade. But they had run out of butter so I had to go to the shopping centre. “On my way there, I stopped at the post office in order to mail a package to my auntie in Queensland.” Notice that there are no closed quote marks at the end of the first paragraph. Some people say that a closed quote mark should be inserted at the end of the first paragraph. This is WRONG. Because Melanie hasn’t finished talking, you DO NOT close the quote mark. However, as her quote continues in the next paragraph, you DO open the new paragraph with an opening quote mark. The bottom line: The quote marks in the above passage are correct. SD Harvey Short Story Award Pay attention, crime writers. The 2013 SD Harvey Short Story Award is now open for new and established writers. Part of the Ned Kelly Awards, this is a chance for budding crime writers to put their short story writing skills to use and see their story published in the Sydney Morning Herald and Scribe’s short story anthology, New Australian Stories. Named in honour of true-crime writer and journalist, Sandra Harvey, the award recognises the importance of short stories in Australian crime writing. Stories of up to 4000 words are welcome, in the form of fiction or non-fiction. This year’s word is ‘Echo’ and this must appear in the title and within the story. Entries close on Friday 31 May 2013. Click here for more information. Grammar and Punctuation   Grammar and punctuation don’t have to be scary. Even if you’ve never learnt the rules before, after this one-day seminar inGrammar and Punctuation Essentials, you need never fear apostrophes again! Learn how to avoid common mistakes and apply grammar rules to yours and others’ writing. You’ll leave with a comprehensive workbook and a new confidence in grammar and punctuation. One-day seminar on Wednesday 8 May 2013 Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450   Introduction to Novel Writing If you’ve done one of our introductory writing courses, and want to see where your newly-honed skills could take you, Introduction to Novel Writing will help make your book become a reality. Whether you’ve started a project, or are still toying with the idea, you will learn everything from voice and characterisation and grammar to punctuation, as well as getting a chance to workshop your material with your classmates. Six-week course starting Thursday 9 May 2013 Time: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm Cost: $495 Editing Essentials Reviewing and editing someone else’s writing can be a little intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Editing Essentials will equip you with the skills and confidence you need to bring clarity to any piece of writing. You will learn all the rules and standard conventions you will ever need to know to edit with speed, accuracy and efficiency. One-day seminar on Friday 16 May 2013 Time: 9 am – 5 pm Cost: $450 Screenwriting Stage 1 Five-week course starting Wednesday 1 May 2013 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm Only 5 places left Finalists announced in the Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition It’s been an exciting week with the 25 finalists in the annual Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition being announced. Congratulations to all of the talented bloggers who will compete for the title of “Best Australian blogger” for 2013 with the big announcement happening on 1 May. The finalists were selected from the 1,122 blogs entered in this year’s competition with five finalists announced in each of the competition categories: Lifestyle (408 entries), Personal/Parenting (350 entries), Business (84 entries), Commentary (119 entries) and Words/Writing (161 entries). You can read the full list of finalists here. TIP: Words that are killing your prose Here’s a tip from The Write Practice on four words you should avoid if you want your fiction to be a joy to read. 1. So Come on, you’re a writer. Be more descriptive. Don’t say she was so pretty. Say she was gorgeous. 2. Very Just like “so,” you can be more descriptive. I know you can. “Very” is a crutch. It’s a clue that you’re not being precise. The room was very quiet. The room was silent. 3. Just We know something just happened. If it happened 30 years ago, you’d tell us. Otherwise we’ll assume it just happened. 4. That Sometimes “that” is necessary (like in the title of this post). Every time you use “that” take a good look at the sentence and decide if it’s vital. Normally, it’s not. Did you know? White Elephant When we talk about a white elephant, we’re referring to an annoyingly useless thing, or a possession of great value but entailing great expense to maintain. Some notorious white elephants in Australia include Sydney’s monorail and Cross City Tunnel, and Docklands in Melbourne. Interestingly, the origin of the phrase has absolutely nothing to do with infrastructure or buildings. It goes back to the days of Siam (now Thailand) when white elephants (they do actually exist!) were highly prized animals. Back then white elephants were automatically given to the king. They weren’t to be used as work elephants, ridden or mistreated in any way but keeping them was very expensive. To rid himself of these white elephants, the king started foisting them on courtiers he didn’t like by giving them as special royal gifts, thus passing the financial cost of keeping the white elephant on to its new owner. The phrase eventually made its way to England around the mid-18th century and has proved a particularly useful idiom for modern use. Plan ahead – How to Write a Chick-Lit Novel If you’re a fan of authors such as Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Helen Fielding, then you already know the appeal of good chick-lit. So why not join us to find out how you could be writing it! Join Australian author Lisa Heidke for our two-day How to Write a Chick-Lit Novelcourse. She’s written four best-selling chick-lit novels including Stella Makes Goodand Claudia’s Big Break, so who better to teach you how to write for this growing genre. You’ll learn all about the chick-lit market and why it’s so popular, and how to craft your own chick-lit manuscript. By the end of this two-day course, you’ll be well on your way to writing your own chick-lit novel. Oops Word If you’re going to commit a grammatical transgression, you might as well do it in a big way. Our thanks to Bill Harper (@BillHarper) who spotted this sign in a shop that seems inordinately fond of apostrophes. While the first apostrophe is totally acceptable since Ed presumably owns the computers in the store – at least till you buy them of course – the second one shouldn’t be there since you never use apostrophes to create a plural.     WEBPICK: The Last Bookshop   It’s a terrifying thought, but imagine if there were only one bookshop left in the world? The makers of The Last Bookshop have wondered just that and created this short film to highlight the decline of independent bookshops in the UK. The film is the story of a young boy who comes across the last remaining bookshop. Inside he discovers the store’s owner has been waiting over 25 years for a customer. While the film ponders the state of bookstores in England, it’s a conversation we’ve had here in Australia too. There’s been lots of buzz online about the film and has just passed over 2,000 views. Even HuffPost featured the film in their books section. So check it out, then head straight to your local bookstore. Watch the film here. “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” Words of wisdom from – Groucho Marx Upcoming courses Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 29 April 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 6 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Travel Writing with Sue White When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White/Allison Tait When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Cathie Tasker/Pamela Freeman When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Online Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge/Cathie Tasker When: Week beginning Monday 13 May 2013 for five weeks Time: Whenever suits you Cost: $395 Course: Screenwriting Stage 1 with Tim Gooding When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 1 May 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: How to Get Your Book Published with Geoff Bartlett When: Thursday 2 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Business Writing Essentials with Kate Hennessy When: Friday 3 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.30 am – 4.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Writing for the web with Grant Doyle When: Monday 6 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $450 Seminar: Grammar and Punctuation Essentials with Deb Doyle When: Wednesday 8 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Introduction to Novel Writing with Pamela Freeman When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 9 May 2013 for six weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $495 Daytime seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop – FULL When: Friday 10 May 2013 (two-hour morning seminar) Time: 10 am – 12 noon Cost: $85 Course: Plotting and Planning with Kate Forsyth When: Every Monday starting Monday 13 May 2013 for two weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $175 Course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 14 May 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop – FULL When: Thursday 16 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Editing Essentials with Deb Doyle When: Thursday 16 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with James Roy When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 23 May 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: PR and Media Releases that Get Results with Catriona Pollard When: Thursday 23 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $495 Seminar: Build Your Profile Using Twitter with Kerri Sackville When: Monday 27 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Introduction to Travel Writing with Geoff Bartlett When: Tuesday 28 May 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Professional Business Writing with Sue White When: Thursday 30 May 2013 (one-day seminar) Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Creative Writing Stage 1 with Pamela Freeman When: Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Weekend course: Magazine and Newspaper Writing Stage 1 with Sue White When: Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Seminar: From Blog to Book with Kerri Sackville When: Tuesday 4 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Kim Berry When: Wednesday 5 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Course: Writing Books for Children and Young Adults with Judith Ridge When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 5 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Screenwriting Stage 2 with Tim Gooding When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 11 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Creative Writing Stage 2 with Jeni Mawter When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 12 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Daytime seminar: Blogging for Beginners with Jen Bishop When: Thursday 13 June 2013 (two-hour morning seminar) Time: 10 am – 12 noon Cost: $85 Seminar: Self-Publishing: How to do it with Geoff Bartlett When: Monday 17 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Seminar: How to Create and Sell Your eBook with Anna Maguire When: Thursday 20 June 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Weekend Course: Write a Chick-Lit Novel with Lisa Heidke When: Saturday 22 June and Sunday 23 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Course: Writing Picture Books with Cathie Tasker When: Every Tuesday starting Tuesday 25 June 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm Cost: $395 Weekend course: Life Writing with Patti Miller When: Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $450 Weekend course: Writing About Food with Carli Ratcliff When: Saturday 29 June and Sunday 30 June 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Program: Write Your Novel with Pamela Freeman – FULL When: Every Monday starting Monday 1 July 2013 for six months Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $2150 Course: Writing About Interiors, Style and Design with Nigel Bartlett When: Tuesday 16 July and 23 July 2013 (2 evening classes) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $175 Seminar: Successful Freelancing with Gayle Bryant When: Wednesday 17 July 2013 (two-hour evening seminar) Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $85 Course: Travel Writing with Sue White When: Every Wednesday starting Wednesday 17 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Thriller Writing with L.A. Larkin When: Every Thursday starting Thursday 18 July 2013 for five weeks Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm Cost: $395 Course: Travel Memoir with Claire Scobie When: Saturday 27 July and Sunday 28 July 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 Course: History, Mystery and Magic with Kate Forsyth When: Saturday 3 August and Sunday 4 August 2013 (2 consecutive days) Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Cost: $395 OVERSEAS WRITING TOURS Writing in the Senses in Bali with Patti Miller When: Saturday 10 August to Saturday 17 August 2013 Memoir Writing in Paris with Patti Miller – FULL When: Thursday 24 October to Saturday 9 November 2013 Writing About Food in Vietnam with Carli Ratcliff Dates for 2014 TBC   Wishing you much writing success, About Valerie: Valerie Khoo is a journalist, author of six books and founder of the Australian Writers’ Centre. Valerie writes regularly for smh.com.au, theage.com.au,brisbanetimes.com.au, watoday.com.au, canberratimes.com.au andbusinessday.com.au. The Australian Writers’ Centre runs a range of popular writing courses in Sydney, Melbourne and online. She is author of Power Stories: The 8 Stories You MUST Tell to Build an Epic Business (Wiley).

The Writers Studio- Celebrating “Poetry Daily” at Powerhouse Arena & Writing Courses

THE WRITERS STUDIO- Celebrating “Poetry Daily” at Powerhouse Arena & Writing Courses

“Celebrating 26 years of helping writers reach their potential”

>> ”THERE’S ONLY ONE REASON TO WRITE POETRY: TO CHANGE THE WORLD.” - Philip Levine, as quoted by Mark Levine.

>> DON’T MISS OUR LAST READING OF THE SEASON: A CELEBRATION OF “POETRY DAILY” AT POWERHOUSE ARENA (DUMBO), SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 5 P.M. 
Major Jackson (Holding Company; winner of a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship) and Pulitzer-Prize poet & founder/director of The Writers Studio Philip Schultz will be joined by Sophie Cabot Black (The Descent: Poems), Korean-American poet Cathy Park Hong (Engine Empire), James Lasdun (Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked), and Dennis Nurkse (A Night in Brooklyn) to celebrate one of the largest online anthologies of contemporary poetry. The event is free and will take place at The PowerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., Dumbo, Brooklyn. F to York St. or A/C to High St). FACEBOOK 

>> “DYNAMIC, INSPIRING, INVIGORATING, SUPPORTIVE. The Writers Studio seemed to me to have all the qualities one could possibly wish for in a writing school.”- James Lasdun. Jumpstart your writing before the summer by joining a 10-week workshop in Fiction & Poetry.
> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Anamyn Turowski (nominated for a Pushcart Prize this year), begins Wednesday, May 1
> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Yetsuh Frank, begins Monday, May 6
> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Whitney Porter, begins Monday May 6
> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Elliot Satsky, begins Monday, May 13
COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES | TO REGISTER. 

>> YOU CAN JOIN OUR CRAFT CLASS AT ANY TIME: NEW CYCLE BEGINS THIS WEEK. In this 9-week program, you learn to recognize the techniques writers use to achieve their literary goals and how to apply these techniques to your own writing. This session, we will be reading works by fiction writers Carol Shields, Grégoire Bouillier and poet David Wojahn, among others, and welcome two guest speakers: James Lasdun and Edward Hirsch.  You can attend the classes in person or simply access them through podcasts. Check out our current reading list.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES | TO REGISTER. 

>> SPECIAL OFFER TO THE WRITERS STUDIO COMMUNITY: GET 20% OFF MOST EVENTS AT PEN WORLD VOICES FESTIVAL OF INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE, taking place in NYC, April 29-May 5 (Code: PEN13).

This year’s festival invites writers from around the globe to explore bravery in art, politics and everyday life.  Featuring

Nadeem Aslam, Paul Auster, Judith Butler, Henri Cole, Eduardo Galeano, Joy Harjo, Aleksandar Hemon, A.M Homes, Jamaica Kincaid, Ursula Krechel, Lewis Lapham, Fran Lebowitz, Claudio Magris, Téa Obreht, Salman Rushdie, Mikhail Shishkin, Sapphire, Sonia Sotomayor, Charles Simic, Andrew Solomon, Naomi Wolf, and many others.

For a complete festival schedule, visit: WORLDVOICESFESTIVAL.ORG

www.writerstudio.com / 212-255-7075 / TWITTER / FACEBOOK / question@writerstudio.com

THE WRITERS STUDIO- CELEBRATES POETRY DAILY AT POWERHOUSE ARENA, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 5 P.M & Many Writing Courses

THE WRITERS STUDIO- CELEBRATES POETRY DAILY AT POWERHOUSE ARENA, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 5 P.M & Many Writing Courses

“Celebrating 26 years of helping writers reach their potential”

>> THE WRITERS STUDIO CELEBRATES POETRY DAILY AT POWERHOUSE ARENA, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 5 P.M. The reading will spotlight the online anthology of contemporary poetry with readings by Sophie Cabot Black (The Misunderstanding of Nature and The Descent: Poems), Korean-American poet Cathy Park Hong (Engine Empire), Major Jackson (Holding Company; Poetry Editor, Harvard Review), James Lasdun (Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked), Dennis Nurkse (A Night in Brooklyn), and Pulitzer-Prize poet & founder/director of The Writers Studio Philip Schultz. The event is free and will take place at The PowerHouse Arena,37 Main St., Dumbo, Brooklyn. F to York St. or A/C to High St). FACEBOOK 

>> WE BOAST ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS: Christina Frei’s poem “The Botanist” will appear in the next issue of Kansas City Voices and her poem “Firefly” in the inaugural issue of The Inflectionist Review. Christina is a student in Peter Krass’ Online Intermediate Poetry Workshop. Isaac Kirkman’s stories “Portrait of a Sister with Insects” and “Avian Theories” were published in Out of Gutter, and the former story also appeared in Out of the Gutter 8 Digital Love: Best of the year print edition. “Solar Graffiti” was published in Shotgun Honey and ”This Protean Love” in the digital and print issues of Zelmer Pulp‘s Sci-fi anthology, Hey, That Robot Ate my Baby!. In addition, Isaac’s poem “Alva’s Wings” and collaborative poems with Jamez Chang “Could This Really be Happening?” and “Go Back Where You Came” were published in the Spring 2013 edition of Menacing Hedge. James and Isaac’s collaborative poem “Jeremy!” will appear in Apeiron Review. Isaac is a student in Tucson Advanced Workshop.

>> JUMPSTART YOUR WRITING BEFORE THE SUMMER: JOIN “THE MOST PERSONAL OF THE PROGRAMS” (THE NEW YORK TIMES). 
> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Anamyn Turowski (nominated for a Pushcart Prize this year), begins Wednesday, May 1
> ONLINE LEVEL I, taught by Yetsuh Frank, begins Monday, May 6
> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Whitney Porter, begins Monday May 6
> NYC LEVEL I, taught by Elliot Satsky, begins Monday, May 13
COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES | TO REGISTER. 

>> CRAFT CLASS BEGINS APRIL 23: HONE YOUR SKILLS AS A WRITER.  In this 9-week program, you learn to recognize the techniques writers use to achieve their literary goals and how to apply these techniques to your own writing. This session, we will be reading works by fiction writers Carol Shields, Grégoire Bouillier and poet David Wojahn, among others, and welcome two guest speakers: James Lasdun and Edward Hirsch.  You can attend the classes in person or simply access them through podcasts. Check out our current reading list.
COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES | TO REGISTER. 

>> “IT’S HARD TO EXPRESS WHAT A DIFFERENCE THE WRITERS STUDIO HAS MADE, not just in my writing, but in my life. The techniques you’re teaching us are such a practical, actionable way to express the ideas that used to get clobbered into silence by my inner critics. Your humor, insights, and encouragement have made a huge difference too.” - Karen McIntyre, Online Level I Student

www.writerstudio.com / 212-255-7075 / TWITTER / FACEBOOK / question@writerstudio.com

THE WRITERS STUDIO- MISSED OUR LAST READING? WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE

THE WRITERS STUDIO- MISSED OUR LAST READING?  WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE

“Celebrating 26 years of helping writers reach their potential”

>> “KEEP AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO TRY TO BELITTLE YOUR AMBITIONS. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

>> MISSED OUR LAST READING? WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE. Faculty members LISA BELLAMY, THERESE EIBEN and MICHELE HERMAN and master class students SYLVIE BERTRAND and DORIS CHENG read their work. More information on our reading series.

>> “TRULY, I AM NOT THE SAME WRITER I WAS WHEN I STARTED AT THE WRITERS STUDIO. I am more playful, less fragile and have been able to connect to bolder and more embodied narrators, all as a result of your extraordinary method and the incredibly generous and astute teachers who teach it. To my level IV teacher, I want to thank you for being an outstanding teacher. For your clarity and rigor and the generosity of your insights. I feel as though I passed through something profound in your class, something I can’t quite name, but can feel. And I don’t think I’m mistaken in having felt that change in my classmates as well.” — Trellan Smith, former NYC Master Class student. Read more feedback from our students.

> San Francisco Workshop [Financial District] Level I, taught by Lorraine Babb, begins April 2
> Online Level I, taught by Anamyn Turowski, begins April 17
> NYC Level I, taught by Whitney Porter, begins May 6
> The Tucson Workshop Level I, taught by Janelle Drumwright, began March 28
> Next Craft Class begins April 23

You can register up to two weeks late.  If you’re not sure which class to join, or have questions, give us a call at (212) 255-7075.  We enjoy speaking to writers and helping them find the class or tutorial that’s right for them.
> Complete schedule of classes.

www.writerstudio.com / 212-255-7075 / TWITTER / FACEBOOK / question@writerstudio.com