So You Want to be a Writer

What is a 'comp title' and why you need to know this. Meet Shankari Chandran, author of 'Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens'. And we have 3 copies of Impossible by Sarah Lotz to give away. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |  ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rise of BookTok and it's incredible effect on the publishing industry. Books by women now achieving parity in media reviews. Why you need to beware of widows and orphans. Meet Nita Prose, author of the worldwide bestseller 'The Maid'. And we have 3 copies of 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard to give away. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Faceboo...

What to do if you're stuck writing your first line. Crime author Dinuka McKenzie on writing her Banjo Prize-winner 'The Torrent', and we have 3 copies of the novel to give away. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |  ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime thriller author Candice Fox on turning her novel 'Crimson Lake' into the TV series 'Troppo'. Also: getting into real estate copywriting and more. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |  ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How you can build a lucrative career as a children's author. Could a writing accountability buddy help you to achieve your goals? And meet Gary Nunn, author of 'The Psychic Tests'. Plus, we have 3 copies of 'The Trivia Night' by Ali Lowe to giveaway. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |  ValerieKhoo.com See om...

Meet Al Campbell, author of ‘The Keepers’. Also: The unexpected benefits of writing. Do you need to incorporate feedback into your manuscript? Plus, we have 3 copies of ‘Violeta’ by Isabel Allende to giveaway. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |  ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/list...

Meet Ruth McIver, author of I Shot The Devil . Short story competitions you can enter; an eight-year-old novelist slips his handwritten book in a library shelf and it now has a year-long waiting list. Plus, we have 3 copies of The Keepers by AWC alumna Al Campbell to giveaway. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |&n...

Discover 7 tips to improve your writing. Meet Felicity Lewis, national explainer editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, on writing a great explainer and why readers love them so much. Plus, we have 3 copies of 'Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter' by Lizzie Pook to giveaway. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit Write...

Meet Kay Kerr, author of 'Social Queue'. Discover the adaptability of audiobooks and resources for police procedurals. I catch up with Penelope Janu and talk about her latest book 'Clouds on the Horizon'. There are 3 copies of 'The Bumper Treehouse Fun Book' by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton to give away. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on...

Do you need to rewrite your first draft completely? You'll meet SAS Australia's Ollie Ollerton, author of the thriller 'All Or Nothing'. Plus, we have 3 copies of 'Fancy Meeting You Here' by Ali Berg (AWC alumna) and Michelle Kalus to give away.  Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com |...

Discover how to skyrocket your writing productivity using Focusmate. I chat to Australian icon, author Tom Keneally about his novel 'Corporal Hitler's Pistol'. Plus, you could win a copy of 'Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens' by AWC alumna Shankari Chandran. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com...

This is the follow-up novel to Kellie’s debut Heiress on Fire, and once again we join billion-heiress Indigo and her assistant Esmerelda as they get involved with murders most fancy. Home for just 48 hours, billion-heiress Indigo-Daisy-Violet-Amber Hasluck-Royce-Jones-Bombberg has already committed two (completely understandable) felonies, reignited a childhood feud, been (possibly) humiliat...

Meet Ed Ayres, author of the beautiful memoir 'Whole Notes'. We have big news! Plus, it's your last chance to enter to win our massive holiday reading 15-book pack! Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deception Creek is the latest novel from the very popular rural fiction author, whose bestselling novels include Red Dust, Blue Skies, Purple Roads, Silver Clouds, Crimson Dawn, Emerald Springs, Indigo Storm, Sapphire Falls , and many, many, many more! In fact, this is her 18th novel. We spoke to Fleur way back in episode 2 of the So You Want to be a Writer podcast, when she had ONLY published 5 b...

Meet Sara Foster, author of 'The Hush'. Discover how you could win a massive holiday reading 15-book pack. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Safe Place is the latest novel from the bestselling thriller writer whose previous books include Widow’s Island, Prey and Devour - and she is the presenter of Australian Writers' Centrey popular course Crime and Thriller Writing. Everyone in Eagle Falls knows Jessie Lewis. Ever since she reported her boyfriend, fire chief and local hero, for beating her, she’s been an outcast from...

Meet Anika Molesworth, author of 'Our Sunburnt Country'. Want to enter the 2022 Penguin Literary Prize? Plus, discover how you could win our massive holiday reading 15-book pack! Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.com | ValerieKhoo.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once Burnt, Twice Shy is the latest novel from Karly who is a bestselling rural romance sensation. She is the author of the Callahans of Stringybark Creek series, North Star, Morgan's Law, Bridie's Choice, and too many more to mention! Recently divorced mother-of-two Samantha Murphy agrees to house-sit for her parents for a few weeks-but when the house involves several hundred acres of farming and...

Meet Inga Simpson, author of 'The Last Woman in the World'. Congrats to Anika Molesworth on her book 'Our Sunburnt Country' being The Sydney Morning Herald's non-fiction pick of the week. Plus, discover how you could win a 5-book pack of new release YA fiction. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonT...

Dark Rise is the latest novel from the author of the bestselling YA trilogy Captive Prince , and it is the first in what is already shaping up to be an un-put-downable new series. Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant tells him of his destiny to fight beside the Stewards, Will is ushered into a world of magic, where he must trai...

Meet Nicola Marsh, author of 'Summer of Serenity', 'The Scandal' and 76 other romance and domestic suspense novels. Ayliffe's John Bailey series gets optioned for screen. Learn when you should post your holiday gifts, so they arrive in time. Plus, you could win a book pack of FIVE crime and thriller fiction releases from 2021. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the...

This is the latest life-lit novel from Rachael, whose previous books include the award-winning 'The Patterson Girls', 'The Art of Keeping Secrets', 'The Greatest Gift' and 'Lost Without You'. This is the fifth in her popular Bunyip Bay series - which was meant to be a trilogy! In this Story Session, Rachael talks about her writing process and reads the first chapter of 'Outback Secrets'. Read the...

Meet Fiona Murphy, author of 'The Shape of Sound'. Prizes for unpublished manuscripts that are now open. Discover your must-read lists for children's and young adult books. Plus, we have 10 double passes to 'A Boy Called Christmas', in cinemas 25 November to give away. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au |...

We've been big fans of Tania’s gorgeous historical fiction ever since her first bestselling novel, The Girl From Munich , which she published after attending a few of our courses here at the Australian Writers' Centre. She has since gone on to publish its sequel, Suitcase of Dreams , and another wartime novel, Letters from Berlin  - and you can catch the first chapter of that in Story S...

Meet Mark Smith, author of 'If Not Us'. Write to Santa and get a reply. Learn the difference between a romance and a love story. Discover your chance to get signed copies of A.L. Tait books. Plus, we have 3 copies of 'Showtime!' by Judy Nunn to give away. Read the show notes Connect with Valerie, Allison and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | AllisonTait.co...