Amanda Ortlepp has recently published her first book, Claiming Noah, with Simon & Schuster Australia. It is a story about parenthood, biology and love, set in the inner west of Sydney, where Amanda lives and works. She has attended several courses at the NSW Writers’ Centre and took part in the Mentorship Program where she […]

I opened this book with great interest and uncertainty about what would greet me. What I found was an intriguing look into the universe and science. Written using 707 of the 1,000 most commonly used words in the English language, The Edge of the Sky: All You Need to Know About the All-There-Is is a […]

A lawyer, teacher, writer and soon-to-be mother, Alice Pung thrives on juggling several things at the same time. But her passion for writing never wanes. Alice’s first book Unpolished Gem won the Australian Book Industry Newcomer of the Year Award. Her latest book Laurinda has been longlisted for the Stella Prize and shortlisted for the […]

A big congratulations to these Writers’ Centre members, who have recently achieved amazing successes. Many have had their first short stories or poems published, some have won writing competitions, and others have had their first book published. They are short story writers, children’s writers, poets, writers of non-fiction, memoir and more, and they serve as […]

Fiona O‘Loughlin’s memoir Me of the Never Never  (published by Hachette) is a great read for fans of this Australian stand-up comedian and a great introduction to her for those who are yet to learn about Fiona’s witty style. The first time I saw Fiona O‘Loughlin’s performance was during a comedy gala concert on television […]

‘I love the idea that the line of a poem always stands in a kind of tension with the sentence itself, that the two things tug away at meaning between them.’

Monica Lizama was born in Chile, and writes children’s books from a dog’s point of view.   She has a degree in Primary Education from Universidad de Chile, where she worked until she came to live in Sydney with her four children. She also has a Graduate Certificate in Writing from University of Technology, Sydney. She […]

Connor O’Brien is the director of the Digital Writers’ Festival held online and in Melbourne next year from 11 – 22 February 2015. He spoke to Amelia Cox about digital literature, the possibilities available to us now for creative projects and whether we should compare what happens in the digital sphere to traditional literary practices […]

My Mum Makes is a cheerful and colourful early childhood picture book released by Lothian/Hachette in 2012. It is a walkthrough rather than a narrative, and on each opening the focalising child explains the things that her mum can make and do. Mum makes her get up in the morning, makes a mess with her […]