Welcome to the New England Writers' Centre!
Your NEWC team are genuinely excited about the year we have lined up for you, with a ton of writing and illustration workshops, competitions and festivals.
Scroll down now to see our fantastic line-up of workshops and competitions. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or jump on over to the Membership page to sign up and enjoy discounts for all our events. See you soon! |

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Let's celebrate!
Summer Micro-Grants projects are here!
Our 2022 micro-grant winners have finalised their projects and we couldn't be happier. In response to the Micro-Grant support provided by the NEWC to new and emergent voices, we have received two extraordinary narratives in response to the theme: "community in a time of change".
We are grateful to Aunty Jeeno and Mary McMillan for their insights and hope that you will share with us in the celebration of two emerging creative voices in the New England. |
The NEWC Summer Micro-Grants are in support of emerging writers and artists who are currently resident in the New England region. Our focus this year was on encouraging emerging creatives to experiment in any genre and narrative art form.
YOU'RE INVITED!
Join us online or in person for the launch of "Inside Story: the wonderful world of writing, illustrating and publishing children's books"
Online: Friday 13 May 5.30-6.30pm In Armidale: Saturday 14 May 3-4pm An essential resource for anyone interested, or planning a career, in the children's publishing industry, with insights and advice from professional publishers, agents, editors, writers, illustrators and content creators from across Australia. |
Proudly produced in the New England by the United Publishers of Armidale.
WORKSHOPS & COMPETITIONS
scroll on down for info and links
March ... has already come and gone! :-0
Unearth Your Voice, crafting compelling videos
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Online, Sat 19 March 2022
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Join Edgars Greste and Susannah Kable, video content creators, for a professional's eye view on how to create a compelling story and present yourself and your work on video. Open up channels and grow your audience base.
Learn what makes a video feel fresh, understand the story that you need to tell and understand what is involved to prepare, present and publish your video. Complete. |
May
Illustrating Nature with Sami Bayly
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Armidale, Sat 28 May 2022
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What a fabulous day this is going to be! Join natural history illustrator and children's author, Sami Bayly, for a day of art exploration and professional development.
This is a unique opportunity for aspiring illustrators and artists to get a first hand look into artistic techniques plus a direct insight into the workings of the children's/young readers publishing industry. Click here to find out more and book your place. |
June
How to Write Quick Crime (and get away with it)
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Online, Sat 11 June 2022
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Calling all crime writers! The Quick Crime workshop is focused on writing short fiction but it is open to anyone who is looking for inspiration and insight into writing tense, crafted, psychological thrillers, mystery and crime.
Learn the tricks of the trade from an expert in crime writing. Take a journey into the dark depths of writing crime fiction, thrillers and procedurals with one of Australia's award-winning writers. Click here to find out more and book your place. |
The Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing
The New England Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing is one of Australia's premier short fiction awards for crime writing, with six categories of prizes.
Submissions for the 2022 Thunderbolt Prize opens on Saturday 11 June and closes on Friday 30 September. Click here to review guidelines, categories and last year's entries. |
July
Unleash your inner illustrator
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Armidale, Sat 2 July 2022
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Join local artist and illustrator, Sandy Flett, for a small group workshop on art and creativity.
Explore, experiment and create your own art while gaining a professional illustrator's insight into finding inspiration for children's picture book publishing. If you are thinking of entering into this year's Illustration Prize, this is your workshop. Numbers are limited, so click here to find out more and reserve your place. |
The Illustration Prize
The Illustration Prize for children's picture book publishing is a nationally recognised prize that attracts entries from all over Australia and garners a great deal of attention from publishers.
2022 marks the sixth year of this prize, and our theme this year is "The Door to Adventure". Submissions will open on 2nd July, and is open to illustrators at all stages in their careers. Click here to find out more and review last year's winners for inspiration. |
August
Varuna-NEWC Fellowship
The Varuna-NEWC Fellowship offers a week's inspirational writing residency in the beautiful surroundings of Varuna, in the Blue Mountains. The Fellowship includes full board and accommodation at Varuna, funds towards travel, a one-on-one consultation with a Varuna expert and more.
The Fellowship is open to all writers, at any stage of their career, either currently living in the New England region, or who have previously lived there for at least five years. Submissions for the 2022 Fellowship (which will be taken in 2023), will open on Monday 1 August. |
Marketing & Distribution for Indie Authors
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Online, Sat 6 August 2022
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Calling all creative entrepreneurs, here is your opportunity to work with Rachael McDiarmid of RM Marketing Services. Rachael brings decades of experience in the Australasian publishing industry.
In this two hour intensive online workshop, Rachael will be sharing strategies for distribution and marketing for authors and indie publishers. Click here to find out more and book your place. |
News updates
Following on from the super successful Inside Story workshop held in Armidale on March 2021, the next stage of the project will be the United Publishers of Armidale's production: Inside Story: the wonderful world of writing, illustrating and publishing children's books. We'll be updating on the book's progress as we go, so bookmark the page: Inside Story book.
What incredible artwork we have seen in response to the 2021 Illustration Prize theme, "A Message In A Bottle". The range and quality of submissions have been outstanding - no easy job for our judges. See the winning and commended entries and meet our Judges. The 2021 Thunderbolt Prize for Crime Writing saw some fabulous entries twisty, dark and dangerous. Click here to read the winning entries - trigger warnings apply! |
Crime writers & readers, if you're looking for a tribe we have just the place for you. Visit Sisters in Crime (brothers are welcome!), for a host of amazing resources and competitions, including the Scarlet Stiletto and The Davitt Awards.
We've also got a page of resources, compiled by our indefatigable Chairwoman, Sophie Masson. Check out our Facebook group Author Alley. This is a place for all authors (whether self-published or traditionally published), small publishers and independent booksellers to sell your books. See our YouTube channel for our latest videos including the "By the Book" video playlist of tips and advice from local writers, and the Stories Connect series. And don't forget to become a member or renew your membership to receive discounts on all workshop bookings! |