In February, the editor of the Sydney Review of Books visits Coledale Community Hall to talk about professional essay writing, local author Kate Holden explores the practice memoir writing, and SCWC’s Writer-in-Residence Julie Keys returns with her popular Writing for Over 50s course.
Sat, Feb 6: The Way In: Starting and Shaping A Memoir
It has been 15 years since Kate Holden’s blockbuster In My Skin: A Memoir was published. In My Skin told the gripping story of Kate’s slide into heroin addiction and prostitution, and her gruelling recovery. It put Holden on the map in Australia as a serious writing talent and, in the years since its release, it has sold more than 80,000 copies.
In recent years, Kate Holden and her partner Tim Flannery (scientist, environmentalist, and Australian of the Year) moved to the Illawarra and the South Coast Writers Centre is thrilled to be able to bring Kate onboard as the latest of our locally based writing teachers.
As a full-time professional writer, Kate has also written a long-running column for The Age and has published features, reviews, and essays. She is also a regular contributor to The Saturday Paper and Australian Book Review. She has been teaching creative writing to students since 2011 at institutions such as RMIT.
We are looking forward to the release of her latest book, The Winter Road, which will be published by Black Ink in May 2021. The Winter Road explores the true story of the brutal murder of environmental officer Glen Turner as a starting point to ask: Is our time on this soil a tale of tragedy or triumph – are we reaping what we’ve sown? And what happens when, in pursuit of a legacy, a man creates terrible consequences?
14 Feb-14 Mar: Writing For Over 50s
Elizabeth Jolly, Kit de Waal, Raymond Chandler, Annie Proulx, Frank McCourt, Vicki Laveau-Harvie. What do these writers have in common?
They were all over 50 before they had their first book published.
Julie Keys hosts a five-week interactive workshop for the mature-aged writer who wants to flex their imagination and their writing muscles. Julie is SCWC’s 2021 Writer-In-Residence. She has a PhD in creative arts at the University of Wollongong. Her debut novel, The Artist’s Portrait, was shortlisted for The Richell Prize, then published by Hachette in 2019, when she was 57.
Sat, Feb 20: The Essay (And How To Pitch It)
Finally, Catriona Menzies-Pike, editor of the Sydney Review of Books, will be visiting Coledale to provide an introduction to Sydney Review of Books, including looking at the essay form, S.R.B’s fellowship programs, and how to pitch to a literary publisher. Participants will also be offered a follow-up online process to workshop ideas for essays to be published in Sydney Review of Books.
For all bookings, see southcoastwriters.org/upcomingevents
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Nicholson is the director of the South Coast Writers Centre, creative director of The Heroines Festival and editor of the Heroines Anthology.