Welcome to our September Newsletter!
We hope you are enjoying the warm weather as we head into Spring.
Some exciting news! We want to let you know that our annual Short Story Competition for 2026 is open for submissions.
Entries close on 30 October 2026, so if you’ve been working on a piece from one of our Short Story courses or something on your own, now is the time to share it. You’ll find all the details below.
We are also delighted to see our writers, tapping into the power of their imagination and writing their novels, memoirs and screenplays.
What Makes a Story Original?
When people start the process of writing a novel, memoir or screenplay with us, we encourage writers to start by focusing on the emotional journey they want to explore through their character. This is what drives a compelling story regardless of genre.
Finding the emotional truth at the heart of your story that matters to you is what will breathe life into your characters and create the magic on the page.
It’s that authentic voice and your take on the world that will make your story uniquely yours and give readers something they haven’t experienced before.
As literary agent and author Donald Maass says: “Originality can only come from what you bring of yourself to your story. In other words, originality is not a function of your novel; it is a quality in you.
“Your take on the world is not only valid; it is necessary. Embrace the importance of what you have to share with the rest of us and you have the beginning of what makes novels great.”
This is why we encourage writers to look beneath the events of their story and ask what their characters are really struggling with.
William Faulkner expressed this in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech: “The problems of the human heart in conflict with itself alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about.”
You don’t need to begin with all the answers. Part of the excitement of writing a story is discovering them.
The Writers’ Studio Short Story Competition 2026
We are excited to announce that our annual Short Story Competition is now open for submissions!
Previous winners have gone on to publish short stories in prestigious journals and release acclaimed novels.
The Writers’ Studio Short Story Competition is open to anyone aged 18 and over. Writers can write to any theme.
DEADLINE: 5pm AEDT, Friday, 30 October 2026
First Prize $1,200 | Second Prize: $400 | Third Prize: $200
The three prize winning entries will be published on the Writers’ Studio website.
Intensive 6-Week Short Story Course
The 6-Week Short Story Genre Course will keep your writing process alive and inspired as you learn some key story dynamics within the framework of four key genres. By learning the basics of the various genres you can add drama, depth and resonance to your characters and stories.
It also gives writers considering the 10-Month Novel & Script First Draft Course an excellent opportunity to explore ideas before embarking on the longer journey of writing your novel or screenplay.
This comprehensive short story course starts on the 28th of October, designed for writers who have completed Unlocking Creativity and are looking to continue their writing journey.
For $50 off the full course fee, enrol and use code: GENRE50
Success Stories
Without a Trace by Susannah Glenn
Congratulations to Susannah Glenn, an alumna of the Writers’ Studio, whose second novel, Without a Trace, has been published by Pantera Press!
Flying runs in Charlotte Clarke’s blood. As the daughter of a scenic flight company owner, her life is spent soaring over Sydney’s glittering harbour—until a series of devastating tragedies sends her crashing to earth. First, the deaths of her beloved grandmother and father, then her boyfriend Connor’s seaplane vanishes without a trace.
Running from grief and gut-deep fear, Charlotte hides in a sleepy coastal town. But the more she digs into her past, the more she realises the biggest threat isn’t the sky – it’s the people she trusted most.
In Susannah’s words, “A huge thank you to the Writers’ Studio for getting me started in my creative writing career… The three courses I did with you were life changing. I loved everything about them; the quality of the tutors, the spirit of positivity and generosity amongst my fellow writing students, the ease of the online platform we used. So, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Click here to buy Without a Trace
The Vape Lord of Queanbeyan Stories by Omar Musa
Winner of the 2024 Writers’ Studio Short Story Competition, Omar Musa has a new collection of his Short Stories eponymously titled, The Vape Lord of Queanbeyan, published by Penguin.
Omar is the 2026 Victorian Premier Literary Prize Award winner for his novel Fierceland.
Click here to buy The Vape Lord of Queanbeyan Stories
Click here to read Omar’s 2024 Writers’ Studio Short Story Competition winning entry.
Monitor by Triona Diviney
Congratulations to Writers’ Studio alumna Triona Diviney, whose short story, Monitor, was featured in the 6th issue of SWERVE Magazine.
In Triona’s words, “I have completed a few courses at the Writers’ Studio. The one that remains the most valuable was Unlocking Creativity. It gave me the courage to just write without expectation.”
Click here to buy SWERVE Issue 6
Share the Good News!
If you have completed courses with the Writers’ Studio and you’ve earned recognition for your writing in competitions or received awards, we’d love to showcase and celebrate your accomplishments.
Please share a brief note along with relevant details or links to wstudio@writerstudio.com.au with the subject line “Success Stories.”
Giveaways!
Dreams
Thanks to Vendetta Films, we have x2 double passes to give away to Dreams!
Johanne falls in love for the first time, with her French teacher. To preserve her feelings, she documents her emotions and experiences in writing. When her mother and grandmother read what she has written, they are initially shocked by its intimate content but soon see that it has literary potential.
As they debate whether to publish it, Johanne navigates the gap between her romantic fantasy and reality, and all three women confront their differing views on love, sexuality, and self-discovery.
You can watch the trailer here
For your chance to win, email with your name, address, the movie title and your mobile to: rsvp@writerstudio.com.au
The Audacity
Thanks to SBS On Demand we have 5 DVDs to give away to the darkly comedic eight-episode drama, The Audacity: Season 1.
The Audacity takes an absurd look at the outsized egos of the morally bankrupt elites building our future. As Silicon Valley and its overlords veer into AI-fuelled peak depravity, a would-be tech titan and his ethically challenged therapist try to find a fortune (and happiness) for themselves.
You can watch the trailer here
For your chance to win, email with your name, address, the series title and your mobile to: rsvp@writerstudio.com.au
Recent Course Feedback
Some snippets of the wonderful testimonials that we receive back from recently completed courses. We update these each newsletter. Read more reviews here
“The First Draft has been an expansion on the freedom I learned in the Unlocking Creativity course. As someone who has written a first draft long ago, hated it, then over the course of a few years attempted 3 first drafts and become almost paralytic each time out of some fear, it brought me back to the feeling of just plunging in and writing fearlessly and not caring if it wasn’t perfect. It’s been a great experience with a great tutor. Hoping the Second Draft experience is just as great, if not more so.” David, First Draft Course
“I really enjoyed the course! Getting to read the work of talented writers and getting one-to-one feedback was so helpful and inspiring. It helped me move from writing random scenes once in a while to thinking about characters more deeply and where they could go story wise. Today after submitting my final short story, I found myself wanting to write for the pleasure of it. This feeling is gold and fully attributed to the motivation the course has provided me. I would very much recommend this course as a great way of keeping you motivated and as a perfect extension of learning after Unlocking Creativity’. Thank you to both the tutors and the course attendees!” Madeleine, Short Story – Genre
“When I first joined, the extent of my creative writing was nil. Since then, I’ve found the confidence to just write what I feel and let my imagination take the lead. It has been such a joy.” Jeffrey, Unlocking Creativity Live
“Doing this course has helped me experience what it would be like to spend time several days a week doing creative writing. It’s helped me with my attitude and mentality: just do it, get words on the page, without judgement. And it’s helped me see that I am ready to write my novel, to carve out the time, but that having more opportunity to learn skills around character development, setting and dialogue and other things will be necessary, alongside the accountability to myself and others through taking a course that requires sharing and commenting on writing.” Amy, Unlocking Creativity Online
“Second Draft was spectacular and I loved it. Hard as it was it really tightened up my story and gave me the big picture view which then became my story bible. And Emily’s energy kept us all going especially during the hard parts. She was truly amazing. Great great course!” Jasmina, Second Draft Course
“Coming to the sessions has been like a shining reprieve amidst the darkness. Being immersed in the space, the learning and our community has kept me connected to my story, when it would have been so easy to let it go completely. It’s filled my cup, and I’ve learnt so much – even when my brain and heart had no space, my soul still lapped it up.” Anna, Third Draft Part Two Course
