When: Sunday 5 August, 10am – 4pm
Full price: $165; Member: $115; Conc Member: $100

Are you into writing? Do you make up stories in your head or on the page? Want to take it further? Then join the internationally published, prize-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi and The Piper’s Son, Melina Marchetta, for a day of creative writing that will take your words further.

Through a combination of theory, examples and practical exercises, Melina will explore with students the creation of tension and atmosphere, descriptive scenes and fast-paced narrative, enhancing action, characterisation, point of view, narrative tense, writing strong dialogue and more, using techniques she has developed over years of writing. Students will complete up to four brief writing pieces throughout the day and come away with new techniques and skills for their craft along with the seeds of new stories.

This workshop is appropriate for 16-18 year olds. HSC Extension 2 English students are welcome to attend.

Food
Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided. Course participants are advised to bring their own lunch as there are no cafes within easy walking distance.

About the tutor
Melina Marchetta’s first novel, Looking for Alibrandi, was released in 1992 and has been published in 14 countries, including 11 translated editions. It won the 1993 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Award (Older Readers). This was followed by her film adaptation of the same title released in 2000. While writing the AFI award-winning screenplay, Melina taught English and History full-time, for ten consecutive years, at a city high school for boys. During that time she released her second novel, Saving Francesca, in 2003, followed by On the Jellicoe Road in 2006. Both novels have been published in more than 6 countries, with Saving Francesca translated into 4 languages and also winning the 2004 CBCA Book of the Year (Older Readers). In 2009 Melina won the prestigious Michael L Printz Award for Jellicoe Road in the US. Her novel – the fantasy epic, Finnikin of the Rock – was released by Penguin Australia in October 2008 and won the Aurealis Award for Young Adult Fiction. Melina’s fifth novel, The Piper’s Son, was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Award 2011 and shortlisted for the 2011 NSW Premier’s Literary Award Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature.