Express Media is proud to present Toolkits: Fiction, an online course in the forms, skills, and ethics of writing fiction, combining theoretical approaches and practical exercises to guide young writers through the development of new work. 

During this 12-week intensive, participants explore storytelling and ethics, learn how to craft characters, plots and plans and how to polish work for publication.  

Toolkits is first and foremost a practical initiative. Young writers will be encouraged to write, workshop and edit their writing throughout the course. They will hone their skills in textual analysis, create their own original work, explore the possibilities of collaborative work, and learn how to pitch work to publishers when they’re done. 

Participants also have the chance to learn from some of Australia’s best writers, with guest artists presenting live and online in sessions for young writers across the country. 

Toolkits Fiction 2025 Facilitator - Anna Kate Blair

Anna Kate Blair is a writer from Aotearoa based in Naarm. Her essays, short stories and poems have appeared in Debris, Cordite, Slow Canoe, Landfall, Reckoning, The Big Issue's Fiction Edition, Meanjin, Good Weekend and other places. Her first novel, The Modern, was published by Scribner in September 2023. 

Applications are NOW OPEN for the 2025 season of Toolkits: Fiction

The course will take place on Wednesday evenings 6-8pm between April 23 and July 9, and the total expected time commitment of this program is 20 hours.

Applications are open until 11:59pm AEDT, Sunday 24th March 2025.

Applying to Toolkits is free for Express Media members. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up here.

If you are experiencing a financial barrier to purchasing one of the memberships, please email us at info@expressmedia.org.au to discuss a sponsored position on the program.

Have a question? Need help with your application? You can reach out to our Creative Producer, Mia Nie, at creativeproducer@expressmedia.org.au