What constitutes non-fiction? How is memoir different to autobiography? How do we write, research, and investigate stories that matter? What does the truth mean when writing non-fiction?
Express Media is proud to present Toolkits: Non-Fiction, an online course in the forms, skills, and ethics of writing non-fiction, combining theoretical approaches and practical exercises to guide young writers through the development of new work.
During this 12-week intensive, participants explore the many and varied formats of non-fiction.
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 (which can be experimental, autobiographical, biographical or journalistic), 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 (to be announced) presenting live and online in sessions for young writers across the country.
Toolkits Nonfiction 2025 Facilitator - Indigo Bailey
Indigo Bailey is a Tasmanian writer and editor living in Naarm/Melbourne. She has written film criticism for publications such as Kill Your Darlings, The Guardian and The Big Issue, and is the Managing Editor of Rough Cut, an online publication platforming innovative writing on film by emerging critics. In 2023, she received the Island Nonfiction Prize for an essay, 'Rain Rain', about her favourite rain sound simulator. Interested in the threshold between fiction and nonfiction, Indigo's short stories are prone to slinking between surrealism and historical reality, and can be found in HEAT, Meanjin, and The Suburban Review, among other places.
Applications are NOW OPEN for the 2025 season of Toolkits: Nonfiction
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