Newstead Young Writers Festival 2024 - Workshop & Mentor tickets

10.45am Workshops
1. 1.1 Making Monsters with Chris Kennett 10.45am-11.45pm (6-8y)
  In this hands-on drawing workshop, you will learn how to create your very own characters inspired by School of Monsters! Chris Kennett is a Bendigo based digital illustrator with over 20 years of experience. Working his way from animation through to children’s books, Chris has managed to work on some truly “out of this world” projects including the beloved Star Wars series of Little Golden Books. His most recent projects include the hugely popular first reader series School of Monsters with Sally Rippin, the Nerd Herd and Cross Bones junior fiction series and the picture book “Guess What We Are Doing Today” with international teaching sensation Mr Luke.
  
  In this hands-on drawing workshop, you will learn how to create your very own characters inspired by School of Monsters! Chris Kennett is a Bendigo based digital illustrator with over 20 years of experience. Working his way from animation through to children’s books, Chris has managed to work on some truly “out of this world” projects including the beloved Star Wars series of Little Golden Books. His most recent projects include the hugely popular first reader series School of Monsters with Sally Rippin, the Nerd Herd and Cross Bones junior fiction series and the picture book “Guess What We Are Doing Today” with international teaching sensation Mr Luke.
  
  Free
  Sold out
2. 2.1 Graphic Novels with Trace Balla 10.45 - 11.45am (10 -14y)
  Trace writes and draws stunning books filled with details, heart and a passion for the natural world. Trace will get you started on your own Graphic Novel, and share some of her writing secrets! Trace lives on Djaara Country, Castlemaine, and creates books about connection with Country and community. A self described "story catcher", she finds inspiration in nature to enrich her detailed cartoon style drawings. She also writes song lyrics, and gives talks and workshops, inspiring nature journaling, cartooning, and preliteracy.
  
  Trace writes and draws stunning books filled with details, heart and a passion for the natural world. Trace will get you started on your own Graphic Novel, and share some of her writing secrets! Trace lives on Djaara Country, Castlemaine, and creates books about connection with Country and community. A self described "story catcher", she finds inspiration in nature to enrich her detailed cartoon style drawings. She also writes song lyrics, and gives talks and workshops, inspiring nature journaling, cartooning, and preliteracy.
  
  Free
  Sold out
3. 3.1 Writing from Place with Melanie Saward 10.45-11.45am (12+ years)
  Melanie will help you discover a new way of writing by tuning in to where you are and writing from a sense of place. Weather permitting, this will be outside on Country! Melanie Saward is a proud Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman. She is a writer, editor, and academic based in Tulmur (Ipswich), Queensland. Her debut novel Burn was published by Affirm Press in 2023 and her first romantic comedy novel, Love Unleashed, will be published by Penguin Random House in August 2024.
  
  Melanie will help you discover a new way of writing by tuning in to where you are and writing from a sense of place. Weather permitting, this will be outside on Country! Melanie Saward is a proud Bigambul and Wakka Wakka woman. She is a writer, editor, and academic based in Tulmur (Ipswich), Queensland. Her debut novel Burn was published by Affirm Press in 2023 and her first romantic comedy novel, Love Unleashed, will be published by Penguin Random House in August 2024.
  
  Free
  7 ticket(s) left
  
  Quantity
4. 4.1 Science Fiction with Lachlan Walter 10.45-11.45am (15-18y)
  Lachlan Walter Lachlan is a passionate reader, writer and critic of sci fi and spec fiction, so this is the perfect session for people interested in the genre. You'll have time for a quick overview and discussion, then some activities to brainstorm ideas and get you writing! Lachlan Walter is a writer, science-fiction critic and nursery-hand (the garden kind, not the baby kind), and is the author of two books: the deeply Australian post- apocalyptic tale The Rain Never Came, and the giant-monster story-cycle We Call It Monster. He also writes science fiction criticism for Aurealis magazine, his short fiction can be found floating around online, and he has completed a PhD that critically and creatively explored the relationship between Australian post-apocalyptic fiction and Australian notions of national identity. He loves all things music-related, the Australian environment, overlooked genres and playing in the garden. He hopes that you’re having a nice day.
  
  Lachlan Walter Lachlan is a passionate reader, writer and critic of sci fi and spec fiction, so this is the perfect session for people interested in the genre. You'll have time for a quick overview and discussion, then some activities to brainstorm ideas and get you writing! Lachlan Walter is a writer, science-fiction critic and nursery-hand (the garden kind, not the baby kind), and is the author of two books: the deeply Australian post- apocalyptic tale The Rain Never Came, and the giant-monster story-cycle We Call It Monster. He also writes science fiction criticism for Aurealis magazine, his short fiction can be found floating around online, and he has completed a PhD that critically and creatively explored the relationship between Australian post-apocalyptic fiction and Australian notions of national identity. He loves all things music-related, the Australian environment, overlooked genres and playing in the garden. He hopes that you’re having a nice day.
  
  Free
  8 ticket(s) left
  
  Quantity
5. 5.1 Write from your life with Penny Tangey 10.45-11.45am (10-15y)
  Penny will help you use life-inspired writing to brainstorm a character based on an exaggerated element of your own personality, then find a problem for the character to address using the random "Wheel of Misfortune", and away you go! Penny Tangey writes humorous books for young people. Her middle-grade novel As Fast As I Can won the Readings Children’s Book Prize and the Queensland Literary Awards Children’s Book Award. Her most recent book, Granbad, is a picture book illustrated by Peter Baldwin. It tells the story of a grandfather who breaks the rules to do the right thing. Penny studied arts/science at Melbourne University, majoring in chemistry and Indonesian. Penny has worked as a researcher for television quiz shows Hard Quiz and The Chase, but she’s still terrible at trivia. She is now works as a librarian.
  
  Penny will help you use life-inspired writing to brainstorm a character based on an exaggerated element of your own personality, then find a problem for the character to address using the random "Wheel of Misfortune", and away you go! Penny Tangey writes humorous books for young people. Her middle-grade novel As Fast As I Can won the Readings Children’s Book Prize and the Queensland Literary Awards Children’s Book Award. Her most recent book, Granbad, is a picture book illustrated by Peter Baldwin. It tells the story of a grandfather who breaks the rules to do the right thing. Penny studied arts/science at Melbourne University, majoring in chemistry and Indonesian. Penny has worked as a researcher for television quiz shows Hard Quiz and The Chase, but she’s still terrible at trivia. She is now works as a librarian.
  
  Free
  Sold out
12 midday Workshops
1. 1.2 Cartooning and Writing with Adam Wallace 12-1pm (6-12y)
  Join New York Times best selling kids author Adam Wallace in this energy-filled workshop that will have you telling and cartooning your own funny stories! Adam Wallace has written over 4000 stories ... some of them were even good enough to become books! Adam has now sold nearly 8 MILLION books, and now he needs a nap. Adam loves writing funny stories and drawing funny cartoons.
  
  Join New York Times best selling kids author Adam Wallace in this energy-filled workshop that will have you telling and cartooning your own funny stories! Adam Wallace has written over 4000 stories ... some of them were even good enough to become books! Adam has now sold nearly 8 MILLION books, and now he needs a nap. Adam loves writing funny stories and drawing funny cartoons.
  
  Free
  Sold out
2. 2.2 Nature Journalling with Bridget Farmer 12-1pm (All Ages)
  Bridget will show you how to tune in and collect ideas from the world around you through sketches and writing, in a journal that helps you come back to them later. Bridget is a writer and artist originally from Northern Ireland. Studied jewellery in Scotland, before coming to Australia in 2005, where she discovered printmaking. On arrival in here she was struck by the strangeness of the birds and all their different shapes, colours, sounds, and behaviours. Birds are her inspiration and she continues to learn from them.
  
  Bridget will show you how to tune in and collect ideas from the world around you through sketches and writing, in a journal that helps you come back to them later. Bridget is a writer and artist originally from Northern Ireland. Studied jewellery in Scotland, before coming to Australia in 2005, where she discovered printmaking. On arrival in here she was struck by the strangeness of the birds and all their different shapes, colours, sounds, and behaviours. Birds are her inspiration and she continues to learn from them.
  
  Free
  Sold out
3. 3.2 Follow your nose with Ella Mulvey and John Roebuck 12-1pm (8-12y)
  In this fun mix of science, games and writing Ella and John will share some cool perfume and smell science and show you how to use smell in your writing! Ella Mulvey (she/her) and John Roebuck (he/ him) are a writing team, who live in Castlemaine and are both teachers. Ella is completing the Associate degree of Writing and Editing at RMIT and has published one picture book, The Rabbit-Hole Golf Course. John is a high school media teacher, film critic and founder of the ReelGood Film Festival.
  
  In this fun mix of science, games and writing Ella and John will share some cool perfume and smell science and show you how to use smell in your writing! Ella Mulvey (she/her) and John Roebuck (he/ him) are a writing team, who live in Castlemaine and are both teachers. Ella is completing the Associate degree of Writing and Editing at RMIT and has published one picture book, The Rabbit-Hole Golf Course. John is a high school media teacher, film critic and founder of the ReelGood Film Festival.
  
  Free
  1 ticket(s) left
  
  Quantity
4. 4.2 Find your voice with Cate Kennedy 12-1pm (15-18y)
  Cate will lead you through some of her favourite writing exercises to find your true voice. This is a great opportunity to pick the brains of a professional writer in a small group setting! Cate Kennedy writes fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, and lives in Castlemaine. She has been a 'professional' writer for over twenty years, and loves working with teenagers who 'feel the call'! She is an experienced teacher of both poetry and prose, and is especially in demand for teaching about short stories.
  
  Cate will lead you through some of her favourite writing exercises to find your true voice. This is a great opportunity to pick the brains of a professional writer in a small group setting! Cate Kennedy writes fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, and lives in Castlemaine. She has been a 'professional' writer for over twenty years, and loves working with teenagers who 'feel the call'! She is an experienced teacher of both poetry and prose, and is especially in demand for teaching about short stories.
  
  Free
  Sold out
5. 5.2 Writing with John Marsden 12-1pm (10-14y)
  John Marsden John is sure to ignite a few writing sparks in this special workshop that promises to begin with...words! John reveals a unique method using words to access what A.S. Byatt calls "the storehouse of singing things in your mind" to enable thoughts, feelings, ideas, and stories which may have been hibernating in there to slither out and onto a piece of paper. John Marsden has written more than 40 books, including Tomorrow When the War Began, So Much to Tell You, and Letters from the Inside. He has sold over six million books worldwide, and has won every major award in Australia for young people's fiction. He's also written for adults, and His latest work, ’Twas a Dark and Stormy Gurgle, published in 2023, argues for a profound rethink of how we regard language and how we teach English. John's passionate interest in education led him to start two schools, Candlebark, on a vast forested estate near Romsey Victoria, and Alice Miller, at Macedon, a Year 7-12 school with a particular emphasis on the creative arts.
  
  John Marsden John is sure to ignite a few writing sparks in this special workshop that promises to begin with...words! John reveals a unique method using words to access what A.S. Byatt calls "the storehouse of singing things in your mind" to enable thoughts, feelings, ideas, and stories which may have been hibernating in there to slither out and onto a piece of paper. John Marsden has written more than 40 books, including Tomorrow When the War Began, So Much to Tell You, and Letters from the Inside. He has sold over six million books worldwide, and has won every major award in Australia for young people's fiction. He's also written for adults, and His latest work, ’Twas a Dark and Stormy Gurgle, published in 2023, argues for a profound rethink of how we regard language and how we teach English. John's passionate interest in education led him to start two schools, Candlebark, on a vast forested estate near Romsey Victoria, and Alice Miller, at Macedon, a Year 7-12 school with a particular emphasis on the creative arts.
  
  Free
  Sold out
1.15pm Workshops
1. 1.3 Make a picture book with Lucinda Gifford 1.15-2.15pm (8-12y)
  Lucinda will explain how she comes up with picture book ideas, shares some of her work, and will then help you get started brainstorming and planning your own picture book! Lucinda Gifford has created over 40 well-loved books for kids. She started out studying architecture in Scotland, where she learned to draw fancy buildings and moody scenery, but now enjoys making books about chickens, wolves, castles and magical creatures. Lucinda plans to write and draw for the rest of her life, or until her hand drops off, or both.
  
  Lucinda will explain how she comes up with picture book ideas, shares some of her work, and will then help you get started brainstorming and planning your own picture book! Lucinda Gifford has created over 40 well-loved books for kids. She started out studying architecture in Scotland, where she learned to draw fancy buildings and moody scenery, but now enjoys making books about chickens, wolves, castles and magical creatures. Lucinda plans to write and draw for the rest of her life, or until her hand drops off, or both.
  
  Free
  Sold out
2. 3.3 Your pet can star in your story with Dee White 1.15-2.15pm (10-13y)
  Children will get scribbling straight away on their own new stories in this workshop based on one of Dee's most popular writing prompts, pets! Dee White is the award winning, international author of more than 25 books for children and young adults. Through her blog Writing Classes for Kids, Dee runs writing classes for students all over the world, encouraging them to tell their stories. She is cofounder of Author Pen Pals and believes that everyone has the right to see themselves and their lives represented in the books they read.
  
  Children will get scribbling straight away on their own new stories in this workshop based on one of Dee's most popular writing prompts, pets! Dee White is the award winning, international author of more than 25 books for children and young adults. Through her blog Writing Classes for Kids, Dee runs writing classes for students all over the world, encouraging them to tell their stories. She is cofounder of Author Pen Pals and believes that everyone has the right to see themselves and their lives represented in the books they read.
  
  Free
  Sold out
3. 4.3 Poetry sharing group with Andy Jackson 1.15-2.15pm (13+ years)
  Have you written a poem and feel like it might be ok but want it to be even better? How can each person find their own unique voice through a poem? Bring along two copies of a poem of yours (any style or theme; no more than 1 A4 page length) to this intimate poetry sharing group and award winning poet Andy Jackson will give each poem his feedback and insights. Andy Jackson is a poet, creative writing teacher at the University of Melbourne, and a Patron of Writers Victoria. He was the inaugural Writing the Future of Health Fellow, has co-edited disability-themed issues of Southerly and Australian Poetry Journal, and is on the editorial team for disability poetry journal Sunder. He has featured at literary events and arts festivals across Australia, and on ABC's Radio National and the 7.30 Report. Andy's latest poetry collection is "Human Looking", which won the ALS Gold Medal and the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry. He writes and rests on Dja Dja Wurrung country.
  
  Have you written a poem and feel like it might be ok but want it to be even better? How can each person find their own unique voice through a poem? Bring along two copies of a poem of yours (any style or theme; no more than 1 A4 page length) to this intimate poetry sharing group and award winning poet Andy Jackson will give each poem his feedback and insights. Andy Jackson is a poet, creative writing teacher at the University of Melbourne, and a Patron of Writers Victoria. He was the inaugural Writing the Future of Health Fellow, has co-edited disability-themed issues of Southerly and Australian Poetry Journal, and is on the editorial team for disability poetry journal Sunder. He has featured at literary events and arts festivals across Australia, and on ABC's Radio National and the 7.30 Report. Andy's latest poetry collection is "Human Looking", which won the ALS Gold Medal and the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry. He writes and rests on Dja Dja Wurrung country.
  
  Free
  6 ticket(s) left
  
  Quantity
4. 5.3 Writing with John Marsden 1.15-2.15pm (15-18y)
  John Marsden John is sure to ignite a few writing sparks in this special workshop that promises to begin with...words! John reveals a unique method using words to access what A.S. Byatt calls "the storehouse of singing things in your mind" to enable thoughts, feelings, ideas, and stories which may have been hibernating in there to slither out and onto a piece of paper. John Marsden has written more than 40 books, including Tomorrow When the War Began, So Much to Tell You, and Letters from the Inside. He has sold over six million books worldwide, and has won every major award in Australia for young people's fiction. He's also written for adults, and His latest work, ’Twas a Dark and Stormy Gurgle, published in 2023, argues for a profound rethink of how we regard language and how we teach English. John's passionate interest in education led him to start two schools, Candlebark, on a vast forested estate near Romsey Victoria, and Alice Miller, at Macedon, a Year 7-12 school with a particular emphasis on the creative arts.
  
  John Marsden John is sure to ignite a few writing sparks in this special workshop that promises to begin with...words! John reveals a unique method using words to access what A.S. Byatt calls "the storehouse of singing things in your mind" to enable thoughts, feelings, ideas, and stories which may have been hibernating in there to slither out and onto a piece of paper. John Marsden has written more than 40 books, including Tomorrow When the War Began, So Much to Tell You, and Letters from the Inside. He has sold over six million books worldwide, and has won every major award in Australia for young people's fiction. He's also written for adults, and His latest work, ’Twas a Dark and Stormy Gurgle, published in 2023, argues for a profound rethink of how we regard language and how we teach English. John's passionate interest in education led him to start two schools, Candlebark, on a vast forested estate near Romsey Victoria, and Alice Miller, at Macedon, a Year 7-12 school with a particular emphasis on the creative arts.
  
  Free
  Sold out
5. 6.3 Art and Writing with Leni Shilton 1.15-2.15pm (8-10y)
  Come and see writing and art working together to tell stories. The workshop will explore the exhibition, how the artist and writer work together. We will sit amongst the artworks and write. Leni Shilton is a poet, teacher and researcher. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and Melbourne and lived in Mparntwe | Alice Springs for many years. She now lives in Newstead in central Victoria. Leni’s books are Walking with camels (2018, UWAP), which won the 2020 NT Chief Ministers Book Award, and Malcolm – a story in verse (2019, UWAP). She has a PhD in Creative writing. Leni has been a judge of national literary awards including the 2020 Stella Prize and the Dorothy Hewett Awards. She writes about the loss of voice and being heard. Her poetry explores the intersection of language, place and belonging.
  
  Come and see writing and art working together to tell stories. The workshop will explore the exhibition, how the artist and writer work together. We will sit amongst the artworks and write. Leni Shilton is a poet, teacher and researcher. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and Melbourne and lived in Mparntwe | Alice Springs for many years. She now lives in Newstead in central Victoria. Leni’s books are Walking with camels (2018, UWAP), which won the 2020 NT Chief Ministers Book Award, and Malcolm – a story in verse (2019, UWAP). She has a PhD in Creative writing. Leni has been a judge of national literary awards including the 2020 Stella Prize and the Dorothy Hewett Awards. She writes about the loss of voice and being heard. Her poetry explores the intersection of language, place and belonging.
  
  Free
  Sold out
6. 7.3 Clay Workshop with Pam French 1.15-2.15pm (All Ages)
  Pam French Pam will lead a small group through a creative process using clay to create your own unique piece to take home. Pam French lives south of Sydney NSW works as multidisciplinary artist. Her studio situated in remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands alongside a dry swamp. Her ongoing fascination with the wonderful diversity of people, places and nature is the source of inspiration in her work. Over the years this creativity has been a powerful force that moves her through life. Her work encompasses the response to the shifts of thinking in drawings, paintings, prints and sculptures studies in clay, sometimes to bronze. Pam travels to research new landscapes, regularly returning to those of significance to her. This informs and energises her work.
  
  Pam French Pam will lead a small group through a creative process using clay to create your own unique piece to take home. Pam French lives south of Sydney NSW works as multidisciplinary artist. Her studio situated in remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands alongside a dry swamp. Her ongoing fascination with the wonderful diversity of people, places and nature is the source of inspiration in her work. Over the years this creativity has been a powerful force that moves her through life. Her work encompasses the response to the shifts of thinking in drawings, paintings, prints and sculptures studies in clay, sometimes to bronze. Pam travels to research new landscapes, regularly returning to those of significance to her. This informs and energises her work.
  
  Free
  Sold out
2.30pm Workshops
1. 1.4 Creating Characters with Chris Kennett 2.30-3.30pm (9-10y)
  Master character illustrator Chris Kennett will work with you to brainstorm, plan and draw your very own unique character and build a story around them. Chris Kennett is a Bendigo based digital illustrator with over 20 years of experience. Working his way from animation through to children’s books, Chris has managed to work on some truly “out of this world” projects including the beloved Star Wars series of Little Golden Books. His most recent projects include the hugely popular first reader series School of Monsters with Sally Rippin, the Nerd Herd and Cross Bones junior fiction series and the picture book “Guess What We Are Doing Today” with international teaching sensation Mr Luke.
  
  Master character illustrator Chris Kennett will work with you to brainstorm, plan and draw your very own unique character and build a story around them. Chris Kennett is a Bendigo based digital illustrator with over 20 years of experience. Working his way from animation through to children’s books, Chris has managed to work on some truly “out of this world” projects including the beloved Star Wars series of Little Golden Books. His most recent projects include the hugely popular first reader series School of Monsters with Sally Rippin, the Nerd Herd and Cross Bones junior fiction series and the picture book “Guess What We Are Doing Today” with international teaching sensation Mr Luke.
  
  Free
  2 ticket(s) left
  
  Quantity
2. 2.4 Nature Collage and Secret Codes with Lorena Carrington 2.30-3.30pm (7-11)
  Lorena will keep hands and brains busy with this fun workshop where you will have a chance to create nature based collages, and explore secret codes and puzzles. Lorena Carrington is an illustrator and writer whose many books have been published here and overseas. She is known in Australia for her illustration work in the field of fairy tales and picture books, and she also writes for older children. She received the 2020 Australian Fairy Tale Society award, and was granted a May Gibbs Creative Time Fellowship in 2023. Her picture book Satin, with Sophie Masson, is a Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book for 2024.
  
  Lorena will keep hands and brains busy with this fun workshop where you will have a chance to create nature based collages, and explore secret codes and puzzles. Lorena Carrington is an illustrator and writer whose many books have been published here and overseas. She is known in Australia for her illustration work in the field of fairy tales and picture books, and she also writes for older children. She received the 2020 Australian Fairy Tale Society award, and was granted a May Gibbs Creative Time Fellowship in 2023. Her picture book Satin, with Sophie Masson, is a Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book for 2024.
  
  Free
  Sold out
3. 3.4 Developing Character with Katrina Nannestad 2.30-3.30pm (10+ years)
  Katrina will take you through some short, fun activities to create an exciting new character, and get you ready to plan and write their complete story. Katrina Nannestad is a multi-award-winning children’s author who writes historical fiction, mystery, action and humour. She celebrates family, friendship and belonging in her writing and loves to create stories that bring hope and joy to others.
  
  Katrina will take you through some short, fun activities to create an exciting new character, and get you ready to plan and write their complete story. Katrina Nannestad is a multi-award-winning children’s author who writes historical fiction, mystery, action and humour. She celebrates family, friendship and belonging in her writing and loves to create stories that bring hope and joy to others.
  
  Free
  Sold out
4. 4.4 Zine Making with Catie Payne 2.30-3.30pm (12+ years)
  Catie will show you how to repurpose the questions, struggles, confusion and comedic fails of your life into your greatest writings and drawings., all in compact Zine form. Catie Payne writes, draws, podcasts and pleads with goats on a permaculture property in Dja Dja Wurrung Country, Central Victoria. You can usually find her up a tree or in the shrubbery, trying to glimpse a rare bird. Once upon a time she was a naturopath and to this day consumes dark green liquid of herbal origin almost exclusively. She hosts the Reskillience podcast, ghostwrites for many and varied voices in the ecosphere, creates zines and illustrations, facilitates earthy community events, has a background in communications, advertising and holistic health, and a great love of cycling uphill.
  
  Catie will show you how to repurpose the questions, struggles, confusion and comedic fails of your life into your greatest writings and drawings., all in compact Zine form. Catie Payne writes, draws, podcasts and pleads with goats on a permaculture property in Dja Dja Wurrung Country, Central Victoria. You can usually find her up a tree or in the shrubbery, trying to glimpse a rare bird. Once upon a time she was a naturopath and to this day consumes dark green liquid of herbal origin almost exclusively. She hosts the Reskillience podcast, ghostwrites for many and varied voices in the ecosphere, creates zines and illustrations, facilitates earthy community events, has a background in communications, advertising and holistic health, and a great love of cycling uphill.
  
  Free
  Sold out
5. 6.4 Art and Writing with Leni Shilton 2.30-3.30pm (15-18y)
  Come and see writing and art working together to tell stories. The workshop will explore the exhibition, how the artist and writer work together. We will sit amongst the artworks and write. Leni Shilton is a poet, teacher and researcher. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and Melbourne and lived in Mparntwe | Alice Springs for many years. She now lives in Newstead in central Victoria. Leni’s books are Walking with camels (2018, UWAP), which won the 2020 NT Chief Ministers Book Award, and Malcolm – a story in verse (2019, UWAP). She has a PhD in Creative writing. Leni has been a judge of national literary awards including the 2020 Stella Prize and the Dorothy Hewett Awards. She writes about the loss of voice and being heard. Her poetry explores the intersection of language, place and belonging.
  
  Come and see writing and art working together to tell stories. The workshop will explore the exhibition, how the artist and writer work together. We will sit amongst the artworks and write. Leni Shilton is a poet, teacher and researcher. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and Melbourne and lived in Mparntwe | Alice Springs for many years. She now lives in Newstead in central Victoria. Leni’s books are Walking with camels (2018, UWAP), which won the 2020 NT Chief Ministers Book Award, and Malcolm – a story in verse (2019, UWAP). She has a PhD in Creative writing. Leni has been a judge of national literary awards including the 2020 Stella Prize and the Dorothy Hewett Awards. She writes about the loss of voice and being heard. Her poetry explores the intersection of language, place and belonging.
  
  Free
  1 ticket(s) left
  
  Quantity
6. 7.4 Clay Workshop with Pam French 2.30-3.30pm (All Ages)
  Pam French Pam will lead a small group through a creative process using clay to create your own unique piece to take home. Pam French lives south of Sydney NSW works as multidisciplinary artist. Her studio situated in remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands alongside a dry swamp. Her ongoing fascination with the wonderful diversity of people, places and nature is the source of inspiration in her work. Over the years this creativity has been a powerful force that moves her through life. Her work encompasses the response to the shifts of thinking in drawings, paintings, prints and sculptures studies in clay, sometimes to bronze. Pam travels to research new landscapes, regularly returning to those of significance to her. This informs and energises her work.
  
  Pam French Pam will lead a small group through a creative process using clay to create your own unique piece to take home. Pam French lives south of Sydney NSW works as multidisciplinary artist. Her studio situated in remnant Cumberland Plain Woodlands alongside a dry swamp. Her ongoing fascination with the wonderful diversity of people, places and nature is the source of inspiration in her work. Over the years this creativity has been a powerful force that moves her through life. Her work encompasses the response to the shifts of thinking in drawings, paintings, prints and sculptures studies in clay, sometimes to bronze. Pam travels to research new landscapes, regularly returning to those of significance to her. This informs and energises her work.
  
  Free
  Sold out
One on One Mentoring for 15-18y
1. M1 Mentoring with Mary Anne Butler 11.30-12md (15-18y) *Submit work prior!
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  Free
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2. M2 Mentoring with Mary-Anne Butler 12.-12.30pm (15-18y) *Submit work prior!
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  Free
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3. M3 Mentoring with Mary-Anne Butler 12.30-1pm (15-18y) *Submit work prior!
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  Free
  Sold out
4. M4 Mentoring with Mary-Anne Butler 1.45-2.15pm (15-18y) *Submit work prior!
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  Free
  Sold out
5. M5 Mentoring with Mary-Anne Butler 2.30-3pm (15-18y) *Submit work prior!
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  Free
  Sold out
6. M6 Mentoring with Mary-Anne Butler 3-3.30pm (15-18y) *Submit work prior!
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  For passionate writers aged 15 - 18 years wanting some good feedback and encouragement on your work. Take your writing to the next level with 30 minutes of one-on-one mentoring with a seasoned award winning professional! Book a session & be sure to submit a sample of your best writing a week before the festival for Mary Anne to review. Email your submission to newsteadyoungwritersfestival@gmail.com by 13 October 10pm. Mary Anne Butler’s plays have won the Victorian Prize for Literature, Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama, Shane and Cathryn Brennan Prize for Playwriting, an AWGIE and two NT Chief Minister’s Book of the Year Awards. Mary Anne is a Sidney Myer Creative Fellow, Arts NT Fellow, Winston Churchill Fellow, Regional Arts Fellow and Asialink Fellow, and is employed as a writer’s consultant at Varuna – The National Writer’s House, mentoring their Fellowship recipients through one-on-one consultations. She’s currently undertaking a PhD in Literature, investigating how we write hope into the realist fiction of the Anthropocene.
  
  Free
  Sold out