Buckle up and turn those ideas into a workable narrative in just one weekend!

Having published over 30 books, Kim Wilkins knows a thing or two about planning, starting, and finishing a project in record time. Novelists' Bootcamp is your opportunity to workshop your novel with Kim by your side. Prepare yourself for two full days of intensive brainstorming, plotting, and practical exercises so you can arm yourself with the tools and frameworks to support your story. You will learn how to face your writing fears, create a book map, and guide your ideas into a workable narrative. Successful completion of the course will leave you with a comprehensive plan to guide your first draft.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this Bootcamp, you will be set up to do the following:

Work independently on the first draft of your novel.
Retain a comprehensive guide to the events of your novel.
Have a tightly plotted first quarter of your novel.
Brainstorm the middle sections of your novel.
Set goals for the ending of your novel.
Develop your writing craft through reading.

Course dates

10:30am - 4:30pm, Saturday 7 February 2026
10:30am - 4:30pm, Sunday 8 February 2026

Format

This is an intensive two-day course with a focus on craft; it will be held in-person at Queensland Writers Centre. Please note that this course is best suited for emerging writers who have an idea for a new novel project or are in the early stages of writing, rather than writers who have already written the draft of their novel (consider instead The Next Draft with Laurel Cohn). Following your booking you will be contacted and asked to provide some details about your project and its current stage to ensure its suitability for the course.

Flexible payment plans are available for this course. Please contact Queensland Writers Centre at admin@qldwriters.org.au or call (07) 3842 9922.

About Kim

Kim Wilkins, aka Kimberley Freeman, is the author of more than 30 books of genre fiction and is published in more than 20 languages. She is also a Professor of Writing at The University of Queensland, and researches creative communities, such as writing groups and fan cultures. She uses speculative fiction techniques with researchers across science and technology fields, to help them imagine better futures for their research. Her most recent academic work is Genre Worlds: Popular Fiction and 21st-Century Book Culture (with Beth Driscoll and Lisa Fletcher), based on extensive research with the Australian popular fiction community.

For more information about Queensland Writers Centre’s Program of Events and answers to FAQs, please visit: www.queenslandwriters.org.au/program-info

Contact the host of Novelists' Bootcamp with Kim Wilkins