Printable 2026 – Author Branding Program

Queensland Writers Centre’s Printable program will get you and your author brand ready for the marketplace.

Whether you’re looking to give an upcoming publication a boost, build a community of readers and writers around your work, or ensure your author brand appeals to prospective publishers – this program will help you nail down the fundamentals of marketing yourself.

All you need to apply is a Statement of Intent – what you want to learn, what you intend to accomplish during and following Printable.

Workshops

NAVIGATING THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR EMERGING WRITERS with Shannon Horsfall

Ready to take the next step in your writing career? Being a writer involves a great deal more than writing. This practical two-hour workshop demystifies the business side of being an author, from managing the essential admin to building your author website and online presence. Explore how to research and approach traditional publishers, identify the right fit for your manuscript, prepare a professional submission, and decide whether pitching to a literary agent is the right move for you. It also discusses the inevitable – rejection – and how to use it as a driving rather than demotivating force. Drawing on industry experience, this session offers emerging writers practical advice, useful insights and the confidence to navigate their path towards publication.

PEN NAMES AND NEWSLETTERS AND EVENTS, OH MY! with Sofia Aves

Social media accounts, newsletters, pen names, genres, newsletters — wait, what’s a reader magnet? 

There’s so much to the non-writing side of becoming an author that it’s mind boggling, and so many hats to juggle. Sofia Aves understands — she wears six of them. Pen names, that is, plus she has social media accounts to match. Join this USA TODAY Bestselling author and Acquisitions Editor for a workshop about how to organise your author business and develop your brand to help readers find you.

Add-ons

Professional author headshots (paid add-on)

Stand out from the crowd on your socials and get a professional author headshot (or two) snapped at Printable's program day. (Only available for in-person attendees.)

Workbook and resource pack (included with your booking)

Take home a digital workbook of exercises, helpful tips and reference information on perfecting the basics of your author brand, marketing and online presence.

Format

This is an hybrid program with a focus on author branding and the business of being an author; it will be held at Queensland Writers Centre and live streamed to an online audience via Zoom, hosted by a dedicated live stream workshop coordinator. This program is designed for emerging writers, but is suitable for writers of all levels and backgrounds.

About Shannon Horsfall

Shannon Horsfall has a PhD in Creative Writing at University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). She is the award-winning author-illustrator of Was Not Me and Nomax (both HarperCollins), and the illustrator of Dear Santa (Scholastic), My Unicorn Farts Glitter (Hachette), Once I Munched a Mango (SLQ) and Jack Changes the Game (QWC and AFP). She has published short stories, poetry and flash fiction and teaches Creative Writing, Creative Industries, and Communication at UniSC and University of Queensland. She lives in Brisbane with two cats, a dog, and a couple of humans.

About Sofia Aves

USA Today Bestselling author Sofia Aves writes fast-paced police romances, sizzling military units, steamy cowboys with a Montana backdrop and the occasional cheeky god. Sofia writes kidlit for charity and has over one hundred and fifty publications across six not-so-super-secret pen names. As acquisitions editor for Evernight and Evernight Teen publishing she loves discovering new talent in romance and YA spaces, and is a mum of three crazies in a returned veteran household. She has her own alpaca park, Lorendel.

About Queensland Writers Centre

Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) is an innovative community arts organisation that supports, celebrates and showcases Queensland writers and writing in all its forms. We work with our members and partners to promote a vibrant and diverse writing community across Queensland. QWC works to uplift the practice, development and recognition of writers and develop a culture of writing, reading and creating.
     

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