Short Fiction Feedback Clinic with Amanda O'Callaghan

Receive personal & insightful feedback on your short fiction in an intimate, supportive class environment.

This intensive, small-group session is for writers seeking feedback on a piece of short fiction (up to 2,500 words). Attendees may, for example, be seeking professional feedback prior to sending out their work for possible publication or other submission opportunities. They may feel unsure about aspects of their story and need some independent assessment on it.

Critical comments will be provided on structure, voice and characterisation, as well as on stylistic and other aspects of prose writing as necessary. Each participant will receive written and oral feedback from the convenor, as well as benefit from peer input by reading and responding to the work of all participants.

During the 90-minute online session, the work of all attendees will be openly discussed. Critique will be carried out in a respectful and supportive way, while being mindful of the necessity for clear discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of each submission. 

Additional information

Applications for the course will close, and draft stories will be due for submission to Queensland Writers Centre, by 5 July. Applicants may submit one story up to 2,500 words in length (minimum word length is 1,000 words); stories may be incomplete but must be developed enough in order to benefit from the advice offered. These draft stories will also be circulated to all participants. 

As well as oral feedback on the day, the convenor will also provide written comments on the stories via Track Changes (though not detailed edits, nor corrections as such), and these will be returned on the day of the session. 

Staff or tutors from Queensland Writers Centre will assess all applications and will select writers for the course. In the event your application is unsuccessful your course fee will be refunded in full. For more information, contact Queensland Writers Centre on (07) 3842 9922 or at info@qldwriters.org.au.

Learning outcomes

• Receive personal feedback
• Acquire critical skills in short fiction
• Understand story structure
• Reflect on short fiction’s strengths
• Develop self-editing skills
• Apply knowledge gained in clinic to future work
• Hear feedback on other writers' work

About Amanda

Amanda O’Callaghan’s short fiction has been published in Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Her work has been awarded and shortlisted in the Bridport Prize, Carmel Bird Award, E J Brady Award, Bristol Prize, Bath Flash Fiction Award, Fish Short Story Prize, Aeon Award, Flash 500 Award, and others. She is a recipient of a Queensland Writers Fellowship. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Queensland. Her short story collection, This Taste for Silence (UQP), was shortlisted for the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. She has taught extensively, including at Queensland Writers Centre and the University of Queensland. She lives in Brisbane.
 

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