Writing and Development Workshop

What is the difference between an idea and a story, and what are the elements that make a story strong? How do you get a story developed and finally into production? 

Screen Illawarra is running a Writing and Development workshop, with inspiring guest speakers, to learn about getting an idea from your head to the page, and then taking that script through pre and post production development. We will hear from experienced writers, and have time for questions to ensure the course is tailored to your needs. This is specifically targeted at people interested in scriptwriting, or who have a script and want to know what it takes to see that script come to life on the screen.

This event is outside of our Screen NSW funded workshops, which means we have to charge a small fee to cover venue hire, catering and guest fees. South Coast Writers Centre and Screen Illawarra members however get 50% off as part of their membership.

Where: Coledale Community Hall, 745 Lawrence Hargrave Drive Coledale

When: Saturday 3rd August, 1pm-4pm

Cost: $20 for South Coast Writers Centre and Screen Illawarra members. $40 for non-members. For non-members the price includes a one year membership to Screen Illawarra, giving you access to free and discounted events and other exclusive benefits!

Guest Speakers

Graham Thorburn: Graham has had a very long career in film and television, as an actor, producer, writer and academic, but principally as a director. He mostly worked as a director for short-run TV drama (over 70 prime time hours), but he also produced and directed COUNTDOWN and created, produced and directed BEATBOX. Graham was the third President of the Australian Screen Directors Association (now the Australian Directors Guild) and served in various other executive positions for ten years. He was Head of Directing, then Head of Teaching at AFTRS for 11 years. Before that he wrote and delivered course work in acting, writing and directing for the screen at UTS, NIDA and AFTRS, and has chaired international undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum and teaching assessment panels.

Anya Beyersdorf: Anya is a multi-Australian Writer’s Guild AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter and is the creator of FAKE, the new Paramount+ TV series starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham which premiered recently to critical acclaim. Other credits include writing episodes of the Netflix production APPLE CIDER VINEGAR for SeeSaw and PICKING SCABS starring Kaitlyn Dever; THE TWELVE season 2 starring Sam Neill, the AACTA and AWGIE Award winning series FIRES for ABC and TAP (Tony Ayres Productions); Stan Original EDEN with Bryan Elsey (SKINS) and documentary series THE BLACK HAND presented by Anthony La Paglia for the ABC. Anya has won two Australian Writer’s Guild (AWGIE) Awards: the first for PARADISE (2014) and again for FIRES in 2023. She was one of four inaugural winners of the Lexus Short Film Fellowship at Sydney Film Festival for HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN (2017). Anya’s original feature script SERPENTINE was a semi-finalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Sundance Lab and featured on the inaugural “Aussie” Black List. Anya’s short film IT’S ME, a co-production between the UK and Australia, was commissioned by producer Lee Magiday (THE LOBSTER, THE FAVOURITE), starring Maxine Peake and Russell Tovey, premiering at the Manchester Film Festival in 2020.