Authors After School

Authors After School is our new English & Literature offering for Schools in 2023. Authors After School gives students an opportunity to hear from professional writers for free, in your classrooms, directly after school.

Across three Tuesdays of the 2023 Festival, two authors will have a 60-minute facilitated conversation about topics relevant to Secondary English studies, beamed digitally to schools all over WA. It’s totally free to participate, and you can benefit from the insight of these exciting professional writers from our Literature & Ideas program no matter where you are.

WHOSE STORIES - Jessie Stephens and Cheryl Kickett-Tucker

Tuesday 14 February

Explore how professional writers look to their own lives for inspiration in their writing. Gain an insight into how you might do this for yourself, how to look for and massage a good true story, and how to blur the lines between autobiography and fiction. This session will also touch on how we tell the stories of other people whose lived experience is different to our own; when is it okay, and how do we do it with care and consideration?

About Jessie Stephens and Cheryl Kickett-Tucker

VOICE & DIALOGUE - Lee Kofman and Alice Pung

Tuesday 21 February

It’s important that we can help our characters express themselves both inwardly and outwardly. But how do you create distinct & interesting characters, and how do you make them speak? This session will explore ‘voice’ in written work, as authors discuss characters they’ve created, the way they brought them to life, and general tips and tricks for writing tight dialogue.

About Lee Kofman and Alice Pung

THEME, SYMBOL & MOTIF - Laura Keenan and Nadia Rhook

Tuesday 28 February

Theme and symbol; words we hear a lot when it comes to creative writing, but how clear are you on their purpose, their power, and how to integrate them into your own work? Hear from authors about the various ways that they explore theme in their works, how you mightdo the same, and where symbol and motif fit into all of this.

About Laura Keenan and Nadia Rhook

About the Moderator:

Bianca Breen

Bianca is an emerging YA writer. When she’s not at work at The Literature Centre, she’s the Communications Director of the Australian Young Adult Literature Alliance (LoveOzYA) and the host of YA for WA. Bianca was the YA winner of the 2021 ASA Award Mentorship Program, and a 2022 Upcoming Writer-in-Residence at KSP Writers Centre.