Public Programs

Jump, wade or glide into this 4-part Saturday morning series of creative writing workshops, where you’ll explore a range of forms across creative nonfiction, poetry and fiction. Engage with diverse texts, experiment with writing techniques, and take part in interactive exercises and guided activities. Led by experienced facilitators, Suzanne Hermanoczki and Lou Smith, founders of Writing Days, the series offers thoughtful guidance, technical insight, and a process-oriented approach. Participants are invited to reflect on and discuss their writing experiences within a creative, playful and experimental space, with optional opportunities to share work. Throughout the workshop series, participants will receive input and technical expertise to transform creative ideas and personal experiences into engaging, meaningful pieces. Both Suzanne and Lou are published writers and teachers, each holding a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Melbourne. Through Writing Days, they facilitate workshops, readings and events, and offer ongoing writerly support. Passionate about inspiring others in their writing, Suzanne and Lou create a space that invites curiosity, experimentation and creative growth.   Learning Intentions:  In this series, you will:

• Be introduced to different creative writing forms - nonfiction, short fiction & poetry
• Be guided & inspired to write to different prompts, exercises & activities
• Gain a better understanding of the creative forms by looking at other writing and more experimental works
• Learn to talk about writing, reflect and share your thoughts with others

Format  This is an online workshop with a focus on practical and experiential activities. This workshop is suitable for beginner writers and writers of all abilities.   Writing Memory - Saturday 30th May, 10am-12pm This workshop will explore the ways in which we carry and hold memory; in our names, our bodies, the places and homes we inhabit as well as through our cultural practices such as cooking and songs. Through observational writing and guided writing prompts, we’ll look closer at the creation of imagery through the practice of writing in the present. Creative Ways with Writing/Words - Saturday 13th June, 10am-12pm How do we look at the abstract or use the abstract for things that are maybe too hard to say? In this workshop we will play with words and their meanings, exploring sensory and lyrical language as a way to create evocative writing. Write Outside the Lines - Saturday 27th June, 10am-12pm  Hybrid writing is work that crosses boundaries and form. In this workshop we will look at forms and writing that defy the rules and slip through the gaps, and look at hybrid writing such as graphic works, memoir and prose essays that use poetry, writing that plays with forms and words and soundscapes. The Creative Writing Experiment  - Saturday 11th July, 10am-12pm  How do we use and view space on the page? Using visual texts such as concrete and blackout poetry, visual art, experimental writing and collage we will explore how new meanings can be produced. Learn to experiment with writing forms such as free writing, stream of consciousness and visual poetry. About Writing Days: www.writingdays.com.au Suzanne Hermanoczki and Lou Smith are the facilitators of Writing Days, a creative writing society based in Merri-bek. They run writing workshops and reading events mostly for adults. They also provide professional writing and research services. They are both published writers, teachers, and enthusiasts of creative writing and both have PhDs in Creative Writing from The University of Melbourne. About Suzanne: Suzanne Hermanoczki is an award-winning writer, teacher, educator, and academic, of Argentine and Hungarian descent, currently living in Naarm/ Melbourne. She holds a PhD and Master's in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne (supervised by acclaimed writer Tony Birch). Her work includes fiction, nonfiction, and multilingual poetry. Her creative writing has appeared in many local and international publications including Cha, Going Down Swinging, Meanjin, Panel, Puentes Review, Sobremesa, TEXT, Westerly, and HKU and Verge Anthologies. She has been working as a tertiary educator for 25 years. Suzanne co-runs Writing Days, organising creative writing workshops and literary events. About Lou: Lou Smith is a writer and researcher of Welsh, Jamaican and English heritage based in Naarm/Melbourne. Lou’s first collection of poetry riversalt was published by Flying Island Books and her second collection Cloudburst and Constellations was published by Walleah Press in 2025. Lou has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne where she has also worked as a sessional tutor in the Creative Writing programme. Lou’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Plumwood Mountain Journal, Australian Poetry Journal, Rabbit, Cordite Poetry Review, Moko, Overland, Soft Surface, Caribbean Quarterly, and Sunday Mornings at the River. Lou co-runs Writing Days, organising creative writing workshops and literary events.

* This event is recurring