Writing Place and Belonging

Through selected readings and examples, participants have the opportunity to discuss the relationship between place and belonging and try a range of activities and writing exercises focusing on landscape and description, including close observations of people and home. The workshop is open to writers of fiction and non-fiction, including short fiction and long-form fiction writers, and writers working in other forms such as non-fiction essays, poetry, graphic narratives and hybrid work. This session is an excellent opportunity to inspire new work, or to continue building a piece of writing with a focus on deepening place and belonging.

You Will Learn:

• To look closer at the layers of writing place
• To consider the relationship between people, place and belonging
• To consider how place can influence atmosphere, tone, and mood
• To practise immersive observation of place

About the Tutor:

Suzanne Hermanoczki is a Meanjin/Brisbane-born, Naarm/Melbourne-based award-winning writer, creative writing teacher and academic, of Argentine and Hungarian descent. She holds a PhD, a Master’s degree and postgraduate studies in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne and The University of Hong Kong, respectively. Her writing centres around place, home/land, cultural identity, post/memory, the immigrant experience and journey. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Cha, Going Down Swinging, Meanjin, Overland, Puentes Review, Sobremesa, SWAMP, TEXT, Varnish Literary Journal, Westerly, and HKU and Verge Anthologies. Suzanne has worked as a tertiary educator for many years and is currently co-director of Writing Days, a creative writing society based in Merri-Bek.