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Writing for Primary Children

Writers Victoria

Event Date: 19 November 2023 10:00 AM
Author / Presenters: [email protected]

This course is for writers looking to write for primary children aged 5-12. Read, dissect and discuss classic and contemporary works for children. Expand your own children’s book concept - exploring voice, language, genre, structure, style, illustration and form. Learn what’s happening in Australian children’s literature at the moment and how to pitch a work for primary children to a publisher. Explore agents and publishers to submit pitches to.

You can find details of how Covid-19 restrictions will affect the workshop here: https://writersvictoria.org.au/about-us/covid-19-information/. You are encouraged to wear a mask in the workshop space. The Wheeler Centre’s policy is that close contacts should not attend the building. If you are a close contact of somebody with Covid-19, or have Covid-19 symptoms yourself, please do not attend[email protected] to arrange a refund in this situation.

You Will Learn:

  • Voice, Language and Style: how to pick the right narrative voice for the right age group – what kind of things should you consider when writing for a 6 year old, as opposed to for a 10 year old? How do you ensure your language, concepts and content are age appropriate?
  • Genre: how do you pick the right genre for your project? Will your picture book be written in verse, or will it be a book of fun facts and figures? Are you aiming to create characters for a series?
  • Illustration: how to decide whether the project should be illustrated, and to research and decide on an illustrator, medium or illustration style.
  • Pitching - learn who is publishing what, and how and where to pitch your project including writing a submission letter, and perfecting the “three minute pitch”
  • Market analysis: what does the market in Australia and globally look like in terms of writing for primary children, and where does your work sit within it?

About the Tutor:

Maxine Beneba Clarke is the ABIA and Indie award-winning author of the short fiction collection Foreign Soil, the memoir The Hate Race, and the poetry collections Carrying the World, How Decent Folk Behave and It's the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people. Her books for young children include The Patchwork Bike, Fashionista, Wide Big World, We Know a Place, Meet Taj at the Lighthouse and When We Say Black Lives Matter. She is currently the Peter Steele Poet in Residence at the University of Melbourne.  

Not a Member?

Members of Writers Victoria receive up to 37% off the full price of our workshops, seminars and courses. In addition, members have access to a range of other discounts and opportunities and receive a subscription to 'The Victorian Writer' magazine. Memberships start from just $50. Find out more about becoming a member here.

Book early to access our early bird prices! These expire 9 days before the course begins. Please keep in mind that our workshops require a minimum number of participants to run, so booking early also helps ensure that a workshop will go ahead. 

When: 19 November 2023 - 10:00 through 04:00 pm Where: The Wheeler Centre 176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne, VIC 3000 Australia

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