Express Media

For centuries, writing has been romanticised and mythologised—from the image of the impoverished but impassioned author working away in a creaky garret to the fairytale story of the mysteriously financially independent writer (think Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City and also every other TV show or film with an author character). But what does it really mean to be a working writer in Australia in 2021? In this, our final live week of Toolkits: Fiction for this year, we’re joined by Elizabeth Tan, prizewinning author of Smart Ovens for Lonely People and Rubik, to hash it out. How did she get her big break (and would she call it that)? What does it mean to be an emerging writer? What does her day-to-day look like, as the author of two critically acclaimed books? What’s it like working with editors? Can writing be taught? What have we all been doing here for three months?