Blue Mountains News

Lithgow Youth Council and Varuna National Writers House have joined forces to bring you a free Young Writers online workshop series as part of the virtual Youth Week 2020.

Author and social activist Alice Walker wrote, ‘If you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything.’ In this four-week course, young writers will join a safe and supportive online learning community in which they will explore their imaginary worlds.

Varuna Young Writers’ Studio will be facilitated by poet, teacher and Varuna consultant, Vanessa Kirkpatrick. Each week a new element of writing craft will be delved into through examples and short writing tasks. A longer writing assignment will also be developed throughout the course.

On Thursday afternoons from 4:00pm-5:00pm participants will meet up via Zoom to share work, talk about process, and receive feedback about their work.  

In the final week there will also be a special interactive Q & A session with Young Adult author Holden Sheppard, presenting a chance to chat about the realities of working as an author and the pathways to get there.  This session will be facilitated by Varuna’s Creative Director, Amy Sambrooke.

As well as inspiring and supporting young writers in their creativity, this course will enhance literacy and language skills in a fun and engaging way.  Participants will deepen their knowledge and understanding of how language works to create characters that step off the page and worlds that you don’t want to leave.

Participants will need a reliable internet connection, and a computer or mobile phone with a webcam and microphone. To register your interest in this course or for more information please send your details to Ali Kim

About Vanessa Kirkpatrick

Vanessa Kirkpatrick's first collection of poetry, To Catch the Light, won the inaugural John Knight Memorial Poetry Manuscript Prize and was Commended for the 2013 Anne Elder Award. Her second collection, The Conversation of Trees, was published by Hope Street Press in 2017. Vanessa has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Sydney and her poetry has been broadcast on national radio. She is a qualified teacher and has mentored poetry and creative writing for many years.