WestWords Mini-Masterclass

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy alumni interview their favourite creatives. In this episode, Academy alumni Elizabeth speaks to Michelle Hamadache in depth about her written works, and together they share strategies and ways to continue one's own creative writing journey while maintaining a busy career and home life. Michelle talks about how her role as course director of Creative Writing at Macquarie University uniquely situates her within the arts industry, surrounds her with creative writing skills and practice day in and day out, and the fulfilment gained by working with other writers. But how does Michelle maintain focus and energy towards her own creative works? Take a listen to learn more Michelle Hamadache is Course Director of the undergraduate and Master of Creative Writing programs at Macquarie University. She has worked as editor of Southerly, Australia's longest running journal, and of Mascara Literary Review. She has published short stories, essays and poems in US, UK and Australian journals. She was longlisted for the 2018 Elizabeth Jolley short story prize and the 2021 Overland Sidney Neilma Short Story prize.Elizabeth Walton is a freelance writer, musician, and photographer. Elizabeth has contributed writing to The Guardian, New York Times, ABC, The London Reader, ArtsHub, OzArts, The Australian, Huffpost, Penguin Books, The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Reuters, WIN TV, The Independent, Timber and Steel as well as newspapers and magazines in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy alumni interview their favourite creatives. In this episode, Academy alumni Sheryl speaks to Sonam Mahatme about her identity as Queer South Asian person living in Australia, and her experiences navigating family, community and culture. Together they discuss what role a creative practitioner, whether they are a writer, composer or artist, can play in representing marginalised identities in their creative work. Sonam Mahatme is an organisation development consultant with a broad range of experience. She has served on the Board of the Aurora Group, an LGBTQIA+ community-led funding organisation. Sonam works for a not-for-profit with a focus on improving gender equality issues in workplaces both in Australia and globally. She started her career as a lawyer and has used her experience and expertise to advocate for positive change, to make a difference. She strongly feels that awareness, education, empathy and action are key to changing mindsets. Sheryl Fernandes Dixit is a marketing professional with a passion and flair for writing. People, animals, absurdity and humour are her forte and she enjoys creating stories from memories and life.

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy alumni interview their favourite creatives. In this episode, Academy alumni Zohra speaks to Hayley Scrivenor about Hayley's experience writing her award-winning novel Dirt Town as a part of her creative writing PHD. Together they discuss knowing when your novel is finished, working out your writing routine, and tackling the editing process when you're not a natural plotter. Hayley Scrivenor is a former Director of Wollongong Writers Festival. Originally from a small country town, Hayley now lives and writes on Dharawal country and has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales. Dirt Town is her first novel. An earlier version of the book was shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize and won the Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award.Zohra Aly writes essays, short fiction and poetry and has been published in various literary journals and anthologies. She has been a guest curator and chair for Boundless and the South Coast Writers Festival and interviewed writers for WestWords.

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy alumni interview their favourite creatives. In this episode, Academy alumni Elizabeth speaks to Trish Bolton about the release of her debut novel Whenever You're Ready. Trish details her journey to publication, how to build a CV as an emerging writer, upending ageist stereotypes, and together they discuss the changing attitudes towards grief. Trish Bolton is a Melbourne writer whose words have appeared in Overland, New Matilda, The Big Issue, The Age, Sunday Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Canberra Times. Whenever You're Ready is her debut novel.Elizabeth Walton is a freelance writer, musician, and photographer. Elizabeth has contributed writing to The Guardian, New York Times, ABC, The London Reader, ArtsHub, OzArts, The Australian, Huffpost, Penguin Books, The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Reuters, WIN TV, The Independent, Timber and Steel as well as newspapers and magazines in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy alumni interview their favourite creatives. In this episode, Paul and Marc speak to musician and songwriter Bryan Estepa about the emotions that inspire them to write, how words, lyrics and music allow us to distort meaning, imposter syndrome, and writing for yourself first. Bryan Estepa is an Australian singer-songwriter who has been part of the Australian independent music scene for over 20 years and once been labelled one of ‘Sydney's best kept secrets'. Estepa has released 7 critically acclaimed studio albums (All The Bells And Whistles, Sunday Best, Vessels, Heart Vs Mind, Every Little Thing, Sometimes I Just Don't Know and Adeline ‘The Early Years'), 2 EP's (Back To The Middle and Start Again) and undertaken several tours through Australia, Europe, USA, Japan and The Philippines. https://bryanestepa.com/about-bryan/Paul Traynor is a writer and musician based in western Sydney, a member of the 2022 WestWords Academy and recipient of a 2022 Sydney Review of Books/WestWords Digital Residency, with short stories published in collections through Hawkeye Books, WestWords Living Stories, and ZineWest. Paul is also occasionally known, mainly musically, as klangmoss.Marc Stanislas, former lead singer of the mighty 'WHYGAO' has made a comeback after 25 years as The Bardsmith. The Bardsmith proposition is simple: Articiulate, resonate! The Bardsmith provides a weekly lyrical song and endeavours to bring back the majesty of album buying experience in this digital world. www.thebardsmith.com

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy members, and Alumni, interview their favourite creatives. Susan Templeman MP is an Australian politician. She is the member for Macquarie in the Australian House of Representatives and is Australia's Special Envoy for the Arts. Michael Campbell is the Executive Director of WestWords. With over 35 years of experience Michael has worked as CEO, Artistic Director, an arts consultant and strategist, artistic co-ordinator, producer, events manager, librettist, editor, writer, events manager, director, choreographer and dancer.Libby Hyett is a WestWords Academian alumni, working on her first novel, Firedance. She's rewritten the manuscript countless times (it's true- she's ran out of fingers) and it's getting rather good. Libby is working towards publication. She's an emerging picture book author and illustrator with several (again, has run out of fingers) self published titles to her name. Libby is looking forward to working with Dirtlane Press in 2024 to develop and publish her children's book, Bowen's Story.Libby is a prolific, award winning artist, enjoying painting landscapes and portraits in oils and watercolour [although not all at the same time. As that would be weird]. In 2023, her landscape Sunlight Balances Shadows won Hawkesbury Resident highly commended in the Hawkesbury Art Prize, a major Australian art prize. Libby displays her art at the Ferry Artists Gallery at Wisemans Ferry, NSW. Please link www.ferryartists.org

Welcome to a special series of episodes, where WestWords Academy members, and Alumni, interview their favourite creatives. Maria Tran is a Vietnamese-Australian actor, filmmaker, and martial artist who has won multiple awards for her work in film, TV, stage, and performance. She also specializes in fight action choreography and is the founder of Phoenix Eye Films, a female-led production company based in both Australia and the US. She is a multi-talented Vietnamese-Australian artist who has made a name for herself in various fields such as acting, filmmaking, and martial arts. She has worked in film, TV, stage, and fight action choreography. https://www.mariatran.co/ Academy Member Joanne Macias is a multi-disciplinary writer from Sydney who has had her first publication in the Living Stories Anthology, and upcoming second publication with Illographo Press. Her works explore themes of discovery, identity and internal strength. Although Joanne has only been writing for a short period of time, being creative was nothing new, as she is an avid photographer and line artist. Her art has been recognised and shared by well known musicians and has her first photo being published in an upcoming anthology with Illographo press. Acceptance into the Academy in 2023 pushed me to have more faith in my writing, find out how to become a well rounded author with all the little bits and pieces never normally thought of, and most importantly, become connected with amazing creatives, both emerging and established to inspire and guide for long term success.

Victoria Brookman is an activist, author and academic from the Blue Mountains. In this interview with James Roy she describes how her own perceived inability to push through writer's block, along with a catastrophic natural disaster, led her to write her debut novel, Burnt Out (Harper Collins), a funny and angry look at climate change, activism and political influence.Note: Opinions and views expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of WestWords.

Peter Hollo is a professional cellist and founding member of FourPlay String Quartet, a musical ensemble who recently collaborated to record a second spoken word/music album with writer and creative powerhouse Neil Gaiman. The title of the latest album is Signs of Life, and in the second half of this interview with James Roy and Paris Rosemont, Peter talks about the origins, challenges and rewards that came with collaborating in such an interesting creative space, and how Signs of Life first began.You can hear more from and about FourPlay by going to their website at https://www.fourplay.com.au/NOTE: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Peter Hollo is a professional cellist and founding member of FourPlay String Quartet, a musical ensemble who recently collaborated to record a second spoken word/music album with writer and creative powerhouse Neil Gaiman. The title of the latest album is Signs of Life, and in the first half of this interview with James Roy and Paris Rosemont, Peter talks about the origins, challenges and rewards that came with collaborating in such an interesting creative space.You can hear more from and about FourPlay by going to their website at https://www.fourplay.com.au/NOTE: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

George Ivanoff is a Melbourne writer who has written over 130 books for young people, including a series of tense and thrilling interactive adventure books. Listen to this podcast to find out how he does it, especially if for you (like the host, James) plot is harder to do than character.georgeivanoff.com.auNOTE: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Pete Shmigel is a freelance writer and journalist who has just returned from his second visit to Ukraine in 2023, where he began to write the stories of the people on the frontline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this interview he talks about what compelled him to voluntarily enter a war zone, and what he took from the experience, both as a person, and as a writer.NOTE: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Catherine Jinks is a multi-award winning author of books for all ages, with over fifty books published in a 35 year career. In this conversation with James Roy, Catherine talks about trends in publishing and where writing might be heading as a profession, gives her theories on why royalties are shrinking despite books still being massively popular, what elements are influencing how we write, and provides some nuggets of wisdom for those writers who might be struggling to keep on keeping on.

Fiona Murphy is a journalist, memoirist and non-fiction writer. As a Deaf writer, she is very interested in the rise of Own Voices as an important consideration for any artist working in a diverse space, be that around race, language, culture, sex/gender identity, disability or any other of the many diverse stories that can be told. In this interview, Fiona talks about Own Voices as an approach that should value listening over ticking boxes, and discusses sensitivity reading, the obligations of writers vs editors/publishers, and much more.This was recorded as part of Fiona's participation in WestWords' Daffodil Cottage residency program. NOTE: Views expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Augusta Supple is a playwright, theatre critic, one-time arts administrator, short story writer, screenwriter and amateur flautist. In this conversation with James Roy, Augusta talks about creative experimentation, artform diversity, the optimism and positivity of the arts, and the important lessons that COVID taught us as practitioners.

The latest guests of the Mini-Masterclass podcast are Mary Rachel Brown and Jamie Oxenbould. Mary and Jamie operate in different spaces within the theatre scene: Mary writes for theatre, and Jamie is an actor. They were recently residents at Daffodil Cottage, and sat down with James at a cafe in Katoomba to talk about their current project, titled Chicken In A Biscuit, which is a comic show of monologues and characters talking about the strange, beautiful and utterly necessary relationship between humans and their pets. In this conversation Mary, Jamie and James discuss the relative merits of theatre, the tightrope of performance, why animals make such interesting subjects, the origins of a comedy idea, and much more.

Today we welcome Michele Freeman, a former WestWords Fellow and emerging writer from Western Sydney. Michele was recently at Daffodil Cottage for a week-long residency, and she and James had a wide-ranging conversation about working towards long-range artistic goals, what drives her as an artist, feeling like an imposter, and her approach to the stories of Western Sydney.Thank you to the Adès Family Foundation and Katy Jenkins for their ongoing generous support for the Daffodil Cottage program of support for writers and artists.

Margaret Hamilton AM (1941-2022) was a publisher, advocate, writer, educator, curator and passionate supporter of children's literature, particularly picture books. She passed away late in 2022, so we felt it timely to go back to an earlier interview with James Roy, in June 2020 at Pinerolo in Blackheath, in which she talks about what makes a good picture book, how publishers, writers and illustrators manage to play nicely, and some of the pitfalls to avoid. They also discuss how to pitch a picture book text with only four words.NOTE: Views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Welcome back to the WestWords Mini-Masterclass podcast, a fortnightly series of conversations with creatives. To kick off 2023 we welcome Hilary Bell, who is a highly respected and multi-awarded playwright, writer, librettist and children's book author. Hilary was one of our WestWords/Daffodil Cottage residents in 2022, where she was working on her new play The Book of Harold, as well as putting some polish on her musical theatre adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock. In this conversation she and James talk about musical theatre, missing schoolgirls, Harold Pinter's housekeeper, and even the most overrated movie of all time (briefly). Thank you to the Adès Family Foundation and Katy Jenkins for their ongoing generous support for the Daffodil Cottage program of support for writers and artists.

Ally Burnham (WestWords creative producer) chats with writer and usual host of this podcast, James Roy, about his research methods for his current project, and how working on location creates surprising results.** Note: Views and opinions expressed in the podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Ally Burnham (WestWords' own Creative Producer) recently won an AWGIE award for her animated short film Metropius. In this conversation she chats with James Roy about some of the differences between writing for animated and writing for live action.

Today's conversation is with Bundjalung illustrator Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, who speaks with James Roy about the expectations, limitations and obligations of being a First Nations artist, and where the lines between artist and activist are clear, and where they are blurred.NOTE: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily shared by the WestWords organisation.

In this Mini-Masterclass, James sits down with the 2022 WestWords-Varuna Writers in Residence: Jasmyne Marahuyo, Paris Rosemont, Harvey Liu and Finn O'Branagain; the winner of the inaugural Ultimo Prize, Zeynab Gamieldien; and poet and program mentor ali whitelock. They are discussing an amazing week at Varuna, the National Writers' House (varuna.com.au). Views expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Today (2nd September 2022) marks a century since the passing of beloved Australian (and Blue Mountains) poet and writer, Henry Lawson. In this conversation, James speaks with biographer and historian Lowell Tarling about the man, the myth, the tragic legend that was Henry Lawson. Please note that opinions and views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views of WestWords.

Caren Florance (a.k.a. Ampersand Duck) is a letterpress artist who is currently residing in the house formerly owned by the late Mike Hudson and Jadwiga Jarvis, who were the duo behind the famed Wayzgoose Press, a letterpress publisher in Katoomba. In this conversation with James Roy, Caren talks about letterpress art (a form of printmaking), materiality, zines, and her research into collaborative art. www.carenflorance.com *** Note: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

In this mini-practicum, James Roy leads you through a short writing exercise that will hopefully help you better understand the benefits to finding a more simple but more effective way to tell your story.

Curative - does the word suggest something that cures, or something that assists in curating? Conversations, for example. Dave Griffiths opened his cafe with two purposes in mind, and neither of them was to make money. One was to make a previously much-loved but now deserted space into somewhere alive again. The other was to attract people with a story to tell, almost as a form of self-therapy. The result is a work-in-progress which will, for all time, remain a work-in-progress. *** Note: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation.

Writer and creative writing teacher Lee Kofman talks about writer's block, the art of redrafting, and the spectre of "the pram in the hall".

Lullabys are universal, and in this episode, four writers and literature experts share lullabys and vague approximations of same with James Roy. I'f you'd like to share a lullaby with us, please email admin@westwords.com.au Views expressed by guests on this podcast are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation

This special edition of the WestWords Mini-Masterclass podcast is taken from an interview conducted with the winning and two highly commended poets (Simone King, Kirsten Krauth and Gershon Maller) from the 67th Blake Poetry Prize, a biennial poetry prize examining the world of belief and spirituality. In this interview, James Roy discusses the inspiration behind each of the three poems, and asks the poets to discuss their understanding of spirituality, and getting to know the unknowable. To watch the video version of this interview, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3EHoYxO0dQ *** Note: Opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of the estWords organisation.

James Roy and WestWords Fellow Brittany Kempaiah chat with slam poet Alasdair Carter about his work, particularly with respect to his "other job", which is working in the nursing field. *** DISCLAIMER: Views expressed by guests of WestWords are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation. ***

Writer, lecturer and doctoral candidate Georgia Monaghan talks about the evolution of her work looking at the concept of spectacle, and the associated creative project. *** DISCLAIMER: Views expressed by guests of WestWords are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation. ***

In this episode, James throws some curly questions at Ally Burnham (screenwriter and WestWords' creative producer), Margo Lanagan (multi-award winning author) and Michael Campbell (biographer and WestWords' executive director. *** DISCLAIMER: Views expressed by guests of WestWords are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation. ***

In this episode, James Roy discusses the first song of the stage musical Hamilton, and the seemingly unusual decision to announce the method of the main character's ultimate demise. It's a structural choice designed to ramp up tension throughout the work. Does it work? *** DISCLAIMER: Views expressed by guests of WestWords are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation. ***

James Elazzi is an Australian born writer, of Lebanese decent. His writing stems from his upbringing, combining a hybrid cultural melting pot of Lebanese and Australian heritage. His award-winning writing for the stage includes Lady Tabouli, Omar and Dawn and Son of Byblos. Recently James completed his first screenplay, titled Karim's Cello. In this episode he speaks with James Roy about the differences between writing for stage vs writing for screen. https://jameselazziwriter.wordpress.com/james-elazzi/ *** DISCLAIMER: Views expressed by guests of WestWords are not necessarily those of the WestWords organisation. ***

This fortnight, James is speaking with Jane Godwin, who is an award-winning writer of over thirty books for young people, which she managed to achieve during a thirty year career as an editor and then publisher at a major publishing house. In this interview, Jane speaks about the unique challenges of having to wear three hats that look kind of similar, but are in fact quite different. janegodwin.com.au

In this conversation, James' guest Lili Wilkinson discusses the censorship of literature for young people, and how allowing them to 'experience' the lives of those outside their own world through books can lead to empathy,, kindness and understanding. Lili also reveals which bits she would cut and which she would keep in her hypothetical director's cut of Love Actually. liliwilkinson.com

Welcome back! It's the first episode for 2022, and Number 50 since we began the Mini-Masterclass podcast series. James' guest this episode is author, illustrator, TV writer and producer, screenwriter and more, Mick Elliott. They discuss how our younger generations of readers are growing up in a different world, with different stories, different ways of telling those stories, and different ways of accessing those stories. What's changed, and what's the same?

What happens when a YA fiction writer and a poet get together to write a genre fiction novel, where they're both working on the same character and no one is designated driver? In this conversation, held at Daffodil Cottage, they discuss their "experimental" approach to collaboration.

This fortnight we feature a conversation with publisher and editor from https://www.tylebateson.com.au/ (Tyle&Bateson Publishing), Leonie Tyle. She speaks with James Roy about the publishing prospects of new writers now, compared with thirty or more years ago, and the shift in thinking that may be required to claim your spot in the world of the published writer. 

Corporate coach, networking expert and media commentator Amanda Rose (amandarose.com.au and @theamandarose) shares her expert insights into how anyone trying to make a go of it in the business and/or creative world can make the most of the social media and networking tools, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. She discusses the business-like approach that is required to turn these platforms from time-sinks to opportunity-generators, and explains how a freelancer can create rather than respond to social zeitgeists.

Award-winning children's and young adult writer and previous WestWords presenter, Wai Chim, recently appeared in Australian Survivor: Brains vs Brawn, which saw two teams of competitors face off in the Australian outback. Wai and made it through 44 of the 48 days in punishing conditions, to be in the final five out of 24, which was an incredible effort. In this Mini-Masterclass, Wai speaks with James Roy about how she approached the many difficulties and challenges she faced, what she learned from the experience, and how six weeks in the outback may or may not have made her a better writer.

In this podcast, James Roy takes a closer look at Emma Coats' (@lawnrocket) legendary "22 Rules of Storytelling According to Pixar".

Fiona Murphy is an award-winning Deaf poet and author. Her work has been appeared in The Guardian, ABC, The Age, Kill Your Darlings, Overland, The Saturday Paper, Griffith Review, The Big Issue, and in many other outlets. Her debut memoir, The Shape of Sound, was released by Text Publishing in 2021. In this conversation with James Roy, Fiona talks about how to seek feedback, what kinds of feedback one should pursue, what to do with it once you've got it, and how one might go about processing the kind of feedback that feels unnecessary or unfair.

Lifelong educator and champion of public libraries, Paula Kelly Paull, speaks with James about the journey of libraries, from public spaces to hallowed halls of learning, and all the way back to public spaces. Listen to the end for some tips on the role libraries can continue to play in a time of COVID.

Erica Wagner is a thirty-plus year veteran of the Australian publishing industry, and has worked at Penguin and Allen and Unwin, amongst others. In this conversation with James she discusses what publishers are looking for, how best to pitch your work, and even pitches her own idea about a boy with memory loss who becomes a frog.

Writer and former journalist - and current WestWords-Whitlam Institute Female Orphan School Writer-in-Residence Laura Greaves speaks with James Roy about some of the necessary ethical considerations one must make when writing historical fiction.

Kirsty Eagar (Raw Blue; Summer Skin) speaks about the process and the challenges involved in adapting her YA novel Raw Blue into a feature film.

Writer, journalist and WestWords Western Sydney Emerging Writing Fellow Emma O'Neill-Sandham speaks with James about looking for the unusual "monkey-fish" moments in people's stories and memories, and offers some useful tips for effectively and productively interviewing subjects.

James Knight recently prepared the text for the WestWords-MECA Refugee Week postcard project, and in this mini-masterclass he talks about the method he used to identify the threads of a bigger story so he could create short pieces that still had an impact.

Playwright Brooke Robinson shares her insights on writing for theatre, how to get started, and how it compares to other writing forms.