Our Year of Poetry and Year of the Novella programs invite students who want to stretch their writing muscles to spend an entire year writing either a collection of poetry or a novella.
In weekly after-school sessions with our dedicated storytellers, and with visits from professional authors, these young people work through all the stages of writing – from idea generation, to developing writing plans, problem solving, working through writer’s block, editing and completing a major piece of writing.
At the end of the year students work with professional editors to get their work ready for publication, and we celebrate their achievements with a launch. Family and friends are all invited.
We are incredibly proud of this program and the students who continually amaze us with their imagination and perspective.
Like all of our writing workshops, Year of Poetry and Year of the Novella are provided free of charge to students who come from communities that may be under-resourced, for whom English may be an Additional Language or Dialect, are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or otherwise do not have access to programs like this one.
2023 programs are full, but get in touch at students@storyfactory.org.au if you’re interested in taking part in 2024.
Past Alumni
All of our students create something special in the course of their year of writing, with some going on to achieve wider recognition. Vivian Pham wrote an early version of The Coconut Children as part of Year of the Novella in 2017 which has since gone on to be published with Penguin Random House. It led to her being named the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist in 2021 and winning the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year at the ABIA Awards 2021. Duy Quang Mai’s poetry has been recognised internationally and published in many literary journals.