Meet our team
At the Sydney Writers' Centre, you learn from the best. Scroll down to meet our team of excellent and experienced presenters who are all committed to helping you achieve your writing goals.
Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers
Valerie Khoo is an award-winning feature writer whose articles appear regularly in The Sydney Morning Herald. Before becoming a freelance writer eight years ago, she was features director of CLEO. Valerie is also the journalist behind the popular Enterprise blog of smh.com.au and theage.com.au
She has worked at the three publishing giants - ACP Magazine, Pacific Magazines and EMAP - and currently works as a freelance editor for several consumer and corporate publications. Her work has also appeared in publications such as Vogue, SHE, Australian Financial Review and The Age.
Valerie is author of five books. She is a former accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers but switched careers many years ago when she finally gave in to her passion for writing. She hasn't looked back. Many of Valerie's students end up successfully publishing their work and carving out careers as successful writers.
To watch a video interview with Valerie about writing as a career and how to transition into it, click here.
Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers
Judy Skatssoon is the features editor at Australian Associated Press (AAP). An experienced journalist, Judy has also been a successful freelance feature writer. She has contributed to a diverse range of publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, life etc, Medical Observer, Sydney's Child, Women's Health, ABC Online and many more.
After studying a Bachelor of Arts (Communications), majoring in journalism and writing, at UTS, she began her career as a cadet with AAP. She was also a regular feature contributor for Medical Observer Weekly during her two year freelance stint. Judy held a variety of positions including state political correspondent and national medical correspondent. She writes on a wide range of issues including the arts, health, politics, technology, women's issues, business and more.
Recently, Judy has also been a lecturer and tutor in journalism at UTS and is passionate about helping students discover the world of journalism and writing.
Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers
Pamela Wilson has worked as a freelance journalist for the past seven years. Her articles regularly appear in Medical Observer, Reader’s Digest and Health Smart. She has also contributed to various other publications including Men’s Health, Good Health and Medicine, Australian Parents, Travel Vacations and Ninemsn online.
After earning a cadetship at the Gold Coast Bulletin, Pamela knew her dream of becoming a print journalist had become reality. She then went on to work for AAP and The Daily Telegraph. Throughout her 18 years in the media industry, Pamela has held various positions including medical-political features editor, chief-sub-editor, chief-of-staff, education and industrial relations correspondent, news and feature writer and health reporter.
Pamela has developed expertise in covering medical-political, health and family issues, but still enjoys writing about a diverse range of topics including education, travel, books, lifestyle and men’s and women’s issues.
Feature Writing for Magazines and Newspapers
Vanessa Waters is an award-winning writer with over 15 years experience in the publishing industry. Since graduating with a BA in Communications from UTS she has worked in both newspapers and magazines, cutting her teeth on titles such as TV HITS, Girlfriend, Teen Hit, New Idea, That's Life!, Aussie Post, Home Beautiful, For Me and B.
Since becoming a freelance writer six years ago her work has appeared in Women's Health magazine, GQ, SUNDAY Magazine, Marie Claire, Body + Soul and New Woman.
She is a seasoned lecturer, a contributing author of a women's anthology (released through Adams Media in the USA) and the author of Secrets of Our Success, published through Random House.
Recently, Vanessa represented Australia as an International Media Delegate at the United Nations headquarters in NYC and is featured as a Revolutionary Woman at Why Are We Whispering?
Creative Writing
Dr Pamela Freeman is the author of 21 books, the most recent of which, Full Circle (Book 3 of the Castings trilogy), is being published in the US, UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Germany as well as Australia. Pamela’s latest children’s book, Victor’s Challenge, was published in 2009 in Australia and the UK.
Pamela started as a children’s writer, and many of her books have been shortlisted for the State Literary Awards, the Children's Book Council Book of the Year Awards, the Koala Awards and the Wilderness Society Environment Awards. Pamela – who is also an accomplished script writer – has taught creative writing at the University of Technology, Sydney for many years.She has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney and taught writing workshops around Australia for the National Book Council and various State Libraries. Pamela has a Doctor of Creative Arts in Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney. She is best known for her junior fantasy novels, Victor’s Quest and Victor’s Challenge and an associated fantasy series, The Floramonde Books (The Willow Tree's Daughter, Windrider and The Centre of Magic), as well as for Pole to Pole, a non-fiction book about Arctic and Antarctic animals.
Pamela has published numerous short stories and has spoken at various writers' festivals around the country. Her most recent book for young people, The Black Dress, a fictional account of the childhood of Mary MacKillop in the Australia of the 1840s-1860s, won the NSW History Prize for Young People.
You can visit Pamela’s websites here and here.
To watch a video interview with Pamela about writing as a career, click here.
Creative Writing
Kate Forsyth is the internationally bestselling author of more than twenty books for children and adults, including The Puzzle Ring, The Gypsy Crown, The Starthorn Tree, and the bestselling fantasy series 'The Witches of Eileanan' and 'Rhiannon’s Ride'.
Since her first novel was named a Best First Novel of 1998 by Locus Magazine, she has been shortlisted for numerous awards, including a CYBIL Award in the US. In 2007, Kate became the first author to win five Aurealis awards in a single year when Books 2-6 in the Chain of Charms series were jointly awarded the 2007 Aurealis Award for Children's Fiction. Book 5: The Lightning Bolt was also named a Notable Book for 2007 by the Children's Book Council of Australia.
Kate has a BA in Literature, majoring in Children's Literature, from Macquarie University, and a MA in Writing from UWS. Kate has taught creative writing from primary to tertiary levels for over ten years, including 'Writing for Children' at Sydney University. She mentors for the ASA Mentorship Program, and for the NSW Writers' Centre and the Central West Writers' Group.
She lives by the sea in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and three children, and many thousands of books.
Creative Writing
Jeni Mawter, sometimes known as J.A. Mawter to disguise her true identity, is the children’s author of the hilarious ‘So’ series: So Gross!, So Feral!, So Sick!, So Festy!, So Grotty! and So Stinky! (HarperCollins) as well as the Freewheelers series: Unleashed!, Launched! and Extreme! (HarperCollins). Unleashed! was shortlisted for the WAYRBA Older Readers Award 2009. Other books include the junior novel Team Dream and the picture book There’s a Sun Fairy in Our Garden.
Jeni has also published fiction, non-fiction, poetry and verse narrative for the education market. In 2007 she published ground-breaking work on Critical Thinking, Humour and Text for Macmillan Education. One of her most recent ventures was in co-writing the scripts for the interactive exhibition at The Powerhouse Museum, “The Magic Garden: MBF Foundation Healthy Kids Unit”.
With a Master of Arts in Children’s Literature and a Diploma in Book Editing and Publishing Jeni has taught creative writing for many years at Macquarie University and at writers centres. Her enthusiasm for words and books is infectious. She is a speaker for the Lateral Learning, Show & Tell and Speaker’s Ink speaker’s agencies and presents at numerous other schools, conferences and festivals. She has been a judge for the Stanton Library Creative Writing Competition and the Wakakirri National Storytelling competition.
To find out more about Jeni go to www.jenimawter.com
Creative Writing
Cathie Tasker is a fiction editor with over 25 years experience. Her specialisations are in science fiction, children’s and young adult fiction and genre adult fiction.
She is also a judge for the Aurealis Awards, fantasy novel section. Cathie trained as a librarian, in literature, and in marketing. Her academic qualifications are: libraries and literature (BA in Library Science & Literature), children’s literature (half of a Graduate Diploma in Children’s Literature), and marketing (Graduate Diploma of Marketing).
She worked in public libraries for seven years, and has spent over 25 years in book publishing, both in editorial and marketing, in children’s publishing, and in adult fiction and manuscript assessments. Her publishing background has been at Scholastic Australia, HarperCollins and now at Koala Books.
Writing books for children and young adults
Judith Ridge is well-known in Australia and internationally for her involvement with writing for children. Judith has worked with the Children's Book Council, as an editor at ABC Children's Books and the NSW School Magazine and freelances as an editor for Random House. Judith edited Handle with Care: Making Friends with Animals by Paul McGreevy - one of Halstead Press' all-time top sellers. She has also edited Piccolo and Annabelle 4: The Steamer Demons by Stephen Axelsen (Random House) and numerous books for ABC Books.
For the past two years, Judith has taught "Writing for Children" at the University of Sydney MA in Creative Writing. She has also been a tutor in children's literature at Macquarie University.
Judith says: "I love everything about children’s literature. And I love working with people who enjoy writing for children. It’s not my job to tell you what to write, but I’ll help you take a piece of your writing and make it the best it can be."
Amanda Falconer is a brand and marketing expert with over 20 years experience across industries ranging from the rag trade to building and now, books. Amanda is currently the national marketing manager of the Australian division of a global manufacturing company. She is executive editor of LookHome magazine and producer of myLOOKHOMEtv. She is also author of The Renovator’s Survival Guide. Since the book’s launch, she has been featured on Sunrise, 9am with David & Kim, A Current Affair, as well as numerous radio interviews including ABC Radio in Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, as well as 3AW and 2CA.
Her book has been featured in The Sunday Telegraph, New Idea, The Newcastle Herald, and The Sydney Morning Herald’s Domain, and recommended by The Sunday Age. Amanda also currently appears each fortnight on Radio Real Estate with Sami Muirhead and is regularly asked to contribute expert quotes to Australian Property Investor magazine.
Amanda also supports her book with a blog, videos and other social media.
With a passion for online marketing strategies, strong expertise in creating successful brands, and the benefit of her own author-experience (not everything she’s done has been successful - and she’s willing to share it!), Amanda has created a practical, easy-to follow blueprint you can use to make sure your book gets the marketing push it deserves.
Marele Day is the author of four crime novels – The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender, The Case of the Chinese Boxes, The Last Tango of Dolores Delgado and The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi – as well as a collection of crime-comedy stories – Mavis Levack, PI. She is also the editor of How to Write Crime. Other novels include the acclaimed Lambs of God and Mrs Cook: The Real and Imagined Life of the Captain’s Wife.
A highly experienced teacher, Marele conducts creative writing courses throughout Australia, and mentors emerging writers. She has won several awards including the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement in 2008. Her latest novel, released in 2009, is The Sea Bed.
Life writing
Patti Miller has taught creative writing, with a particular focus on autobiographical writing, for 20 years. At the Sydney Writers' Centre, you learn from the best – and we believe Patti is the best life writing teacher in Australia.
She is the author of Australia 's best-selling autobiographical writing text, Writing Your Life and of The Last One Who Remembers (life-writing), Child (novel) and Whatever The Gods Do.
She is published regularly in newspapers and magazines including essay pieces in the Good Weekend, SMH and is available for speaking engagements to clubs and other groups. She has a BA (Communications) and MA (Writing) from UTS. Many of her former students have been successfully published. Her new writing book, The Memoir Book was released by Allen & Unwin in May 2007.
How to get your book published & Travel writing
Geoff Bartlett is an author, journalist, actor and producer. He has filed articles and interviews for over 20 major newspapers and magazines around the country, including The Sydney Morning Herald, Courier Mail, Canberra Times, West Australian and Australian Style.
Geoff has worked as a freelance travel writer and photographer for magazines and websites for the last six years. His current areas of focus are the islands of the South Pacific and Asia. He is a regular contributor to Pacific Island Paradises and Asian Paradises.
In 1999, Geoff's first book, was published in Australia and New Zealand through Harper Collins. Comedians in the Mist was a series of interviews with top Australian comedians.
In the electronic media, Geoff has written for Good News Week, Backberner, Life Support, The Comedy Channel and 2MMM. He also writes regularly for the finance and travel industries. His latest books are Cattitude, released in 2006 and Mutterings which was published in 2007.
Freelance Success
Gayle Bryant is a Sydney-based freelance journalist. Although she writes on a range of topics, Gayle has made a name for herself specialising in personal finance and technology. Her work has appeared in a range of publications in Australia and England including The Australian, BRW Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review as well as a number of financial and property web sites including moneymanager.com.au and domain.com.au.
Gayle has been freelancing for the last 15 years and has also edited a number of custom magazines for major financial institutions including Macquarie Bank, TD Waterhouse, Aon and Ernst & Young. She has a B.A. (Communications).
Valerie Khoo (see above)
Editing Essentials
Katrina Lobley is an experienced journalist and editor. With 20 years' experience in the publishing industry, Katrina spent five years as a sub-editor on The Sydney Morning Herald.
Recently, she has been in demand as a freelance editor for a range of corporate and consumer publications. She has also worked with corporations to develop in-house style guidelines and editorial policies. Katrina has experience in training corporate groups and government departments. Her work has also appeared in Good Weekend, Marie Claire and Qantas magazine.
Professional business writing
Mel Wilkinson is the founding director of Manhattan Communication, a corporate writing agency which provides editorial solutions to firms in the financial services sector.
She specialises in writing, editing and proofreading corporate collateral such as tender documents, annual reports, brochures, website content, newsletters, newspaper editorial, advertising copy, adviser and employee communication and sector reports.
Mel has been a guest lecturer at the Financial Services Institute of Australia and has also published numerous articles in magazines and newspapers including The Australian Financial Review, The Australian, Charter Magazine, Company Director Magazine, Asset Magazine and Vive Magazine.
She has worked with financial PR firm Savage & Partners, (an Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide company) where she was a key advisor to Cochlear Ltd, Hudson and JPMorgan. Prior to this she worked for global investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere where she worked in corporate finance, research and private client stock broking.
Steven Lewis has consulted on blogging, podcasting and other Web 2.0 tools for companies such as Westpac and IAG. For Tourism Tasmania he created a ground-breaking series of travel podcasts, with similar projects in the works for companies like V Australia and Time Out.
Steven has also promoted blogs, wikis and podcasts as a corporate insider, having worked for AMP as an in-house evangelist for its enterprise 2.0 tools.Before moving into the world of Web 2.0, Steven had a long history in translating online tools for non-technical audiences writing as a journalist for mainstream publications around the world.
Writing for the web
Grant Doyle is an experienced copywriter, content manager and web editor. After many years as a print journalist and author, Grant gravitated to web writing in 1999 and has been contracting or consulting to major corporations in various online content capacities since then.
Former clients include financial services, telecommunications and IT companies as well as government agencies. Grant continues to initiate and teach many in-house web writing programs in addition to developing corporate web writing style guides. He is currently studying for a Master of Arts in Writing.
Manuscript assessment
Dr Rose Moxham writes for adults and children and has published short stories and two young adult novels. Her most recent work is a novel, Teeth Marks (Allen & Unwin), April 2007.
She has served as a judge for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards (2000) and on the committee of the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge.
Rose has designed, developed and delivered undergraduate and post-graduate courses in writing and editing (non-fiction and fiction) at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and Macquarie University since 1997. In her capacity as lecturer in Writing and as a supervisor of numerous MA Writing candidates, she has vast experience in manuscript assessment. She has reviewed peer textbooks on writing techniques (eg. Hazel Smith, The Writing Experiment, Allen & Unwin 2004) and mentored various authors.
Rose has worked as a freelance reader and part-time editor for publishing houses including Random House, McGraw-Hill.
Danielle Williams is the operations coordinator at the Sydney Writers' Centre. She has a long background in writing and adult education. Danielle coordinates our courses and workshops and is passionate about helping our students get the most out of their experience with us. She's formerly worked at the University of Sydney's Centre for Continuing Education and the NSW Writers' Centre. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New England and enjoys reading and writing.
New media coordinator
Tracy Tan is the new media coordinator at the Sydney Writers' Centre. With a Bachelor of Science (Media and Communications) from the University of New South Wales under her belt, she coordinates the technological side of our online courses, blog, website, podcasts, Facebook and more. She has been with the centre since it was founded and loves reading, writing - and technology!
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