Katherine Collette, author of the hilarious The Helpline, will be talking about her latest novel, The Competition, at this in-conversation event with David Hunt, author of Girt Nation.

Inspired by the author’s real-life experiences in Toastmasters, The Competition is a sharply observed comedy of manners, which tells an amusing tale of ambition, friendship and redemption with just a touch of romance. A cast of lovable underachievers, headed for self-improvement despite themselves.

Books for purchase and signing on the night from Constant Reader, Mosman.

Kay Kerr is in-conversation with Katherine Collette discussing her new novel The Competition.

Frances quite honestly isn’t that excited about the SpeechMakers annual national conference and public-speaking competition. What she’s excited about (relatively speaking) is that this year there’s a major prize. Frances has a few small problems and forty thousand dollars would go a long way to sorting them out.

Keith is Frances’s probably-ex-mentor, it’s hard to tell since she’s not talking to him, and he disapproves of the prize money. He thinks SpeechMakers should be about self-improvement, not self-enrichment. He wants to win the competition, though. He thinks it might help the situation with his wife Linda.

Neil doesn’t care about the competition at all but Judy, his mother and coach, does, so. 

And Rebecca…

Actually, what the hell is Rebecca doing here? Rebecca belongs to Frances’s past, not her present. And certainly not her (hopefully) less-disastrous future.

Katherine Collette's debut novel, The Helpline, was published in the US, UK, Germany and Italy. She also co-host books podcast The First Time.

Kay Kerr is the author of Social Queue and Please Don't Hug Me.

In this course on novel writing, story structure and project management, bestselling author Graeme Simsion demystifies the secrets behind his beloved Rosie trilogy and other international bestsellers The Best of Adam Sharp and Two Steps Forward.

You’ll learn how to approach your manuscript as a project, with a clear path from conception to a final manuscript. The process is broken down into no-nonsense, practical steps that you can actually do. And better yet, this course is designed so that you can adapt each part of the process to your own individual project.

Each participant will receive a copy of Graeme’s new writing advice book, The Novel Project: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel, Memoir or Biography, which is full of even more practical and hands-on information to keep you on track.

Internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion, is coming to the Central Coast to teach a hands-on, practical and inspiring writing workshop. 

Learn first-hand the key steps in bringing your novel, biography or memoir to fruition, no matter where you are in the journey. This masterclass will be the motivating force you need, equipping you with essential skills, a fool-proof process, and the priceless inspiration that comes from witnessing a writing professional with millions of book sales under their belt.

The price of the ticket includes a copy ofGraeme’s new advice book, The Novel Project: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel, Memoir or Biography.

SCHEDULE

9:45am Doors – please arrive promptly as the session will commence on time

10am - 12pm Workshop

12pm - 12.30 Q&A

12.30pm - 1pm Book Signings

Join Graeme Simson for this workshop where he outlines his simple approach to writing a novel, memoir or biography. His new writing advice book, The Novel Project: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel, Memoir or Biography, is included in the price of the workshop so that you can continue to work on your manuscript after the workshop is over. 

‘Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.’ Variously attributed to Thomas Wolfe, Paul Gallico and Ernest Hemingway, the quote portrays writing as mysterious, romantic and, implicitly, unteachable. This book is about another approach, based on established theories of creativity and design—and on the experience of authors who have adopted a more structured and reliable process. 

It’s aimed at those who want to write a book for publication, or at least one that others will want to read. It could have been called What They Don’t Teach You in Writing School, because its focus is on the writing process as a whole: it treats writing a book as a step-by-step project. 

Easy to follow, practical and highly entertaining, The Novel Project: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel, Memoir or Biography is the inside scoop from an author who started his writing career at fifty and whose novels have sold millions of copies around the world. It will help you craft the best book you’re capable of—no blood on forehead required.

Graeme Simsion is the internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect, The Rosie Result and The Best of Adam Sharp. 

Join acclaimed Australian writers Krissy Kneen and Graeme Simson in discussion about Graeme’s new storytelling advice book,  The Novel Project: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel, Memoir or Biography.

‘Writing is easy: all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.’ Variously attributed to Thomas Wolfe, Paul Gallico and Ernest Hemingway, the quote portrays writing as mysterious, romantic and, implicitly, unteachable. This book is about another approach, based on established theories of creativity and design—and on the experience of authors who have adopted a more structured and reliable process. 

It’s aimed at those who want to write a book for publication, or at least one that others will want to read. It could have been called What They Don’t Teach You in Writing School, because its focus is on the writing process as a whole: it treats writing a book as a step-by-step project. 

Easy to follow, practical and highly entertaining, The Novel Project is the inside scoop from an author who started his writing career at fifty and whose novels have sold millions of copies around the world. It will help you craft the best book you’re capable of—no blood on forehead required.

Graeme Simsion is the internationally bestselling author of The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect, The Rosie Result and The Best of Adam Sharp. He lives with Anne Buist, co-author of Two Steps Forward and Two Steps Onward, in Melbourne, Australia.

Krissy Kneen is the award-winning author of memoir—Affection and The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen—and fiction—including An Uncertain Grace and Wintering.

This two-hour, online, novel writing seminar is an in conversation with award winning author Graeme Simsion discussing the ins and out of writing a novel.

A novel, unlike that story in a bar or a two-thousand-word essay, is a substantial project which can seem like an impossible feat, whether you’re figuring out where to start or you’re 30,000 words in with nowhere to go.

Graeme will demystify the secrets behind his beloved Rosie trilogy. He breaks up the novel-writing process into no-nonsense, practical steps that you can actually do. In this online seminar, you’ll learn how to approach your manuscript as a project, with a clear path from conception to a final manuscript. All tickets include a copy of Graeme Simsion’s new book The Novel Project, a how-to guide on writing your novel as well as a 30 minute Q&A with Graeme.

You can sit at the computer waiting for the drops of blood to form. Or you can get organised and get the job done, stage by stage, focusing on one thing at a time, making progress every day. This course is about the second option. Graeme Simsion will share the process and techniques that have made him one of Australia’s bestselling novelists.

All workshop participants will received a copy of Graeme’s new writing advice book, The Novel Project, as part of the ticket price.