Writing and Illustrating Workshop
Join us for an epic day of writing and illustrating with best-selling author Jacqueline Harvey and award-winning illustrator (and this year’s WestWords and Parramatta Artist Studios’ Illustrator-in- Residence) Mitch Vane!
Parracons Poetry Trail
Discover the rich history of Parramatta across the centuries, in this poetic journey through fifteen historic locations across the CBD. Download the app to your mobile device and start walking!
2018 Program of Events and Workshops
This is our autumn and winter program of events and workshops for both kids and adults for 2018. Get booking!
Armistice Poetry Prize
WestWords and Casula Powerhouse are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from local High Schools within the Liverpool LGA for the Armistice Poetry Prize The year 2018 will mark a century since the signing of an Armistice that ended the Great War in 1918. This was a significant event in global history and has meaning nationally, […]
Everything you need to succeed in HSC English Extension 2
HSC English Extension 2: Everything you need to succeed in HSC English Extension 2 with Felicity Castagna WHEN: Sunday 18th November 2018, 10am-4pm WHERE: WestWords Centre for Writing, 91B Grose St Parramatta COST: $55 per student TO BOOK: Find the date of 18 November on the Calendar to the right of this page and scroll down […]
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2018 Mayoral Creative Writing Prize
2018 Mayoral Creative Writing Prize The Mayoral Creative Writing Prize is an annual creative writing prize open to adults and children between the ages of 8-17 years who live in Blacktown LGA. All entries to the competition must be works of fictions and can be either poetry or short stories. The theme is: I read. […]
Western Sydney Writers’ Rooms: Become a Member
Sign up to become a member of one of three new WestWords Writers’ Rooms in Campbelltown (Wedderburn), Katoomba and Parramatta.
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WestWords-Blume Illustrated Youth Awards
Calling all Blue Mountains based illustrators, designers and writers aged between 18-24! Don’t miss your chance for a mentorship with WestWords, Blume Illustrated and Winsor & Newton! Applications close 5pm September 28. BLUME ILLUSTRATED in partnership with WestWords is proud to announce the 2018/2019 Blume Illustrated/WestWords Youth Mentorship Awards for Illustration, Design & Writing The three successful applicants […]
Making Picture Books
Join Wayne Harris, designer and editor for Walker Books and multi-award winning illustrator of children’s books for a series of three workshops exploring at the process, collaboration and skills involved in making picture books.
WW Varuna Residential Program
In 2018 the WestWords Varuna Western Sydney Emerging Writers’ Residential Program offers Western Sydney emerging writers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds the opportunity of a six-day residency at Varuna, The Writers’ House in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. The residency is limited to only four to five participants and includes: a mix of mentorship, […]
WestWords-SRB residency
WestWords and the Sydney Review of Books invite applications for a two-week residency at the WestWords Centre for writing. This residency will be an opportunity for a Western Sydney writer to write an essay on place for publication on the Sydney Review of Books. This essay will form part of an ongoing portfolio of essays on […]
Parramatta Writers’ Room
WestWords is pleased to announce the launch of the Parramatta Writers’ Room co-located with the WestWords’ Centre for Writing!
Illustrators In Residence
In 2018 WestWords & Pinerolo partnered to offer two emerging children’s book illustrators a week in residence at Pinerolo: The Children’s Book Cottage at Blackheath, in the beautiful Blue Mountains. The residency aims to extend illustrators’ knowledge of picture book creation and design, the process of publishing and the publishing industry, being mentored by Margaret Hamilton, a professional publisher of picture […]
Australian-Indonesian Writing Exchange: Tulis 2018
Tulis (Too-lis) Writing Exchange is a two-way Australian/Indonesian exchange for established writers held at Komunitas Salihara (Jakarta) and the 2018 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
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Campbelltown Writers’ Retreat at Wedderburn
WestWords and Campbelltown City Council are pleased to announce the launch of the Campbelltown Writers’ Retreat at Wedderburn, the first of three WestWords Writers’ Rooms across Western Sydney.
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THE DEN 24/7: Katoomba Writers’ Room
Learn about this new writers’ space in the heart of Katoomba
Support WestWords
In supporting WestWords, even the smallest donation can change young peoples lives in Western Sydney. As a recipient of Plus1 funding, for a limited time every donation WestWords receives will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Creative Partnerships Australia.
Workshop: What Now? at The Den
“I’ve written a first draft. Now what?!”
You know what comes next is revision, editing, rewriting, refining. But just how do you do that? What decisions do you have to make? Where do you start? When do you stop?
Many new writers think that having written a draft of new work, the work is done. What is done is that valuable first draft, essential for the next stage.
A workshop for writers who are serious about taking the next steps to improve their narrative works in prose, screenplay, fiction, non-fiction, hybrid, long or short forms.
What Matters? writing competition 2018
Enter the What Matters? writing competition for grades 5-12 by the 11th of May 2018!
An evening with Morris Gleitzman
WestWords is proud to have presented a special event with the new Australian Children’s Laureate for 2018/19. This was the first public event for Morris, and it was a sell-out. Thank you to all that attended! We are feeling very inspired about the future of children’s literature in Australia. Here are a few images from the Q&A and the signing that followed.
Anthology: Parramatta North Public School Year 4-6
Take a look at our most recent anthology from Parramatta North Writers’ Club facilitated by Maryam Master and illustrated by Sadami Konchi.
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Anthology: Tahmoor Public School K-6
Tell me more Tahmoor is the product of 6 months of work by some of Tahmoor Public School’s keenest young writers. Check out the Anthology illustrated by Tony Flowers!
WestWords’ Centre for Writing in Parramatta
WestWords is pleased to have officially opened our new Centre for Writing and Parramatta Writers’ Rooms.
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2017 WS Emerging Writers’ Fellowships
The 2017 Western Sydney Emerging Writers’ Fellowships offers 3 Fellowships of $4,000 each to emerging writers from the Greater Western Sydney region.
Wrapping Up 2017
2017 was our largest year ever for WestWords, and what better way to end it than looking back over all that has happened these past twelve months. WestWords would like to extend a huge thank you to all our authors, poets, illustrators, artists, schools and partnering organisations who have made these events possible, and most importantly to all […]
Katoomba Picture Gallery
WestWords and Sydney Writers’ Festival were delighted to once again present this collection of works by exceptional contemporary Australian children’s book illustrators in collaboration with Katoomba Library and Katoomba Cultural Centre from September 30 to November 19 2017.
Story Room
This event has wrapped up for 2017.
The Story Room is back at Parramatta Library for 9-12 year olds. Do you like writing stories? Do you want to develop more skills and confidence with your creative writing? Join Matt Cosgrove to discover the joy of storytelling, and the creative ways it may be done.
Blacktown Writers Anthology
The Anthology is the work of the members of WestWords’ young writers group housed at Blacktown Arts Centre. They meet every fortnight on Monday afternoons during school terms and spend two hours writing, reading each other’s work and exploring a variety of approaches to the written word. Launch the Blacktown Writers Anthology
The Amazing Thing!
A Slightly Silly, Continuously Twisty, Twirly-Whirly Curly Story… by YOU! (With a little bit of help from our friend Dub Leffler) At the 2016 Way Out West Festival for Children at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, WestWords and our friend the writer Dub Leffler asked you to come along, choose your own adventure and help write […]
Anthology: Hebersham Public School 5&6
Artist, illustrator and writer Dub Leffler spent a 6 week writing residency with stage 3 students from Hebersham Public School, and with illustrator Michel Streich created a wonderful anthology of their work.
VER 16.09: A Crestwood Anthology
Crestwood High students in year 9 feasted on a gothic treat when internationally bestselling steampunk author, Richard Harland, joined them for a 6 week in-school writers residency. This anthology is the result of their work together.
VER 16.10: A Crestwood Anthology
In the first half of 2016 Crestwood High students in year 10 worked with internationally bestselling steampunk author, Richard Harland, to create an anthology of dystopian stories set in and around Crestwood High.
A Different Simple: Landscape, Place and Me
The anthology A Different Simple is the culmination of a year long project where students from Granville Boys High School in Sydney’s West and Lightning Ridge Central School worked with multi-award winning writer James Roy. The work showcased in the book is the result of a week long writing camp in regional NSW where the two groups met for the first time.
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Wrapping Up 2016
2016 was a mammoth year for WestWords, and what better way to end it than looking back over all that has happened these past twelve months. WestWords would like to extend a huge thank you to all our authors, poets, illustrators, artists, schools and partnering organisations who have made these events possible, and more importantly to all of […]
WestWords ambassador Bryan Brown
Actor, Bryan Brown, who spent his childhood in Western Sydney, has this year pledged his support of WestWords by accepting the new role of ambassador. Bryan affirms with us the power of literacy, self-expression and creativity to change lives and the experience of communities.
So You Want to Be a Writer?
Multiple award-winning author Felicity Castagna has published a new work, So You Want to be a Writer?, available for free online access in e-book form.
2016 WS Emerging Writers’ Fellowships
Bryan Brown, Melina Marchetta and Maxine Beneba Clarke mentor the 2016 WS Emerging Writers Fellows!
Writing Place
WestWords has joined with the English Teachers’ Association NSW to create a resource for teaching in years 7-10 English classes.
Kenny’s Coming Home
“Kenny’s Coming Home”, a play with music, was premiered at The Q Theatre in Penrith, 1991 and forms part of the WestWords/ETA Teaching Resource, Writing Place and is published by Currency Press.
Westside
Westside Jnr. Vol 5 has been launched! BYDS and WestWords partner to breathe new life into the Westside project.
Writing Western Sydney
First year of a 10 year project to create a literature map of the entire Greater Western Sydney area with 300-500 word stories/extracts hosted on the WW website.
Writing the West
On 4th February, 2016 WestWords convened Writing the West, a seminar and planning workshop to set future directions for Western Sydney’s literary culture at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre.
The Disappearing 2.0
The Disappearing is an interactive app that maps poetry to place, charting traces, spaces and memories that transform or vanish with time.
Picture Gallery
WestWords and Sydney Writers’ Festival are delighted to present this collection of works by exceptional contemporary Australian children’s book illustrators. The exhibition was presented in various locations throughout 2017.
WW PAS Artist in Residence: Liz Anelli
Illustrator Liz Anelli has been the 2016 WestWords artist in residence at the Parramatta Artists Studio in November. As part of her residency she has facilitated workshops at the Norman Lindsay Gallery (Springwood), the Max Webber Library (Blacktown) and Parramatta Artists Studios. Share in the imagination and inspiration of Liz’s art practise.
The Amazing Thing!
Sydney’s only free contemporary arts festival for children
Blacktown Young Writers’ Group
This unique group provides an opportunity for Western Sydney writers aged 14-18 years to intensely focus and strengthen their creative skills.
Western Sydney Writers Group
An initiative of SWEATSHOP, WestWords and the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University
