Our Student Success Stories
Here are some success stories from our students from around the world.
Some of our students have gone on to occupy full-time jobs in the magazine and/or publishing industry.
Some have become full-time writers; some write part-time.
If your story, manuscript or article was accepted for publication after completing one of our courses, please do let us know: info@thewriterscollege.com
Lynne Leppard completed the Break Through Your Writing Barriers Course, tutored by Sally Mazak. Lynne has just had her memoir Road to Belonging released. Her book tells the story of her adoption in New Zealand and her search for identity, family, and belonging. Find her book on Amazon here.
Abigail Hageman has completed our Short Story Writing Course and the Introduction to Poetry Course. She then went on to do our Self-publish Your e-Book Course and published her first fiction book, Conscience. Well done Abigail!
Saul Kamionsky completed our Freelance Journalism Course and went on to complete the Write a Non-Fiction Book Course. We are very proud to see his authorized biography on Ernst Middendorp has been published.
Our student Riaan Grobler just completed the Write a Novel Course. His novel has been selected for publication by Penguin Random House (LUCA imprint). This is a phenomenal achievement for a debut novel. Super proud doesn’t begin to describe how delighted we are at The Writers College.
Greg Szanto recently completed the Literary Short and Flash Fiction Course at the Writers College. One of the short stories he wrote on the course, ‘The Loneliness of Death’, has been chosen as a winner in the Audio Arcadia Short Story Competition.
Chris Shorrock recently completed the Travel Writing Course. His article ‘Wild Island’ was just accepted for publication by NZ Herald’s Travel Magazine.
Sally Gutteridge has done a number of courses with us. Her first non-fiction book went to number one in the Amazon dog care section the day it was released. It has sold 17,328 copies to date. She went on to write eight more books, all on dogs, within a year. In total, 42,374 copies of her books have been sold through Kindle Direct Publishing
Wendy Montrose has only completed three modules on the Travel Writing Course and has already landed a first gig with NZ Motorhomes, Caravans & Destinations (MCD). Wendy was asked to submit some writing for their ‘8 Greats’ segment, which has resulted in a contract to write the next few for the magazine. Well done, Wendy!
A big congrats to Thilde Nel who has just a had a short story, ‘Vreemde taal van die hart’, accepted for publication in the South African magazine, Huisgenoot. Well done, Thilde!
Congrats to Shelley Kirton who recently had a literary taxidermy story published in the May issue of MindFood Magazine! Read our interview with Shelley here.
Lay Yoshimoto-Matthews completed the Writing Articles for Websites and Blogs Course at the Writers College. She recently got a job as a social media marketer writing blog posts. Read one of her articles here: https://xploreasia.org/what-is-culture-shock-and-how/
Pat Coates is a graduate of the Short Story for Magazines Course. She has had two stories accepted by the ASP Literary Journal of the Abergavenny Small Press in Wales.
A fabulous achievement, and even more so because it’s Pat’s first time to be published – at the age of 78!
Salamina Mosese is an actress, TV host and producer. She is known as the presenter of Top Billing and for her role in series like Sewende Laan, Soul City and Erfsondes, among others. Salamina is also a writer, and completed the Write a Children’s Book Course at The Writers College. Her book, Disaster at Gogo’s Spaza, was published by NB Publishers.
Tanja Roug Wijnen completed the Write a Children’s Book Course with Helen Brain. Tanja’s novel ‘The Pangolin Killers’ has just been picked up by a Danish publisher. Congratulations, Tanja!
A huge congratulations to our graduate Write a Novel Course student Catherine Jarvis for winning gold in the Sanlam Youth Literature Awards for her novel ‘The Swim Team’.
Catherine wrote, ‘I don’t think I would have finished the book if it wasn’t for the Writers College or Alex’s guidance and encouragement. Thank you so much for making my dream come true!’
Find ‘The Swim Team’ in bookstores: https://bit.ly/32uqrIh
Nazerit Wilson is happy to announce that her novel, written through The Writers College, is now available as an ebook and paperback. Nazerit completed the Write a Novel Course and the Advanced Novel Course.
Sarah Kelleher completed the Freelance Journalism Course with distinction. She has just had an article ‘The Normalised Disorder,’ accepted by MiNDFOOD magazine for their December issue.
Pam Vale, tutored by Fiona Zerbst on our Poetry Course, has had a poem accepted for publication in the prestigious literary journal New Contrast.
Alice Shaw is a graduate of the 5-Stories-in-5-Months Challenge. Her Story ‘Breaking Free’ was accepted for publication by Please See Me.
Larissa Hahn, on the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course, has had her short story ‘Dirty Secret’ accepted for publication by CafeLit in the UK.
Selina Lavery has completed The Basics of Creative Writing Course and the 5-Stories-in-5-Months Challenge. Havok Publishing have published two of her short stories. Her short story ‘The Blue Zinger’ was also selected to feature on their Podcast. You can listen to ‘The Blue Zinger’ here.
Shelley Kirton is a creative writing graduate of several short story courses at The Writers College. Shelley has had two pieces accepted for the October issue of ‘The Centifictionist’. They also compile two anthologies per annum, each of 25 stories, and both of her stories were accepted for publication. She has also been published many times in ‘Friday Flash Fiction’, and in October, ‘Free Flash Fiction’ will showcase a 500-word piece she wrote.
Dimakatso Sedite, a graduate of our Poetry Course tutored by Fiona Zerbst, has had a collection of poetry published. Yellow Shade is in book stores now.
Mark Da Costa completed the 5-Stories-in-5-Months Challenge. Four of his short stories have been published six times online, and now another short story ‘Dad to be catches the IVF Train’ will be published in YOU magazine for payment.
Jo Wills completed our Writing Articles for Websites and Blogs Course. She has had an article accepted for the Spring edition of the AA Directions Magazines. Well done Jo!
Erika Taylor has just published the first novel in a series.
Erika developed the initial idea when she did our Advanced Novel Writing Course in 2020.
Erika already has part two of the series under way. You can view her book here
These writing students completed our 5-Stories-in-5-Months Challenge, and here were their amazing results:
Mark Da Costa had his story ‘To Tea or Not to Tea’ accepted for publication at Short-Story.Me. https://www.short-story.me/stories/general-stories/1245-to-tea-or-not-to-tea, and Gardening in the New South Africa published at African Writer.
UK magazine Writer’s Egg accepted Alice Shaw’s short story ‘Going Home’ for publication in Issue 9.
Juliet Slattery had her story ‘Bitchface’ published in Capital Magazine.
Helen Gaudin had her story ‘The End Is But the Beginning’ accepted by Mindfood magazine for the March edition.
Claudia Bolz’s story ‘Soft Targets’ was published in Love in the Time of COVID. https://loveinthetimeofcovidchronicle.com/category/fiction/
Claudia Bolz made headlines again with a second win with her story ‘Soft Targets’. Claudia’s story was selected in the Official Selection London Independent Story Prize 4th Quarter 2020. Scroll down to see her name.
Danielle Ramaeker’s story ‘A Fresh Start’ made the longlist in the global writing competition Fiction Factory – competing with thousands of other writers. https://fiction-factory.biz/…/our-short-story-competition/
Danielle Ramaekers also had her story ‘One Day You’ll Be Grateful’ accepted for publication by online literary journal, ‘Please See Me’.
Selina Lavery’s story ‘The Blue Zinger’ was published by Havok Publishing. https://gohavok.com/
Selina Lavery also has her story ‘Hearts and Truffles’ on hold for publication at You Magazine.
Hermienke De Kock wrote to tell us:
‘I had the most wonderful time on the [Basics of Creative Writing Course]. The coursework was incredibly helpful and I honestly never expected to grow as much (in ability and confidence) as I did in five months. Helen also has an incredible way of guiding you through your writing pitfalls without making you feel the least bit deflated. It really helped this sensitive soul.
A week after sending in my final assignment I decided to register as a creative writer on Upwork. Within two days I landed a contract, and I have been writing 10-12 hours a day since… I am in my element :-).’
Derek Luyt has completed the Self Publishing course.
You can see the book here (published under the pen name John Kies): https://www.amazon.com/Empress-Theodora-Autumn-Alexander-Diaries-ebook/dp/B091BYL2TJ
Erica Mouton completed our Basics of Creative Writing Course back in 2017. She has gone on to self-publish the first novel in her trilogy, under the pseudonym E.A. Golden-Mouton. Book two will be available in the second half of 2021. The novel is available here.
Pat Coates is a graduate of the Short Story for Magazines Course. She has had two stories accepted by the ASP Literary Journal of the Abergavenny Small Press in Wales. A fabulous achievement, and even more so because it’s Pat’s first time to be published – at the age of 78!
Leanne Comer mastered the Advanced Magazine Journalism course last year. She recently had another article published by Good magazine. You can read it here.
Rashida Vahed, a graduate of the Short Story Writing For Magazines Course, has had a story Fait Accompli accepted by You Magazine for their April issue.
Suzanne Main has completed several creative writing courses with us. Her short story ‘Vie de la Batterie’ has been accepted for publication by Colp Magazine.
Catherine Jarvis studied on the Write A Novel Course, tutored by Alex Smith. Her novel has just been shortlisted for the Sanlam Youth Prize for Literature. Catherine says, ‘I am so thrilled, and I honestly don’t think I would have even finished my novel if it wasn’t for the course and Alex’s insightful comments and her encouragement.’
Johannes Nel completed the Novel Course with Wilna Adriaanse as his tutor. His first novel was accepted by Penguin publishers. A huge well done to him!
His novel is available here:
https://www.loot.co.za/product/jo-nel-die-hond-wat-ophou-blaf-het/mbhz-4510-g520
Wesley Ferguson has had another article published in Asset magazine. Wesley is now busy with our Copywriting course. You can read his article on robotics in construction here.
Darrel Hofland self-published his first collection of short stories, some of which he wrote for the SA Writers College annual Short Story Competition Well done Darrel!
A review of the book is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55810074-a-collection-of-goods
And you can buy it here, either in kindle or paperback format:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LG79CLV/ref=sr_1_1
Nic Williamson, who completed our Write a Novel course, has just had his first novel ‘Bonds’ published. Well done Nic!
His novel is available here:
Leanne Comer recently had her interview with Dr Siouxsie Wiles published in Good magazine.
Rashida Vahed, who completed our Short Stories for Magazines course in September this year, has just had her first short story ‘Red Letter Day’ published in the renowned South African publication, YOU magazine.
Wesley Ferguson has recently had his article published in Asset magazine
Tae Richardson, a Literary Short and Flash Fiction Course graduate has had her first piece published in Takahē magazine.
Sheritha Singh, a graduate of the Write a Novel Course, has published her second Young Adult fantasy novel in paperback and ebook. She has also written two textbooks and co-written one textbook with Oxford University Press SA.
Angela Warren has just had her piece published in her local newspaper- with bonus of making it onto the front page!
Jen Rodgers recently completed our Basics of Feature Writing Course. Her article was published in Wilderness magazine. You can read it here.
Henda Olivier, a recent Write a Novel Course graduate, has published her first novel, Die Goeie Suster.
Leanne Comer recently finished the Freelance Journalism Course. She successfully published her article on the webzine Good. Congratulations, Leanne!
Well done to Jessica Oosthuyze. She has landed an internship at the prestigious Getaway Magazine. Jess recently graduated with distinction from the Travel Writing Course. We’re watching your progress with great interest, Jess.
Pip Murdoch completed the Literary Short Story Course. She has just published her memoir Relative Strangers about her 21-year search for her adopted son.
Danielle Ramaekers is a recent graduate of the Freelance Journalism Course. Her article (and photographs) about searching for anacondas on an eco-tour in the Bolivian Amazon was accepted by NZ Herald. A fantastic achievement, Dani.
Mark Perfect is a graduate of the Literary Short Story Course. He was shortlisted for the Eyelands International Short Story Competition 2019, with a story called ‘Huggas’.
Robert Kelly published his first novel Shadow on the City on the Amazon platform after completing our ‘Self Publish Your e-Book’ Course. Well done Robert!
Helen Glenny, a graduate of our Freelance Journalism Course, just won an award for ‘Best Editorial Assistant’ at the BBC, for BBC Science Focus Magazine.
Kirsten Pederson, a Travel Writing Course graduate, was published in Danes magazine.
Lynn Smith is doing the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course; she had her first assignment story accepted by Weekly News, UK
Taemumu Richardson has been shortlisted in the Writers’ Forum Short Story Competition. This is a big achievement, as this competition draws a huge number of entries globally. Tae is still completing the Literary Short Story Course.
A big well done to our student Susan Harward – for publishing her book on Amazon. Susan’s urban thriller ‘Neighbourhood Watch‘ is available today: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TJNZ4S7
Jeanna Thomson has just completed the Advanced Magazine Journalism Course. Her article ‘Butterfly Effect’ on culture-tech incubator Mahuki has been published in the March issue of Capital magazine.
Pattie Pegler’s story ‘The Much Maligned Mother-in-Law’ will be published in the May issue of Next Magazine. Patty is currently completing the Advanced Magazine Journalism Course.
Rachel Lowe completed the Scriptwriting Course. The play she wrote while on the course has just been shortlisted for the Adam New Zealand Play Award.
Rosanne Turner sent us an update of the magazines for which she writes. She has been published in Holland Herald (KLM), Morning Calm (South Korean), Sawadee (Thai Airways), Samui Holiday Magazine, Samui Wining & Dining Guide, CEM Air inflight magazine, and Interval (USA). Rosanne is a graduate of our Travel Writing Course.
Maryléne Coutret completed the Travel Writing Course. Her story, ‘7 Life Lessons from The Trail’, was published as the cover story in the November issue of Wilderness magazine. The article also featured Maryléne’s stunning photography.
Ashleigh James is completing the Introduction to Poetry course. She has had two poems accepted for issue nine of the Stanza Poetry magazine. An amazing achievement!
Johanna Handley wrote to tell us that her novel The Burning of Juniper Slaide has been accepted for publication by Rudlinghouse Publishers. She has been signed to write a trilogy for them, and is currently touring the UK, with her first book signing at Surrey Waterstones.
Johanna wrote to her tutor on the Write a Novel Course, Alex Smith: ‘I really wanted to say thank you so much for the invaluable guidance you gave me at the start of my writing journey. I had a lot to learn about writing, and I’m so glad I learnt it from you. Your encouragement and feedback on my writing helped me to keep going and get to where I am now. Thank you so much, again!’
Martin Steyn, who completed the Writers College Creative Writing Course in 2011, had his first novel, Donkerspoor (Dark Trail), published by Lapa in 2014. The book was an instant success and best-seller, with critics heralding Martin as an interesting addition to Afrikaans crime fiction.
His second book, Skuldig (Guilty), was recently published to even greater acclaim. Since then he has written two more novels. Martin’s fourth book was published in October 2018.
Find out more about this talented author on his website: https://www.martinsteyn.com/write/af_books.html
Iona Winter was a student of the Writers College under the mentorship of Sonny Whitelaw. We are thrilled to announce her debut book launch, Then the Wind Came, a collection of stories and poems, published by Steele Roberts Aotearoa in 2018
Ian Middleton completed the Magazine Journalism Course at the Writers College with distinction in 2018. Ian submitted two articles to outdoor adventure magazines, and got both accepted. He was published in New Zealand Mountain Biker (NZMTB) magazine and The Climber. The article he wrote during the Magazine Journalism Course was published by Spoke Magazine.
Read about Ian’s progress here: https://www.writerscollegeblog.com/ian-middletons-magazine-journalism-success-story/
Here’s a graduate student of The Writers College making us super proud!
Gareth Ward’s novel that he worked on during his novel course has gone on to win multiple awards. The Traitor and the Thief, a rip-roaring young adult Steampunk adventure, won the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award, the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Youth Novel, a 2018 Storylines Notable Book Award and was a finalist in two categories at The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
He also has a fantastic author webpage:
http://garethwardauthor.com/the-traitor-and-the-thief/
Gareth has this to say about studying with the Writers College: ‘Hand on heart, there is no way I would have been published without Alex’s guidance.’
Motlalentoa Letsosa had a poem called ‘At My Neighbour’s Funeral’ published in the June issue of the prestigious New Contrast literary magazine (No. 182). Motlalentoa is a graduate of the Introduction to Poetry Course.
Shelley Kirton is a graduate of the Literary Short Fiction Course. She had her short story ‘Peace Lily: A Story in Three Breakfasts’, published in Mindfood.
She recently wrote the following:
It will appear under my non-de-plume, Katharine Blachford, and is titled ‘You Are Wonderful’.‘
Not all of our students aim to get published. Our grammar and business writing students may get recognition in their workplace. One such example is Dr Henry Kelakazola from Zambia who has completed several general writing courses with us. He wrote to us:
Because of you, I am now counted among the best writers in my organization.
Jane Dotchin completed the Short Story for Magazines Course, and is currently on the Write a Novel Course. She has since enjoyed a series of literary successes. Here is her list of published stories:
‘Tonight We Not Get Teargas’ – Fictive Dream
‘The Gift’ – The Literateur
‘Charlotte’s Stockings’ – Shooter Magazine
‘Another Day’ – Here Comes Everyone
‘The Scar’ – East of the Web
And here’s the big one – Jane placed 6th in the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge 2017
Carol Matthews had her travel article ‘Paradise Preserved’, published in Wild Tomato Magazine. Carol completed our Magazine Journalism course at the beginning of this year.
Johlene Hazel completed the Write a Novel course with Fiona Ingram. She has entered her novel into the Readers’ Favourite: Book Awards.
Jolene recently wrote to us:
‘I can’t say enough good things about Fiona Ingram. She has been an extraordinary tutor and mentor. I’m so grateful to have started my journey as an author with her. Not only is she meticulous in her work but she cares about her students. She goes the extra mile to help them. I wouldn’t have been able to write my first book without her.‘
Carol Matthews had her article ‘The case for one child: Would you be happier with just one kid?’ published in Canvas. She completed our Magazine Journalism course.
Fiona Miller published an article in Idealog Magazine about sustainable buildings. She is a graduate of our Magazine Journalism course.
Jeanna Thomson is currently studying our Advanced Magazine Journalism course. She had her story ‘Girls on Film’ published in ‘Weekend Magazine’ in the Herald newspaper.
Omri Hope completed the Write a Novel Course. His debut novel Nights of Sambria and the Wish of Light has been published on Amazon and Smashwords.
Omri wrote: ‘I just wanted to say a big thank you for your college and what it enabled me to do. And to Alex Smith, I want to say I deeply appreciate that you encouraged me to write my entire novel as part of the Novel Writing course. Also, for your guiding hand throughout my chapters, you started me on the journey to be a much better writer. Thank you so much for that. This is the first step of many into the wonderful world of story writing.’
Lesley Sefton, a Writers College graduate, now works as a professional, independent copy-editor. Lesley completed the Copy-Editing and Proofreading Course, as well as Grammar for Writers, which she passed in 2014 with distinction.
Lesley has also successfully completed the Self Publish your e-Book Course, and her book is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Addict-Child-Mothers-Lesley-Sefton-ebook/dp/B0762SYXZ5 as well as in print.
Advanced Magazine Journalism student Rochelle Sewell’s road rage article was the cover story in Your Weekend magazine. It was also inserted in Dom Post, Christchurch Press and Waikato Times papers.
Rochelle also had her story on workplace bullying published in Employment Today magazine. Rochelle also saw her article titled ‘The (Other) Oldest Profession’ published in Little Treasures Magazine.
Robyn Cotton is a graduate of the Write a Novel Course in New Zealand. Her book A Skylark Flies was released by DayStar Books.
James Collins completed the Scriptwriting Course with Karen Jeynes. His script ‘Red Handed’ that he wrote on the course has been shortlisted in the London Greek Film Festival.
Michelle Dsouza, a graduate of the Basics of Feature Writing Course, has had an article published by Little Treasures Magazine. She wrote: ‘Just wanted to let you know that my article got published! …They’ve titled it, “The Great Dummy Debate”. This course was amazing. I loved doing it.’
Katrina Tikey’s article “Holidaying with four-legged friends” has been published in The Motor Caravanner magazine. Katrina completed the Freelance Journalism Course.
Kathy Servian self published her first novel ‘Peak Hill‘ under the name KA Servian on Amazon in September 2016 and her second novel is in final editing, hopefully ready to be published in February. Kathy completed the Basics and Advanced Creative Writing Courses with us in 2015/16.
Well done Kathy!
Glenn McGoldrick won third place in the Bookers Corner Writing Competition. Glenn has had numerous publishing successes since being a student on the Writing Short Stories for Magazines Course.
Most recently, one of Glenn’s stories was accepted by Scribble in the UK, one of the few magazines in the UK devoted entirely to short stories. A real feather in his literary cap!
Adam Butchart is a graduate of the Magazine Journalism Course at The Writers College. He has been writing articles for Villainesse.com.
Congratulations to Louis Wiid for having his first novel, Submerged, published by an imprint of Jacana Media. Louis completed our Write a Novel course under Alex Smith.
Sophie Wong completed the Magazine Journalism Course at NZ Writers College. Her excellent article on Empty Nest Syndrome was published by Parenting Magazine.
Marie Ashdown completed the Magazine Journalism Course at NZ Writers College. Her heart-warming story was published in Irish Central, a New York based online publication. Irish Central has a monthly readership of 3.5 million and over 450,000 ‘likes’ on their Facebook page.
Michelle Peart, a past student on the Write a Novel Course in New Zealand, had a 10 000 word story accepted for publication, as well as a second story commissioned.
Pattie Pegler studied Magazine Journalism. Her article on anger management was accepted for publication by Next magazine.
Moira Smart completed the Travel Writing Course and her article on Namibia was published in the Sunday Times Travel.
Christi Smit self-published his novel Gamma Nine on Smashwords. Christi is a graduate of the Basics of Creative Writing Course at The Writers College, the Copy-editing and Proofreading Course, and the Grammar for Writers Course.
Monique Reymer, who is currently studying on the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course, has had a story accepted for publication by Mindfood magazine, a prestigious lifestyle magazine in New Zealand and Australia.
Hayley Barrett completed the Novel and Advanced Novel Courses in 2014. Her second novel, A Silhouette in the Night, has been accepted by Double Dragon Publishing for publication in September.
Helen Glenny has had two articles accepted for publication following her completion of the Magazine Journalism Course. She has just been offered a job as the health writer for the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation. Well done Helen!
Lucy Hodgson, a student on the Advanced Write a Novel Course, was published in North & South Magazine. She won the reader’s word competition for her piece ‘Hymn to Homonyms’.
Emma Richardson’s excellent story ‘The Forgotten Species: Why We Need Seaweed’ was published in Forest and Bird magazine. Emma completed the Magazine Journalism Course at the Writers College.
Well done to Megan Otto who recently completed our Magazine Journalism course. Megan’s article “Sit, Stay talk” from the SPCA’s ‘Animals’ Voice‘ is being published in the Nov/Summer edition.
Excellent news from one of our graduates of the Writers College Travel Writing Course. Moira Swart won the competition ‘Readers World’ in the Travel Weekly supplement in the Sunday Times.
Well done to Megan Frith – a graduate of the Writers College Short Story Course and our Novel Writing Course. Her short story ‘Scars‘ came first in the 2014 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition. She went on to place third in the 2015 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition for her short story titled ‘Till Death‘.
Most recently, two of her stories were published in Horizons 2 – an anthology compiled by the Top of the South branch of NZ Society of Authors
Well done to Megan Frith – a graduate of the Writers College Short Story Course and our Novel Writing Course. Her short story ‘Scars‘ came first in the 2014 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition. She went on to place third in the 2015 Page & Blackmore Short Story Competition for her short story titled ‘Till Death‘.
Most recently, two of her stories were published in Horizons 2 – an anthology compiled by the Top of the South branch of NZ Society of Authors
Helen Glenny’s article “Redesigning the Ageing Brain”, was published in Living Well magazine. Helen is a graduate of the Magazine Journalism Course at the Writers College.
Nicky Wilton had her story ‘Agents of Change‘ published in the March/ April edition of The Big Issue. Nicky studied under Hayley Leibowitz on the Magazine Journalism course.
Pravina Maharaj had a short story called ‘The Wrong Mr. Right ‘ published in You magazine. She completed the ‘Write a Novel’ course with SA Writers College.
Suzanne Main completed the Basics of Creative Writing course with us back in 2012. She contacted us with an update on her writing success.
‘My book, How I Alienated my Grandma, is officially being launched on 29 March at the Storylines Award Presentation in Auckland as it was the 2014 winner of the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon award.
You can see the book on Scholastic’s new release page: http://www.scholastic.co.nz/publishing/newreleases.php
There is also an author feature on Scholastic’s website here: http://www.scholastic.co.nz/publishing/author/index.php
‘How I Alienated my Grandma’ is already available in paperback in many New Zealand bookstores (such as the independents, Whitcoulls, PaperPlus and the Warehouse). It will also be on sale in Australia from April.
I remain very grateful for the training I received from Helen Brain.
All the best,
Suzanne Main ‘
Ishara Maharaj completed the Write a Novel Course with Alex Smith at the Writers College. Her novel was accepted for publication by Modjaji Press. Congratulations Ishara.
Bronwyn King completed the Short Story Course in 2008 with Ginny Swart, and also signed up for the Novel Course. She now works as a freelance editor and journalist at Gazelle Editing and has clients such as the National Arts Council and Anglo American.
Bronwyn says: ‘It takes time; you have to be patient and really persevere. I am really proud of what I have done even though it took so long. I am actually making a living from my writing now. ‘
Fady Zaki completed the Magazine Journalism Course at the Writers College. His article was accepted for publication by Spasifik magazine.
Carl Beck completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2013. His article was accepted for publication in Idealog Magazine.
Zelda Fourie completed the Writing for the Web Course. She now writes articles for Caxton Publishers for East Rand and online.
Ansie van der Walt completed the Copy-editing and Proofreading Course and the Magazine Journalism Course at The Writers College. She was accepted as an associate editor at Katy Mc Devitt Editorial Services. Ansie has also created an excellent author platform online to showcase her published articles. Find her here: http://www.ansievanderwalt.com/
Trish Nicholson, a former Short Story Course graduate, keeps notching up the successes on the writing front. Congratulations on her latest book out, From Apes to Apps, published by Collca.
Before this, Trish won first prize in the Flash500 competition, after four stories were shortlisted during the year. She won first prize in the ‘shorter story’ at Winchester Writers Conference UK as well as runner up in the ‘short story ‘ category. Two of her stories were commended in the South Island Writers Association competition.
Trish has been concentrating on her writing and it’s paying off! She was commissioned to write a series of bite-sized travel books for Collca.
She also submitted a proposal for a book to two literary agents who both requested sample chapters, Trish now has a new book out on Amazon: Inside Stories for Writers and Readers. Writers, you’ll enjoy this one as it’s packed with writing tips and analyses.
A finalist in both the HE Bates UK competition and the Neil Gunn UK competition, Trish is one of our most successful creative writing graduates yet. Read some writing advice from Trish here
Elizabeth Robbertze was runner-up in the Readers Digest ‘100-Word Story Competion’. Her work was published in that year’s April Edition. Well done Liz!
Liz also wrote an article about the Comrades Marathon in the online magazine Durban Zone, called ‘Those were days, my Comrades’.
Janet Hart completed the Magazine Journalism Course in May 2012. Since then she has had a number of articles published on the website Kiwiboomers. The Nelson, Marlborough lifestyle magazine WildTomato published one of her articles, and more recently Canterbury’s lifestyle magazine Latitude published another. The Kiwi historical magazine Memories has just accepted an article for their early 2014 edition.
Christine Wardle completed the Write a Novel and Advanced Write a Novel Course, studying with Sonny Whitelaw. Her novel Beneath the Perfect World was accepted for publication by Oceanbooks.
Sheritha Singh completed the ‘Write a Book for Children Course’ with the Writers’ College. Her YA novel Cherish has been accepted for publication by Canadian publisher, Breathless Press. Sheritha has also had her short story Witch Apprentice accepted for publication by Breathless Press for their Crimson Anthology.
Trevor Delaney completed the Web Writing Course. He has several blogs; here are two samples of the writing he has done since completing the course:
www.homeherbgardens.wordpress.com
www.chilliesblog.wordpress.com
Esta Chappell completed the Magazine Journalism Course with Sarah Lang as her tutor. Her article about taxonomy titled ‘What’s in a Name?’ was published in Good magazine.
Susan Green is a graduate of the Introduction to Poetry Course, working with Owen Bullock. She sent five poems to Blackmail Press, an NZ online journal, and they accepted all five for publication. Well done Susan.
Aaron Ure won our 2011 NZ Writers College Short Story Competition. His story ‘Regrets’ was a finalist in the Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers 2013 – Best Short Story written in English. Congratulations Aaron.
Ayesha Ally, who completed the Short Stories for Magazines Course, had a story published in ALI – an e-zine for the Ido language.
While on her fifth assignment in the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course, she had her stories published as serials in a publication called The Phoenix Pulse. She now has her own column, called The Phoenix Pen and the first one they are using is her second assignment which she made into a dramatic page-turner.
Tracy Brooks completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2012, and sent us an update. She had an article on artist Tamar Mason published in Lowveld Living Magazine, an article accepted by Food and Home Magazine on locavores, and another article on locavores accepted by Lowveld Living Magazine. Tracy is responsible for publishing her son’s school newsletter, and has also started two blogs: www.foreverbabies.weebly.com and www.lightlygreen.blogspot.com.
Tracy’s article ‘Grieving the Forever Babies’ was published electronically by Odyssey Magazine.
Belinda Mountain is a graduate of the Magazine Journalism Course. Her beautiful article titled ‘A Mother’s Legacy’ appeared in the May 2012 issue of Woman and Home magazine.
Ann Huston completed our Travel Writing Course in August 2012. Ann had her article ‘You can lead a teenager to a volcano but you can’t make him climb it’ published in the Herald on Sunday. They have also agreed to use another article by her too. The summer edition of Que will also be publishing her piece about traveling with children.
Eleanor Talbot completed the Literary Short Fiction Course in 2012. She had three stories accepted for publication at three different publications.
Joanne Ganley completed the Advanced Grammar for Writers Course. She was one of six winners in the 2012 Te Papa Tupu Writers competition, supported by Huia publishers. There is a substantial prize package, including a mentor, writing workshops and a trip to Wellington.
Hilary Murray approached us for a manuscript critique in 2011. Writing as Galia Ryan, her first novel Choices was released in October 2012, and two follow-up novels were accepted for publication as well.
Angelique Noll completed the Magazine Journalism Course. She sold articles to the Natural Health Journal, Vrouekeur, two short stories in Vrouekeur, one story to Merise (Australia) and two articles for Merise about immigration.
Nicola Theunissen completed our Travel Writing Course. Her travel article about meeting Gorillas in Rwanda’s national park was published in the Sunday Times Travel section.
Jennifer Copeland completed our Short Story Writing for Magazines Course. She recently had her story called ‘Finding You’ accepted by Allas magazine – a Swedish publication.
Sharon Roberts, who completed our Magazine Journalism course, has sold her first article to Fairlady magazine.
Congratulations to Georgie Chennells who had her first article published in earthworks magazine.
Jolene du Plessis’s article, ‘Sutherland: SALT of the Earth’, was published in Country Life.
Andrea Stitson has had a story accepted by Fitness magazine titled ‘Cycling in Bolivia – the World’s Most Dangerous Road’. This year Andrea also started running creative writing workshops with girls aged 10-12 years and they’re putting together a writing newsletter provisionally titled Story Central. These classes have been so popular that Andrea’s been asked to carry on for ten more workshops in 2012.
Heather Beers completed the Write a Children’s Book Course and had one of her 1000-word assignments published in the US.
Janet Kleyn’s article ‘A butcher’s hook around London’s East End’ is being considered for publication in Travel Ideas Magazine.
Keren Hoy’s piece, entitled ‘Bags of Talent’ was published in the October issue of Indwe, the in-flight magazine for SA Express.
Nicky Pearce’s article ,’Work with your skin, not against it’ has been accepted by Odyssey magazine.
Amanda Bidwell completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2011 and has just had her article on blogging accepted by Her Magazine. Congratulations Amanda!
Zunia Boucher-Myers, a graduate of our Magazine Journalism Course, now writes for a magazine called ‘Alice‘ as their ‘lifestyle/cooking/ features writer.
Canadian student on the Short Story Writing Course Jennifer Copeland has had a story, “Table for Two” accepted by Peoples Friend. It’s notoriously difficult to get fiction accepted by magazines, so a massive congratulations to Jennifer.
Mark Scheepers was the recipient of a bursary from The Writers College in 2010. His play, ‘Sugar Daddies rot your teeth’, was a finalist in the Maskew Millar Longman Youth Literature prize for 2012. It was published as part of an anthology in September of that year.
Andy Evans, who completed the Basics of Creative Writing course and the Literary Short and Flash Fiction course, recently had his first short story, The Wooden Hills, published in Takahé magazine.
Our short story writing student, Kirti Ranchod, was featured looking gorgeous and glam on the cover of O, the Oprah Magazine. She was the winner of the O Magazine Short Story Competition. We are over the moon with her achievement.
Christine Jefferey, who completed our Travel Writing course last year has had her first article accepted for the December issue of Country Life. In the same week she also received the go ahead for an article on down syndrome babies for the Living and Loving magazine (October issue) to coincide with the World Down Syndrome Conference being held in Cape Town. Well done Christine!
Helen Yuretich won the Heartland Short Story Competition – a New Zealand writing competition judged this year by award-winning novelist, William Taylor. Helen completed the Short Story Course with Ginny Swart in 2010.
Widaad Munga, who completed the Short Story Writing Course in 2008, was shortlisted for the Jane Austen Short Story Award in the UK.
Heather Beers, who completed the Write a Children’s Book Course, had a children’s short story published at www.knowonder.com. Read her story here
Heather also sold a children’s story to an online magazine (www.bumples.com) – her first sale in writing.
Belinda Mountain is a graduate of the Magazine Journalism Course. Her beautiful article titled ‘A Mother’s Legacy’ appeared in the May 2012 issue of Woman and Home magazine.
Chelsea Haith, a graduate of the Basics of Creative Writing for High School Students, is currently in her last year of school. She has written (and is directing) a play called ‘The Punishment’, being performed at the Wits Theatre on 28 May. Congratulations Chelsea!
Michelle Nothling, on the Advanced Magazine Journalism Course, had a seven-page feature article on human trafficking published in The Big Issue – a superb achievement.
Jackie Clarke completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2011. Her article called ‘Striking a Pose’ appeared in the May issue of Good Magazine. Well done Jackie!
Emma Gatman, a recent graduate of our Magazine Journalism Course, recently had an article published for Crossfit Games, an online webzine, and an offer for further work from the editor there (always a good thing!).
Elsa van Nieuwenhuyzen received an offer for publication of a picture book she started to write during the ‘Write a Children’s Book’ course. The publishers are Ilitha Publishers.
Tanya Laubscher has completed several of our courses over the years and is now a regular writer for Triathlete SA.
Jo Hedges completed our Magazine Course a while back and was approached by the PnP in-house magazine Travel Ideas to write an editorial for them.
Shortly after completing the Magazine Journalism Jo’s article was accepted by Quad and Outdoor Adventure SA.
Read a short interview with Jo here.
Madi Hanekom completed the Magazine Journalism Course in November 2010. Her article on Kakamas has been sold to County Life for the October 2010 issue. She has also had a travel article accepted for Beeld Naweek and a food-related piece for the Sunday Times Travel & Food Supplement.
Rosanne Turner completed the Travel Writing Course back in 2008. She recently updated us with some of her latest work. Rosanne was commissioned to write a feature article for the Holland Herald (Inflight magazine for KLM) She has two articles published in the June edition of Explore SA. Rosanne had her article on Margot Janse, chef at Le Quartier Francais in Morning Calm, Air Korea’s in flight magazine.
Rosanne also writes articles for the website www.travelintelligence.com.
Shannon Hunt completed the Advanced Course in Magazine Journalism. She had one article published in Cafe Magazine, and one in NZ House & Garden Magazine.
Karen Taylor-Vermaak’s article, “Carbs”, was published in the Fitness Magazine May/June edition.
Adriaan Odendaal’s article on Malmesbury was published in in Country Life for their November 2009 issue.
Angela Horn’s article, “The Upside of Downsizing”, was published by O, the Oprah Magazine for their November issue.
Melina van Scharrenburg had her 2009 article about high-fliers using cocaine to become super-achievers accepted for publication in Men’s Health.
Benito Vergotine’s piece on immigrants, “Home is where the Heart is” was accepted for publication by The Big Issue.
Shannon Willis had her humour column – “Riempie Chair Girl” – published in Fairlady, 2008.
Corrie Bridgman has had several articles published. She completed the Magazine Journalism Course (2006), The Advanced Course in Magazine Journalism (2007) and the Travel Writing Course (2007).
Her article, “How Do You Spell Suicide?” was published in Fairlady. “Separation Anxiety” and “Helicopter Parents” were published in O, The Oprah Magazine.
She has written many features for Men’s Health, and has been published in Diversions, Wine Magazine and Garden & Home, among other magazines.
Christo Valentyn graduated in 2007. He sent an update: ‘In terms of journalism I’ve been fortunate to have written (and published) no less than 17 features.
However, the successes of 2008 lie in other achievements within the framework of freelance journalism, as well as in the expansion of the services on offer to include graphic design and photography. I’m also dusting off some of my other interests, and have decided to broaden the scope of subjects I write about – if I could be published in Cosmopolitan once (thanks to Karin’s masterful tutoring), why not again?