Local author set to inspire and help budding writers

AWARD-winning local author Dorothy Johnston will run a series of workshops at Barwon Heads Community Library next month that aim to inspire and assist budding writers.

“Winter Tales”, a series of three writer’s workshops, will be held on Sunday June 23, July 21 and August 25.

If you write short stories and would like to develop your craft; or if you want to write stories but have never got around to starting, Ms Johnston’s workshops are designed for you.

The focus will be on encouraging participants to work on their story, or stories, over the winter months, with plenty of time for discussion and feedback.

Ms Johnston is the author of 11 novels, including Through a Camel’s Eye and The Swan Island Connection, the first two books in a sea-change mystery series set in Queenscliff. She has twice been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award.

Her short stories have been published in Australian newspapers and journals, including The Canberra Times, HEAT, Meanjin and Island.

Her stories have appeared in the following anthologies: The State of the Art, Canberra Tales, Motherlove (1), Below the Water Line, Best Australian  Stories in 2008 and 2009, Best Australian Stories A Ten-Year Collection 2011, The Invisible Thread, and A Hundred Years of Words, 2012.

The workshops will be held at the Barwon Heads Library, Golf Links Road Barwon Heads, from 2pm to 4pm.

The cost for the three workshops is $65 and participants should book for all of them, as the idea is to give everyone a chance to develop their writing over time.

The age range is 10 years and older and there will be an upper limit of 15 participants, so early bookings are encouraged.

The workshops are a joint project of the Friends of the Barwon Heads Community Library and the Barwon Heads Arts Council.

For more information and bookings, please phone Ms Johnston on 5255 3188 or 0477 664 456, or contact her by email at [email protected].

The Barwon Heads library continues to flourish with a sustained increase in memberships over the last two years.