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The Writing Zone

The Writing Zone is a mentoring program for emerging writers and arts workers from Western Sydney.

The program is designed to help young writers from Western Sydney to tell their stories, polish their craft, publish their work, and build creative communities. It also offers employment and project management opportunities to emerging arts workers from the Greater Western Sydney region.

The Writing Zone is hosted by the Writing & Society Research Centre and the workshop program runs for 3 years (2020-2022). Twelve places are offered each year to young writers at different stages of their careers who want to develop their practice alongside other creative writers.

The Writing Zone is built around regular writing workshops that are guided by author-mentors and industry professionals. Skills nurtured include how to pitch and refine creative work for publication; how to survive as a public artist; how to work with editors and publishers; how to build a sustainable creative practice; working in community with others; and how to safely navigate online environments.

While in The Writing Zone, writers publish their work in two books emerging from the program and experience mentoring sessions with SBS Voices, Giramondo Publishing and the Sydney Review of Books. TWZ writers also participate in a 2-day intensive Writing Circle event – a mini-festival in which they work with their author-mentors and give public performances of their work.

The Writing Zone is supported by the 2019 Western Sydney Arts Education Initiative of the Packer Family and Crown Resort Foundations.

A group of writers, mentors, and WSRC staff stand together and smile. The shot is full length, and many of the people in the front row hold a copy of Twice as Many Stars.

Writers at the 2023 PHIVE (Parramatta) launch of Twice as Many Stars by The Writing Zone 2022. Left to right: Sheila Ngoc Pham, Kate Fagan, Sarah Carroll, Jasmyne Marahuyo, H. May Oxley, Mary Stanley, Dania Roumieh, Michelle Huynh, Moontana Mohsin, Danny Yazdani, Georgia Chapman, Victor Zhou, Robert Hoang, Melinda Jewell and Iman Etri. Photo by Kyisoe Han.

The Writing Zone gratefully acknowledges the support of the 2019 Western Sydney Arts Education Initiative of the Packer Family and Crown Resort Foundations, and the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University. We are delighted to partner with SBS Voices, the Sydney Review of Books and Giramondo Publishing.