Please book for the Workshop and/or Literary Event
by Monday 9 November.
Creative Writing Workshop
(in person only)
Please note starting time is 10:00 am!
Time: 10:00 am to 11:45 pm
Place: Michael Crouch Room, State Library of NSW
Cost: Members $40, non-members $55
Elisabeth Storrs: The Telling Detail: Transforming Research into Compelling Fiction
How do you merge inspiration, obsession and craft? Historical research can be the genesis for inspiration for your book but also form the basis for the individual components of a novel including plot, dialogue, characterisation and sense of place.
In this workshop, you’ll gain insights into using research to identify ‘telling details’ that bring immediacy to your writing and avoid ‘history showing through’ to the detriment of pace and narrative flow.
The course is useful for those planning to write an historical novel but will be most beneficial for writers who have already commenced their book.
Elisabeth Storrs is the author of the A Tale of Ancient Rome trilogy which was endorsed by international novelists Ursula Le Guin, Ben Kane and Kate Quinn. Her most recent novel, Fables & Lies, endorsed by Kate Forsyth, is set in WW2 about the Aryan myth, crazy Nazi archaeology and the race to save Priam’s Treasure in the fall of Berlin. Elisabeth is also the founder of the Historical Novel Society Australasia and a former Deputy Chair of Writing NSW.
Literary Event
(in person and via Zoom)
Time: 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Place: Michael Crouch Room, State Library of NSW
Cost: Members $25, non-members $40
Presentation of Members’ Book Awards 2026
We are thrilled with the variety and quality of books created and submitted by our members. Come along and find out first-hand the winners, hghly commended and commended from the shortlisted entries below. Talk to these amazing authors and learn how they transformed their ideas into such wonderful books.
Fiction – Judge: Margaret Wick
The Body at Bones ♦ Jude Chapman
Turnabouts ♦ Helen Lyne
Murder and Masquerade ♦ Catherine McCullagh
Foreign Attachments ♦ Roslyn McFarland
Louisa ♦ Gwen Wilson
The Girl who Climbed on Rooves ♦ Sue Woolfe
Non-Fiction – Judge: Carmel Bendon
The Steering Wheel ♦ Caroline Anne Butt
Bounty ♦ Elizabeth Lancaster
Raven Mother ♦ Jane Messer
Poetry – Judge: Marcelle Freiman
Seang (Hungering) ♦ Anne Casey
Landfall in New Zealand ♦ Pip Griffin
Through a Glass Darkly ♦ Libby Hathorn
On Wonder ♦ Vanessa Proctor
Barefoot Poetess ♦ Paris Rosemont
Precipice ♦ Julie Thorndyke
Children and Young Adult – Judge: Gail Erskine
Guess How I Was Born ♦ Susanne Gervay
Parrot Palace ♦ Susanne Gervay
Seeking Treasure with Bodhi ♦ Karen Hendriks
Vesper Jones and Marshmallow ♦ Karen Hendriks
Book and pay:
Members, you can book for yourself and a friend at member pricing, if purchased at the same time.
NEW for members – you can attend the Literary Event (not the Workshop) in your birthday month at no cost. Simply book via TryBooking and select the Birthday Month option. January birthdays (when there is no meeting) may attend free of charge in February.
Workshop (in person only): Members $40, non-members $55
If you have a Workshop Voucher, please email Pippa, Workshop Coordinator, to advise your intention to attend.
Literary Event (in person): Members $25, non-members $40
Discount for full program (Workshop and Literary Event) when booked together: Members $60, non-members $85
By Credit card: https://www.trybooking.com/DPNAX
or by Direct debit - if you wish to pay via Direct Debit, and have not previously paid The Society in this way, please email Membership Secretary to receive the details.
Literary Event via Zoom: Members $10, non-members $15 – please click here to book: https://www.trybooking.com/DPNBL