Teen Writing Bootcamps

Do you have a notebook full of script ideas? Have you dreamed of becoming a successful editor or been intrigued by the world of slam poetry?

Chase your passion and develop your skills with these digital resources, designed for budding writers of all backgrounds and levels!

The Teen Writing Bootcamps run from March to June each year. All Bootcamps are open to teens aged 13 to 18 years old from all around Australia. They are free to attend but require consent from a parent or guardian.

Don’t miss your opportunity to strengthen your creative muscles, by discovering past workshops and author insights below.

This session talks about contemporary fiction with Emily Gale and own voices writing with Nevo Zisin, moderated by Catalina Cox. 

This session talks about science writing with Alicia Sometimes and screen writing with Nova Weetman, moderated by Imogen Piening.

This session talks about slam poetry with Maxine Beneba Clarke and non-fiction/journalism with Leah Jing McIntosh, moderated by Yanan Chai.

At the Library’s Teen Writing Bootcamp from May-June 2022, writer Leah Jing McIntosh explored the art of non-fiction writing with a group of talented young teens.

View Leah's tips and reflections from the bootcamps.

From late April through to mid-May 2022, writer, poet and broadcaster Alicia Sometimes explored the art of science writing with a group of talented young teens in her Teen Writing Bootcamp classes.

View Alicia's tips and reflections from the workshops.

At the Library's Teen Writing Bootcamp in March 2022, writer, performer and activist Nevo Zisin taught teens how to find their own voice and write with authenticity.

View their tips and reflections from the workshops.

At the Library's Teen Writing Bootcamp in March 2022, writer Emily Gale explored the art of contemporary fiction writing with a group of talented young teens.

View Emily's tips and reflections from the workshops.

At the Library’s Teen Writing Bootcamp in late April through to May 2022, writer Nova Weetman explored the art of screenwriting with a group of talented young teens.

View Nova's tips and reflections from the bootcamps.

So you’ve completed one of State Library Victoria’s teen writing boot camps. What’s next for you and your writing?

Check out our great list of resources highlighting opportunities for further learning, places and platforms to publish your work, writing prizes and fellowships, and other avenues to explore as you take your next, brave steps as a writer. Go for it!

Nova Weetman’s prose has appeared in literary magazines including Kill Your Darlings, Island, Tirra Lirra, Wet Ink, Mslexia, and Overland.

She has written for the children’s TV series Pixel Pinkie and Buzz Bumble. She also wrote the short films Ripples and Mr Wasinski’s song, for which she received an AWGIE nomination for best short screenplay, as well as the Best Short Film Award from the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Nova has published three middle-grade novels, including The secrets we keep in 2016. Everything is changed is her third YA novel. Her first, The haunting of Lily Frost, was shortlisted in the 2014 Aurealis Awards for Best Young Adult Novel.

• discover more about Nova

Alicia Sometimes is a writer, poet and broadcaster. She regularly appears on ABC Radio talking books and culture and is often touring with her poetry.

She has also appeared on ABC TV’s Sunday Arts, News Breakfast, Recovery and SBS’s Nomad program.

Alicia was a 2014 Fellow at State Library Victoria and writer and director of the science-poetry show, Elemental, that toured extensively in planetariums around the world.

• discover more about Alicia

Nevo Zisin (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, Jewish writer, performer, activist and public speaker based in Naarm/Birraranga/Melbourne. They run workshops in schools and professional development trainings in workplaces around transgender identities.

Nevo is the author of award-winning Finding Nevo, a memoir on gender transition, and The pronoun lowdown. They are a mentor for The Pinnacle Foundation, one of Out for Australia's 30 Under 30 for 2019, an ambassador for both Wear It Purple and the Victorian Pride Centre as well as a member of the Gender Euphoria cast – Australia's largest all trans and gender-diverse show on a main stage.

• discover more about Nevo

Leah Jing McIntosh is the founding editor of Liminal. Since 2017, Leah has published art, writing and interviews by and for Asian-Australian artists. She has founded national literary prizes for minoritised writers and co-edited Collisions, a collection of fiction by First Nations writers and Writers of Colour. 

• discover more about Leah

Maxine Beneba Clarke is the author of ten books for adults and children, including the short fiction collection Foreign soil, the memoir The hate race, and the poetry collections Carrying the world. Poetry is her first love. 

Emily Gale has worked in the book industry for over twenty years in various roles, including editor, book buyer, consultant to a literary agent, and writer-in-residence in a high school. Her work includes the junior fiction Eliza Boom, middle-grade novels The other side of summer and Elsewhere girls (co-written with Nova Weetman), and the YA novels Girl, Aloud, Steal my sunshine, and I am out with lanterns.

• discover more about Emily

International award-winning Nukunu author Dr Jared Thomas discusses the basics of writing contemporary fiction.

Learn how to inject some creativity to your non-fiction writing with writer and editor Zoya Patel.

Writer, performer and activist Nevo Zisin shares their tips on writing with authenticity.

Poet, broadcaster and writer Alicia Sometimes shares her thoughts on the art of science writing after her Teen writing boot camp in April.

Learn the basic principles of opinion writing from writer and editor Zoya Patel.

Poet Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa calls on teens to write from the heart in this blog post about her slam poetry workshop, held in March 2021 as part of the Teen writing boot camp.

Writer and editor Zoya Patel shares her three top tips for writing feature articles.

Screenwriter and LoveOzYA author Nova Weetman shares screenwriting tips and reflections from her boot camp.

Writer and editor Zoya Patel shares her musings after the first of her four non-fiction writing boot camp sessions during April 2021.

This program has been made possible with the generosity of Serp Hills Foundation and The JTM Foundation.