Teen writing boot camps

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!

Explore tips, advice and reflections from the accomplished and diverse authors who hosted our Teen writing boot camp creative crash courses in March, April and May 2021.

• Slam poetry with Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa (March)
• Screen writing with Nova Weetman (March)
• Science writing with Alicia Sometimes (April)
• Non-fiction writing Zoya Patel (April)
• Own voices with Nevo Zisin (May)
• Contemporary fiction with Dr Jared Thomas (May)

All boot camps were open to teens aged 13 to 18 years old from all around Australia.

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

Catch up on the information session for Own voices with Nevo Zisin and Non-fiction writing with Zoya Patel, moderated by Imogen Piening.

Alicia Sometimes and Jared Thomas share everything you want to know about their upcoming science-writing and contemporary fiction boot camps. This info session is moderated by Yanan Chai and Fred Davis.

Catch up on our info session with Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa and Nova Weetman for everything you want to know about the Slam poetry and Screenwriting boot camps.

Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa is a playwright, poet and screenwriter. Her passion for storytelling and authentic representation has led her to compete in the Australian Poetry Slam Competition (2014) as a finalist, perform on Australia’s Got Talent (2016) as a semi-finalist and speak at TedxUWA (2017) as well as TedxNewtown (2019).

She has performed with notable artists such as Missy Higgins and L-FRESH the Lion, and her poetry and community arts projects have led her to tour globally and across her nation. In 2019, Sukhjit premiered her debut theatre show, Fully Sikh, with Barking Gecko Theatre Company and Black Swan Theatre Company.

Sukhjit is currently developing two TV projects: What would Suki do? is a dramedy series based on her childhood and has received funding and support from Screenwest and ABC, and her rom-com One of the good ones is being developed through US accelerator program Imagine Impact.

• Discover more about Sukhjit on her facebook page
• Find out more about Sukhjit's slam poetry writing boot camp

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
• Find out more about Nova's screenwriting boot camp

Dr Jared Thomas is a Nukunu person of the Southern Flinders Ranges. 

He is the Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Material Cultural at the South Australian Museum and an international award-winning author.

• Discover more about Jared
• Find out more about Jared's contemporary fiction writing boot camp

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
• Find out more about Alicia's science-writing boot camp

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 upcoming The pronoun lowdown set for a March 2021 release. 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
• Find out more about Nevo's 'Own voices' writing boot camp

Zoya Patel is a writer, editor and communications professional based in Canberra. Her debut book, No country woman, a collection of memoir essays on race, identity and the diaspora is out now through Hachette Australia.

In 2015, Zoya was named ACT Young Woman of the Year for her commitment to raising the profile of women’s voices in the media. She is the founder and editor of Feminartsy, an online feminist arts and literature journal, and is the former Editor-in-Chief of Lip magazine.

She has written for a number of publications including The Canberra Times, Right now, Junkee, Women’s agenda and more.

• Discover more about Zoya
• Find out more about Zoya's non-fiction-writing boot camp