Mentoring Opportunity for Young Creative Writers

The Shire of Augusta Margaret River’s RISE (Resilient Innovative Skilled Employed) Program, is calling for creative writers aged 14-18 to enhance their writing and storytelling skills as part of an upcoming Youth Creative Writing Mentorship.

Created as part of a collaboration between the Shire of Augusta Margaret River and the Centre for Stories, the mentorships will see author and creative writing specialist Nicole Sinclair teach young people fun ways to engage readers, refine their storytelling craft and enhance their writing skills for school assessments.

Program mentor Nicole Sinclair’s short fiction and non-fiction has appeared in the Review of Australian Fiction, Westerly, Indigo Journal and Award Winning Australian Writing, and also forms part of the artworks along Busselton Jetty. Her novel Bloodlines was shortlisted for the City of Fremantle 2014 TAG Hungerford Award and she has been a regular on the WA writers’ festival circuit.

Nicole encourages young people to tell their stories and is looking forward to mentoring creative young writers in Margaret River.

“Everyone has a story to tell. I enjoy helping people learn simple ways to craft their narratives… and be brave enough to share them with the world!”, she said.    

The initial workshop for the Youth Creative Writing Mentorship will be held on Saturday 31 July from 10am to 12pm in the Church Gallery at the Margaret River Community Centre. The mentorship will then continue online until 24 September with two, two-hour workshops, weekly writing exercises and feedback via email and Zoom.

Shire RISE Program Coordinator and Community Development Officer Katie Taylor said the partnership with Centre for Stories provided a great avenue for local young people to access and learn from an accomplished author, while providing a direct link to an organisation that shows the power of writing as a career choice.

“With the opportunity to have a piece published in print and online, as well as the chance to read their work at the 2022 Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival, this really is a great opportunity for young people to have their voices heard and to find their writing style and confidence,” she said.

“These workshops are designed to encourage participants to develop their skills in a way that becomes really engrained and we hope young people who love writing but aren’t sure where to start, will really take this opportunity with both hands.”

To make an enquiry or book a place for a Youth Creative Writing Mentorship, please call Community Development Trainee Shannon Walker on 08 9780 5214 or email [email protected].   To find out more about RISE workshops and events, stay tuned to www.amrshire.wa.gov.au/RISE or contact the Shire’s Community Development team by phone 08 9780 5255 or email [email protected].   RISE is proudly supported by Lotterywest through their COVID relief fund.

Author Nicole Sinclair is looking forward to mentoring creative young writers from across the Shire of Augusta Margaret River. High resolution image available here.