The Sum of its Parts – Short Story Collections with Julie Koh
Do you want to conquer the short story and make the leap towards a full-length collection? In this 10-week online course, you’ll learn how to avoid common traps in short-fiction writing and expand your vision when it comes to your own work.
Applications open June 2025
Dates: 6pm – 8pm AEST, Wednesdays 1 October – 3 December 2025
Fees: $1495 or $1400 for Varuna Alumni, negotiable if you cannot pay upfront
Applications close: 5pm AEST, 26 August 2025
Places: 8 participants will be selected
Who should apply: Emerging or established writers are welcome to apply
Delivery: Online
The short story isn’t just a stepping stone for future novelists – it’s a powerful, distinct form that is challenging to master. Join award-winning short-fiction specialist Julie Koh in thinking big about short stories. This 10-week course is designed to help you strengthen the fundamentals that aspiring authors often overlook, hone your approach to revising stories for submission, and work towards writing your own knockout short-story collection. There will be enjoyable in-class exercises, as well as a Q&A with UQP senior editor Ian See.
In this course you will:
Learn how to think like a seasoned short-fiction writer
Get an insider’s view on revising individual stories for submission
Develop a short story and workshop it with Julie and your peers
Apply a critical lens to a selection of short-story collections
Hear a highly experienced editor speak on his approach to editing and publishing collections
Explore directions for your own full-length manuscript
Develop strategies for navigating the path ahead
PROGRAM OUTLINE
1 October Session 1: What’s the big idea?
Developing ideas
Nailing openings
Getting a grip on structure and plot
8 October Session 2: Mastering the mechanics I
Enhancing characterisation, conflict, setting and world-building in a short-story context
15 October Session 3: Mastering the mechanics II
Improving dialogue and endings
Refining your unique style, voice and overall approach to the short story
22 October Session 4: Kicking stories into shape
Learning techniques for revising individual stories before submission
Sharpening your skills in working with different editors
29 October Session 5: Making moves
Exploring possibilities for your short-story collection
Concept, theme, structure and order
5 November Session 6: Spotlight on collections I
Drawing inspiration from a selection of published collections
12 November Session 7: Spotlight on collections II
Drawing further inspiration from published collections
19 November Session 8: Applying a critical lens
Assessing examples of published collections
26 November Session 9: Getting published
Gaining valuable insights into finding a publisher and working with an editor on your collection
This session will include a Q&A with senior UQP editor Ian See
3 December Session 10: The path ahead
Discussing how to build resilience as a short-story writer
Navigating the journey towards and beyond publication
ABOUT JULIE KOH
Julie Koh is the author of two short-story collections: Capital Misfits and Portable Curiosities. The latter was shortlisted for several literary awards and led to Julie being named a 2017 Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist. Her short fiction has been published in ten countries and she has represented Australian literature internationally at the invitation of the Australian Embassy in Beijing and the Australian Consulate-General, Chennai. Julie has written radio plays for ABC Radio National and the libretto for the opera Chop Chef. She has been a peer assessor for Creative Australia, a reader for the Oxbelly Fiction Writers program, and the Prose/Fiction Editor for Westerly. She has guest-lectured at universities in Australia, Singapore and China, and has judged more than a dozen literary awards including the Stella Prize 2018 and the University of Southern Queensland Steele Rudd Award for a Short Story Collection.
ABOUT IAN SEE
Ian See is a senior editor at the University of Queensland Press (UQP). Over his 15-year career in the book industry, he has worked as an editor at Australia's leading independent publishers, including Scribe, Text and UQP. He was production editor and books editor of The Saturday Paper from 2018 to 2021, and was a member of the judging panel for the Stella Prize 2021. He has also worked as a bookseller, and has taught in RMIT’s Professional Writing and Editing program, of which he is a graduate.
HOW TO APPLY
Entry to this course is by application. Writers will be selected based on the creative potential of their work, commitment to craft, openness to collaborating with peers and the balance in the group.
Applications close 5pm (AEST) on Tuesday 26 August 2025.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by 9 September 2025.
Please refer to Varuna’s general submission guidelines for any questions on formatting your work.
Feel free to call 02 4782 5674 or email amy@varuna.com.au to discuss your application.
“Julie is an excellent teacher and an outstanding mentor. Her feedback was always comprehensive, thoughtful, and encouraging. Her advice helped me improve both my craft and my writing practice, and her insights into the literary industry were invaluable for an early career writer like myself. Any writer would be lucky to have Julie as a mentor.”