Masterclass on Reading and Writing the Queer Self
Presented as part of The Writer’s Process writers’ development program
This ten week online course with George Haddad is for LGBTQIA+ writers seeking professional development and mentoring.
Each week, eight participants will read, analyse and discuss extracts from work composed by exceptional queer writers across a variety of genres and forms including memoir, poetry and fiction. In light of the close readings, participants will be set an exercise to complete and workshop their writing during our meeting.
Throughout the course, writers will develop a longer piece, which could be a text they have already been working on, or inspired by the weekly exercises, to showcase during our final meeting. In the lead-up to the showcase, George will work closely with each participant to provide one-on-one feedback and detailed edits.
The course will also feature two Q&A sessions from award-winning writers Jazz Money and Yves Rees, as well as a publishing talk by co-founder of the Stella Prize and UQP publisher, Aviva Tuffield.
Course Outline
Week 1: Introduction to the course
Our first meeting will cover the overview and aims of the course and discuss what writers expect from it. We will also talk about our writing and reading experiences, analyse the set texts and complete a writing exercise.
Week 2: It all starts with poetry
Writers will be encouraged to discuss how brevity in good poetry can tell a deep and impactful story. What elements of poetry are we comfortable or uncomfortable with? Can we use poetry as a steppingstone to better prose and vice versa. After analysing the poems set for reading, participants will complete a writing exercise and workshop.
Week 3: Found words
This week we will be looking at some experimental memoir texts that play with form and test the boundaries of what we consider to be literature. After discussing the readings, writers will complete a writing exercise and workshop.
Week 4: Autofiction
When does a text become autofiction? When does autofiction become plain fiction? How can we use our own experiences as a starting point for interesting and engaging narratives? After discussing the set readings, writers will complete a writing exercise and workshop.
Week 5: Back to basics
After a few weeks playing with words, forms and textures, it's now time to return to convention. Why does the traditional short memoir form hold up so well? What is it about the structure that readers find compelling? Using the short memoir texts set for reading as an example, writers will spend time on a writing exercise and workshop.
Week 6: It's up to you!
This week, after analysing the set readings, writers will deliver a short presentation about a text that has impacted or inspired them in some way.
Week 7: Our place
How have we, as queer bodies, encountered place? Our homes, suburbs, workplaces, the world - how have they shaped us and how do we change their shapes too? After our regular discussion of the set texts, participants will write and workshop a piece of writing that responds to the conversation.
Week 8: Personal essay
Why has the personal essay form endured? What makes a good personal essay and how do you go about writing one? After analysing the essays set for reading, writers will complete an exercise and workshop.
Week 9: Publisher talk and one-on-one sessions
Aviva Tuffield, Australian publisher extraordinaire, will be joining us for a chat about all things publishing and editing. One-on-one sessions will also take place with George for guidance around the piece of writing you will present to the class in week 10.
Week 10: Writers' showcase
The culmination of our time together. Get ready to read, listen and praise one another as each writer presents their work.
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 your peers, and the balance in the group.
Course fees are $995. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront.
Feel free to call 02 4782 5674 or email amy@varuna.com.au to discuss your application.
Important Dates
This program will start on the week beginning September 5, and lessons will be in two-hour blocks, once a week, via Zoom. The Zoom sessions will take place on Tuesdays from 4 pm to 6 pm (AEST), with the first session taking place on Tuesday 6 September. The writing platform WetInk will be used for sharing work and extended discussion.
*Please let us know if you’re interested in this program but the time of the sessions doesn’t work for you. It may be possible to offer a similar program in the future.
For information on how to apply please contact amy@varuna.com.au.
George Haddad
About George
George Haddad is a writer and artist practicing on Gadigal land whose work explores identity and the limitations of language. In 2016 he won the Viva la Novella prize for Populate and Perish and in 2018 he won the Neilma Sidney prize for his short story Kátharsis. His novel Losing Face was published by UQP in May 2022. Haddad is a doctoral candidate and sessional tutor at the Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University.
Yves Rees
Photo credit: Susan Papazian
About Yves
Dr Yves Rees (they/them) is a writer and historian based on unceded Wurundjeri land. They are a Lecturer in History at La Trobe University, the co-host of Archive Fever history podcast, and the author of All About Yves: Notes from a Transition (Allen & Unwin, 2021). Rees was awarded the 2020 ABR Calibre Essay Prize and a 2021 Varuna Residential Fellowship. Their writing has featured in the Guardian, The Age, Sydney Review of Books, Australian Book Review, Meanjin and Overland, among other publications.
Jazz Money
Photo credit: Kate Geraghty
About Jazz
Jazz Money is a Wiradjuri poet and artist currently based on Gadigal land. Her practice is centred around the written word while producing works that encompass installation, performance, digital, film and print. Jazz’s award-winning debut collection ‘how to make a basket’ was released in 2021 by University of Queensland Press.
Aviva Tuffield
Aviva Tuffield
Aviva has worked in Australian publishing for twenty years, and is currently the Adult Publisher at UQP. She has previously worked at Black Inc, Affirm Press and Scribe Publications, and was a co-founder and the inaugural executive director of the Stella Prize. At UQP she is proud to work with many prize-winning authors, including Tony Birch, Ellen van Neerven, Mirandi Riwoe, Evelyn Araluen, Laura Elvery and Melissa Manning.