In other posts I’ve talked about the importance of mutual mentoring and the value of having a writer’s group, somewhere you can go not only to get feedback for your writing but share all the ups and downs of the writing process. This was underlined for me recently as I observed another round of  successes in a group that formed after a year long writer’s course I taught at NSW Writers Centre in 2005( First Page to First Draft).

The Writer’s Dozen have mentored each other through the publication of a number of books mentioned here before, including Margaret Wilcox – Gone, Yvonne Louis – A Brush With Mondrian, Bridget Mckern’s Living The Journey,  as well as publishing their own collection of stories, Better Than Chocolate.  Recent additions to their list are Monique McDonell’s Mr Right And Other Mongrels which came out in May and Pamela Cook’s, Blackwattle Lake (Hachette) which will launch in December. Monique and Pamela were both selected for the QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program. Terri Green and Angella Whitton and Jules Jones were all major prize winners in The Womens Weekly Short Story Competition. Terri was also a prize winner in The Commonwealth Writers Prize and Angella has been published in a number of literary journals and anthologies. This group is a great example of the what is possible when you have the support and encouragement of writing friends. Seven years on The Writer’s Dozen has shrunk to a half dozen but as you can see, is still going strong. It is a credit to their persistence and tenacity – two of the most important quailities a writer hell bent on publishing must possess – apart from having a good bunch of writing friends!

BOOKING NOW!   Nov:Mekong Meditations, January: Moroccan Caravan. March: Fiji Island Writers Lab.

IN PLANNING 2013:  May: Bookish in Bhutan, Festival and Retreat; June: To The Lighthouse Walk & Write Croajigalong National Park; Nov: Mekong Writers Lab;  Dec: Burmese Temple Tour.

Contact Jan to express interest in any of the above.