Attention all writers!

There are some great opportunities coming up in December for writers to hone their skills. The first is the WritersLINK workshop at Macquarie Regional Library, Dubbo, on Thursday 3 December, from 9.30am- 4.45pm. The workshop lineup includes Trudi Sheppard, an experienced publicist, who will talk about PR and marketing and media release writing. Dr David Reiter will talk about the application of new media in the composing and publishing of text and cross art form works. Kathielyn Job will discuss living and working as a professional artist in regional Australia with a focus on short stories and contemporary poetry. Peter and Pat Dargin will run a session that focusses on children's books, historical biography and family history, and different forms of writing. Paul Stafford, a literacy consultant and author, will cover writing for children and will give hints and tips on the challenges encountered. His latest series of comedy-horror books "Horror High" are published by Random House Australia.

This is a fabulous opportunity to attend a regional writer's workshop, at a cost of only $25 (includes lunch). To register for this workshop you will need to contact Orana Arts, phone 6817 8705, or email Kerry Ellen kellen@oranaarts.com .

The NSW Writer's Centre in Rozelle, Sydney, are running a Masterclass; a Fiction Writing Workshop with Jean Bedford, who is a well-known Australian novelist and short story writer. She has also been a journalist and an in-house or freelance editor for many of Australia's mainstream publishers. She has taught creative writing for over 20 years in most of the universities and writer's centres on Australia's east coast and has been a judge for many prestigious writing awards. She currently lectures in Creative Writing at UTS. The objective of this workshop is to allow participants to focus on their own writing and the work of others, developing critical abilities and skills to bring the work to completion. Benefit from the insight of Jean and other writers, share your experiences and learn from other writer's mistakes. This workshop will be held on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 10am-4pm, at the NSW Writers Centre, Rozelle, and the cost is $250. For more information, call 9555 9757 or visit www.nswwriterscentre.org.au