Stories are meaning-making ✨
Your latest update from Words of a Feather 🍃
What an amazing week we have had with young writers at the studio these school holidays. We imagined inanimate objects coming to life, dreamed of meeting (or being) mythical creatures, explored what happens when technology meets nature, fell down rabbit holes, and met our ideas and characters with wonder and empathy. We planned, wrote, discussed, and shared. Games were played. New friends were made. Of course, many stories were written!
A highlight for me was asking the questions, ‘Where do stories come from? What would a world with no stories look like?’ and witnessing the shared realisation that the world is made of stories.
We are made of stories.
Stories give our experience of life meaning.
In our workshops, in our days, and on the page, we are creating stories every moment.
It is a wonderful and powerful thing.
Whatever you are up to this mid-winter (or mid-summer, depending where you are!), I hope you have the chance to bask in the story you are in - to see the part of the journey you are moving through, and to imagine your next chapters in a way that lights you up.
As always, we have lots coming up for both children, teens, and adults over here at Words of a Feather. Have a look below - and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, please always feel free to ask!
We look forward to writing with you again soon.
P.S. If you have joined us recently and are happy to leave us a Google Review, we would be so appreciative. Each one helps us to reach more people who would benefit from our programs, and also helps us to continue doing what we do! Thank you so much 💗
Coming up…🍃
📚 Winter Creativity Picnic
Sunday 13 July, 10am - 1pm - Southbank
Join us for a cosy, indoor Creativity Picnic, co-hosted by Words of a Feather & The Provocative Inklings. All creatives and creativities are welcome! Bring your writing, sketchbooks, watercolours, colouring books, knitting, crafts, or books to read - however you’d like to spend a peaceful, creative morning together! Afterwards, we’ll share a ‘picnic’ in the café area.
Creativity Picnics are free. Bookings are essential.
Fully booked ~ Join the waitlist!
✏️ The Storytellers’ Club - Term 3, 2025
Online on Wednesdays from July 23, 4 - 5pm AEST
Enrolments are still open for Term 3! The Storytellers’ Club is suitable for young writers 8 - 12 years old who are eager to write, learn new skills, and find inspiration in a variety of creative writing prompts and engaging discussions throughout the term. Join us for weekly inspiration and fun - and build your own collection of original writings in the process!
The Storytellers’ Club - Term 3
📖 Teen Writers’ Café - 2025
In partnership with the Greythorn Community Hub, we are now taking expressions of interest for a new Teen Writers’ Café! We are envisioning a monthly small-group gathering of 13-17 year olds, at the hub in Balwyn North, to start around September. Gatherings will involve reading suggestions, prompts, discussions, writing and sharing time.
Do you know a young writer who would be interested? Register your interest below and we’ll keep you posted on our plans!
🎤 Le Story Soirée
Friday 15 August, 6.30 - 9pm - Brunswick, VIC
Join us for a night of provocative, evocative readings brought to you by Words of a Feather and The Provocative Inklings. All are welcome to put their name in the hat to share writing and stories in any format. All are also welcome to simply enjoy a wonderful night of readings.
Story Soirées are held every second month. Bookings are essential.
Get your tickets!
💜 Mountain Writers’ Retreat
October 2 - 5, - Sawmill Settlement, VIC
Escape into your writing at our next cosy retreat in Victoria’s High Country. Our dedicated Mountain Writers’ Cabin and spaciously designed weekend offers the perfect balance of community and solitude for writers of all levels.
Limited places available. Early Bird pricing available until July 31!
Learn more!
News & Opportunities🍃
✍️ Submit to our 2025 Anthology, EVOLVE!
You’ve heard all about our 2024 anthology, FLOAT. We now invite you to submit to our 2025 anthology, EVOLVE!
Open to participants in Words of a Feather and/or Provocative Inklings events in 2025, aged 16+, we're looking for transformative new writings to include in our latest anthology. Take inspiration from our theme, EVOLVE, and let yourself be carried by the currents of change that shape you and your imagination.
Short stories, flash fiction, poetry, song lyrics, memoir, creative non-fiction, and scripts are all welcome.
Submissions close August 17th, 2025.
✨ Calling all young writers: Submit to Writ-Bits 2025!
What secrets hide in the shadows of your imagination? What mysteries await behind closed doors, under staircases, or in forgotten corners? Can you capture the moment when the ordinary becomes extraordinary?
We’re seeking spellbinding new writings from young authors for our 2025 Writ-Bits anthology - a magical collection returning by popular demand after a 3-year hiatus. Since 2015, we’ve celebrated the incredible creativity of the young writers who take part in our programs, and we’re thrilled to continue the tradition this year with new writings that shimmer with magic and mystery.
Whether your tale features wizards and witches, unsolved puzzles, magical creatures, or mysterious happenings in everyday places, we want to read it!
Submissions close September 12th, 2025.
🖊️ The Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Writing is now open for entries
The 2026 Prize builds on the Shire's strong tradition of supporting contemporary Australian writing. It is offered in partnership with Writers Victoria and Yarra Plenty Regional Library. Entries are open from 1 July to 30 September 2025, in the Open category, Local category, and Youth (age 11-21) category.
