Writers Journey Alumni

In the past decade a number of the writers, artists, poets, performers and film makers I have worked with have gone onto publish books or produce their scripts and creative works. While my mentoring role is just one part of the complex process of creating and completing a work, it has been my great privilege to be of assistance in planting the seed or helping to bring the works below to fruition. Some of those creators include:


Ingrid Woodrow - my first literary mentee, who I mentored through the Hunter Writers Centremany years ago. Her book Goddess and The Galaxy Boy, Penguin, was shortlisted for the Vogel Award.

Lorraine Mcloughlin Barbara Robertson - An Australian Artist's Life and George Tetlow and Mark and Jill Pearce, Lives in Art. Independent (Art/ biography)

Ruth Salmon There Are No Coincidences Independent (Travel memoir)

Anne McLeod  Adventurous Spirit, the exceptional life of Marie Byles. Independent (Biography)

Colleen Keating  In Touch With Poetry and A Call to Listen Ginninderra Press.(Poetry)

Minnie Biggs  Shards of Ice Ginninderra Press.(Memoir)

Michelle Leber The Yellow Emperor  Five Islands Press. (Poetry)

Tamarra Kaida - Ogoh- Ogoh Balinese Monsters Saritaksu Editions (Photography)

Biff Ward In My Mothers Hands, Allen & Unwin.(Memoir)

Jennifer Smart  The Wardrobe Girl, Random House. (Novel)

Niromi De Soyza  Tamil Tigress,  Allen & Unwin. (Memoir)

Hilary Linstead Growing Old Outrageously, Allen & Unwin.(Memoir)

Kate Veitch Moments Alone, Griffith Review. (Article)

A.D. Scott  Beneath The Abbey Wall, North Sea Requiem, Simon & Schuster USA.(novels, mystery)

Marguerite van Geldermalsen Married to A Bedouin, Virago.( Memoir)

Anne  Lovell Connie's Secret, Allen and Unwin. (Memoir)

Margaret Wilcox Gone, Penguin. (Memoir)

Margo Lanagan Tender Morsels, Allen & Unwin, Random House, Knopf, Johnathon Cape UK. Sea Hearts, Allen & Unwin.( Fanatasy novel)

Catherine Therese The Weight Of Silence, Hachette Livre. (Memoir)

Yvonne Louis A Brush with Mondrian, Murdoch Book. (Memoir)

Mary Delahunty Public Life, Private Grief, Hardie Grant. (Memoir)

Raymond Hawkins The Electronic Swagman, Halstead Press.(Memoir)

Walter Mason Destination Saigon,  Destination Cambodia, Allen &Unwin.(Non Fiction, travel)

Gabrielle Wang  Poppy series of YA fiction were conceived in a dry river bed on Desert Writers.

Margaret Stepenson- Meere The Child Within the Lotus, Rockpool. (Non Fiction)

Bridget McKern  Living The Journey, A&A Publishing.(Non Fiction, biography)

Marg Carroll The Man Who Loved Crocodiles and Other Stories, Allen and Unwin.(Non Fiction, biography)

Betty Grenenger Dare to Look Deep, Best Legenz. (Memoir)

Elizabeth Vongsaravanh  Dharmageddon - (Poetry)

Deb Batton Regrets, I've Got a Few, (Physical theatre piece)

Pamela Cook  Black Wattle Lake Hachette ( Rural fiction)

Sonia Bible Recipe For Murder, ABC documentary.(Film)

Sunny Grace Short Films Producer including award winning Dik.(Film)

Helen Cummings  Blood Vows, Five Islands Press. (Memoir)

Donna J Lehl Karma Finds The Cameleon,  Aberdeen Bay. (Memoir)

Jacqueline Buswell Song of A Journey Woman Ginninderra Press (poetry)

Monique O'Donnell Mr Right and Other Mongrels Amazon (Novel/romance) Monique has gone on to write and publish a 

Kadek Krishna Adidharma - articles for the Jakarta Post, blog, arts writing.

John Waromi first ever novel by a Papuan author Anggadi Tupa, Harvesting The Storm Lontar  translated by Sarita Newson.(Novel/magic realism). WJ sponsored John to attend two Bali retreats.

The Writers Dozen,  a group that continued on after our year long First Page to First Draft course in 2005 at NSW Writers Centre, went on to publish a collection of their writings in Better Than Chocolate.

Robert Schneider, came to one of my early Bali retreats and again to Angkor Wat. He has since made a career for himself in Cambodia as a freelance writer. His memoir Serendipity Road was published in 2017.

Julie Anne Thorndyke, acclaimed haiku and tanka poet. Her novella, Mrs Rickerby's Lullaby is published by Gininderra Press. 

Libby Sommer is an acclaimed short story writer and poet. She worked on a number of her stories for The Crystal  Ballroom (Ginninderra Press) with us at Draftbusters.

Jan Mantjika's memoir Bali 1964 to 2009: The Shadows that Dance in and out of my Memory, pub by
Saritaksu Editions, was assisted at a number of our bali retreats.

I had the pleasure of working on Desak Yoni's Renditions of My Soul, The Story of a Balinese Woman with Sarita Newson. It was published in 2014.

Diana Plater's new novel Whale Rock is published by Indie Mosh. Diana attended a number of retreats in Fiji, Bali and Angkor Wat as well as Draft Busters.

and many more...

PS. My apologies if I have omitted your publishing or other creative accomplishments. Please send me the details so I can update the record asap!