First place: 'The Barrier' - by Timothy McGiven

Runner-up: 'A Certain Hardness' - by Collin Minnaar

Third place: 'Gravity' - by Andy Evans

People's Choice Award: 'Goldie the Turtle' - by Manisha Anjali

Well done to all the writers who entered.

Mark Scheepers, who received the Mavis Bleazard Bursary, went on to place second in the 2012 Maskew Miller Longman Youth Literature Prize for Drama. We are delighted with his success. Read more about Mark here.

The 2013 Mavis Bleazard Bursary has been awarded to Sandra D. Samuels.

SA Writers' College will be sponsoring two further courses. Philip L Brand from Upington will write a novel with us in 2013 on Die skryf 'n roman kursus, and Hussein Kopole has been offered a place on the Basics of Creative Writng Course.

We wish them success as they embark on their writing courses. 

We close on Friday 14 December and re-open on 4 January. May your holiday break be peaceful and restful, and we look forward to a fabulous year of writing in 2013.

Very best wishes

Nichola

A great big congratulations to our almost 190 writing course graduates this year.  Well done for delivering outstanding writing and achieving top marks. We are following your progress in the writing industry with great interest.

Below are our top student results for 2012 in each department.

Basics of Creative Writing Course

Brett Shand 95%

Haylea Silverwood 92%

Lorraine Stanton 91%

Fiona Coward 91%

Claire Barry 91%

Ralph Peterson 90%

Kevin Blignaut 90%

Novel Writing Course

Colette Grobler 92%

Danie Markgraaff 91%

Christine Wardle 90%

Shamin Chibba 90%

Louis Wiid 89%

Diane Cursons 87%

Short Story Writing and Poetry 

Glynn Meter 90% (Poetry)

Shelley Kirton 89 % (Short Story Writing)

Barry Ger 88% (Short Story Writing)

Jennifer Copeland 87% (Short Story Writing)

Kay Wilson 87% (Short Story Writing)                           

Travel Writing Course

Ann Huston 94.6%

Moyra Makina  92%

Helen Wallace  91%

Hannelie van As 89%

Nicola Theunissen 86%

Magazine Journalism Course

Christine Vorster 89%

Tancrid Muller 85%

Tracy Brooks 84%

Glenn Weldon 83%

Janet Hart 78%

Andrea Forder 78%

Business and Specialist Writing

Sanchia Lubbe 89% (Writing Coach Course)

Lauren McMinn 89% (Press Release and Media Writing)

Tania Pantony 88% (Business Writing Toolkit)

Sheryl Nelley 85 % (Writing Coach Course)

Liani Soderholm 85 % (Grammar Skills Course)

Vesna Vasiljevic 84 % (Writing Coach Course)
Courtney Chennells 84% (Writing Coach Course)

Tom Te Kooti Anderson 84 % (Business Writing Toolkit)

Web and Social Media Writing

Renate Venier 88% (Web)

Morne Christian Smith 88% (Social Media)

James Davie 88% (Social Media)

Kathleen Kriel 87% (Social Media)

Varsha Lalla 87% (Social Media)

Well done to all of you!

From Susan Williams ( Business Writing Toolkit, the  Writing Coach Course and the Write Better Newsletters Course)

One of the most gratifying aspects of being a tutor on a writing course is seeing the progress made by students. Students often enrol in my courses because they are truly terrified of putting their words on paper and opening themselves up for the ridicule of colleagues or managers. Breaking through those barriers is quite a process, and a huge achievement on their side.

For some students, the Writing Coach Course becomes a journey of self-discovery that sets them on a path for creative writing. Others just need the confidence to use their writing skills to start their own business. Whatever their reasons are for taking a writing course, I enjoy their development as writers.

My wish for my current students is: May your writing always bring you pleasure. Complete your courses as there's nothing that boosts self-confidence as much as achieving your personal goals.

Regards

Susan

From Mandy Speechly (Copywriting Course)

It is certainly an exciting time for anyone involved in the business of communication. Advances in technology are changing the way in which we interact with each other, in truly revolutionary ways. The role of the copywriter is continually evolving, with the focus now on engagement; creating communication that establishes a dialogue with brands rather than interrupting consumers with persuasive tactics.

Well done and thank you to all my copywriting students for 2012.

I have enjoyed our interactions and email conversations, which quite often veered into topics far off copywriting, from graduation dance dresses for daughters, to the test match cricket scores! But then the inspiration for great advertising comes from any aspect of life.

Happy Christmas to everyone and may 2013 be filled with great and small personal successes.

Regards

Mandy

From Alex Smith (Write a Novel Course)

I'm so proud of my novel writing, short story and grammar students who have successfully completed their courses - many writing in the gaps between demanding jobs and family lives. Well done to everyone for their determination and tenacity. And thank you to the college administrators for an amazing series of courses and ever-efficient back-up.

I wish all my students a happy holiday and hope that the new year brings inspiration, adventure, good books to read and great stories to write.

Regards

Alex

Jolene du Plessis's article, Sutherland: SALT of the Earth, was published in Country Life.

Angelique Noll completed the Magazine Journalism Course. She sold articles to the Natural Health Journal, Vrouekeur, two short stories in Vrouekeur, one story to Merise (Australia) and two articles for Merise about immigration. Go, Angelique!

Our Short Story Writing student, Kirti Ranchod, was featured looking gorgeous and glam, as the winner of the O Magazine Short Story Competition. We are over the moon with her achievement.

Hilary Murray approached us for a manuscript critique in 2011. Writing as Galia Ryan, her first novel, Choices, was released in October 2012, and two follow-up novels were accepted for publication as well.

Alesha Ally, who is on her fifth assignment in the Short Story Writing for Magazines Course, is having her stories published as serials in a publication called The Phoenix Pulse. She now has her own column, called The Phoenix Pen. The first one they are using is her second assignment which she made into a dramatic page-turner.

Jackie Clarke completed the Magazine Journalism Course in 2011. Her article called Striking a Pose appeared in the May issue of Good Magazine. Well done, Jackie!

Norah Jansen completed the Break Through Your Writing Barriers Course. She has had a story accepted for publication by Lemon Twist Press. Norah says, "I'm rapt and thank you so much because I'd never have sent it off without doing the course."

Copywriting tutor, Mandy Speechly

Here are some of her views on writing and the copywriting industry.

Q. How did you become a writer?

I have always loved books, words and great writing. I enjoyed writing stories and poems at school and eventually studied English and Linguistics at university.

It was in my final year that I discovered there was a career in writing for advertising, called copywriting. I was intrigued by this industry as it seemed to combine many of my interests; writing, psychology, sociology and basic people-watching. (And you could wear jeans to work!)

I managed to get into the business through a graduate internship programme with the Association of Advertising Agencies, before it became a college.

I worked as a copywriter for about 15 years and continue to do freelance work for different clients and agencies.

Writing Coach Course tutor,
Susan Williams

We find out more about her own journey as a writer.

 Q. How did you become a writer?

I've always loved stories. As a child, I got into trouble because I had a book with me at all times: at school, in church, visiting friends, climbing trees, and even practicing my music with a storybook behind the score.

I studied languages at university and loved literature. But I never thought I could write. I became a teacher, and then a chief sub-editor, correcting writers' work - and still I didn't have the self-confidence to write anything.

My big chance came when our company started publishing another magazine and our resident writer couldn't manage all the work. I offered to do the writing in my free time. My first article took me a day to write - all 800 carefully crafted words of it - and then my editor threw it back on my desk with a comment: "Fairly well written. Reduce to 150 words." I was devastated. But ... (read the rest here)

Magazine Journalism Course tutor, author and poet, Karin Schimke 

An interview with Karin Schimke reveals the passion she has for writing and the influence it has had on her life.

A: I always wrote. That I could make a life from it never occurred to me. So I spent most of school and university not knowing what I would become. I'm not sure why I didn't think of journalism, that only came later, once I'd studied a BA and then discovered one could do an honours degree in journalism. Later that same year I got a bursary from The Argus which meant that I had a job after I graduated. I still can't quite believe that I can make a living from doing the only thing it feels like I can do fairly easily.

Q: What inspired your passion for Badilisha poetry?

A: Badilisha poetry is a particular outlet or showcase for African poetry, so it's one miniscule element of my life as a poet.

I came out as a poet only about eight or so years ago. Before that I thought poetry was something only really amazing people did. I have always loved poetry and always written it and always read it with great passion. My involvement in the poetry scene is quite deep, and I think of myself as a poet. Poetry is a very particular kind of writing; it's a hard discipline. It's not just about letting out a whole lot of ... (read the rest here)