Next year is our 10th birthday, celebrating a decade of running the Writers' College. For us, this is a huge milestone.

 

As people have gained more confidence in online learning, and as our name has become established, we've seen steady increases in our student numbers. So thank you to all our students, past and present (and returning). Without your trust and positivity, we wouldn't be where we are now. Without your amazing testimonials, we wouldn't have the standing we enjoy. And without your enthusiasm, we wouldn't have a reason to continue developing our courses.

 

Some of our writing tutors have been with us since the beginning in 2005, and it's been reassuring to have their incredible expertise and support over the years. We love working with our amazing team of talented tutors! Thank you to them for sharing their knowledge so generously with you.

 

As always, we have some exciting new projects for 2015, while we continue to update our existing courses.

 

The experience we've gained over the last decade makes the next 10 years an exciting prospect. We look forward to another decade of training writers from all over the world, and wish each one of you the very best for the new year.

To round off 2014, we celebrate our 'top' everything: top student results, publishing achievements, courses and student writing. Enjoy the read.

 

CLOSING TIMES

 

The college is closed from Monday 15 December 2014, and we reopen on Monday 3 January 2015.   

  

Have a wonderful, restful festive season.   

 

 

Nichola

Principal of The Writers' College

 

 

CONTACT US:

 

Student queries and applications: KOOS TURENHOUT  E-mail Koos    

 

* Not every bit of grammatical folklore is worth keeping. Here are 10 grammar rules it's okay to break (sometimes).

LATEST COLLEGE NEWS

OUR WRITERS' COLLEGE COURSES FOR 2015

 

Browse our range of courses on offer next year:

 

Southern Africa: SA Writers' College Writing Classes 

United Kingdom: UK Writers' College Writing Classes 

New Zealand and Australia: NZ Writers' College Writing Classes 

 

NEW COURSES 

 

In 2015 we're opening the Introduction to Songwriting Course, a lyric-writing course for anyone who wants to write songs, from pop to rock to cabaret.

 

We'll also be launching our first 100% customised Better Writing Skills Course, a general writing course designed in length and content to address your specific grammar, punctuation and formatting needs. It will be tutored by the enormously popular editor and author Rosemary Hepözden.

 

Our Facebook Community continues to grow. Join us there for motivation, support, tips, job opportunities, competitions and the occasional giggle. Everyone is welcome. 

 

 

OUR ANNUAL WRITERS' COLLEGE SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS  

 

Congratulations to Lizzie Nelson who won The NZ Writers College Short Story Award with her story 'Norman's Letter'. Read her story and the judges' comments.

 

In the 2014 SA Writers' College Short Story Competition, Melita Vurden took first place for 'That Night' in the Literary Fiction Category, and Mike Forde was the winner in the Popular Category for his story 'The First Time'. 

 

 

MY WRITING JOURNEY COMPETITIONS  

 

We ran three 'writing journey' competitions in 2014. The next competition closes on 30 January 2015. 

 

Read our winning stories:

 

Home by Lyllie Colway - Winner March 2014  

Congratulations to Moses Mashwahla Moreroa from South Africa, who's been awarded a place on our customised Better Writing Skills Course.

 

Liz Robbertze completed the Short Story for Magazines Course. Liz was a runner-up in the SA Readers' Digest 100-word story.

 

 

Web writing tutor Karen Lotter

 

On the Web time moves very fast. What works today may be outdated tomorrow. This is one of the reasons why I am proud of my students.

Not only do they have to master the techniques for writing for the Web, and learn about Social media and blogging, they need to do all these at the same time and still keep flexible about changes on the Web. Read more ...

 

Writing coach and business writing tutor Susan Williams

 

I have had the privilege to tutor many motivated writing students this year. Some of them were already excellent writers who just needed a bit of direction, someone to believe in their ability to write and something to anchor their writing on. After the first few haltering steps, they spread their wings and flew! A few students were speakers of other languages, professionals who moved to countries other than their home countries where they had to converse and write in professional English. Yet some others were business people who never before had an interest in writing and had to learn how to present themselves and their businesses professionally. Read more ...

 

Copywriting tutor Mandy Speechly

 

There appears to be a growing interest in the field of copywriting, as I experienced a notable increase in students signing up for my course this year. Of course this isn't that surprising considering the demand for quality content in the media, hopefully something that stands out from all the banal advertising and cat videos! In fact, there couldn't be a better time to be working in the field of communication - and have the ability to write words that talk to the right people in the right way. Read more ...

 

Grammar tutor Rosemary Hepözden

 

One thing I have particularly enjoyed this year is getting to know you. It may seem odd, given the fact that we communicate across seas, at odd hours, and only via the computer screen. However, as you progress through the courses, our emails become more relaxed, more personal - and more entertaining. I want to congratulate you all for taking on the challenge of learning through this format. I can tell when you're struggling with the content, the demands on your time or a lack of confidence, and it's very rewarding for me when you respond with renewed commitment, negotiating each hurdle along the way. When you tell me how much you have learned, how much you have enjoyed the course, I feel wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I always look forward to hearing from you, but the positive feedback is particularly appreciated. Read more ...

 

Travel writing tutor Donna Dailey

 

As 2014 draws to a close, I want to thank all of my students for their hard work. Your enthusiasm, creativity and desire to learn and grow are inspiring, and it has been so rewarding for me to work with you. This past year I began tutoring the Magazine Journalism course as well as the Travel Writing course, and this has brought a lovely new dimension to my work.

Many people have good ideas and a love of writing. But not many people take that next step, and begin the hard task of learning how to turn their passion into a craft. Writing is easy. Writing well is hard work. Read more ...

 

Feature writing tutor Hayley Leibowitz

 

It has been a wonderful year to be a tutor. My students have enthralled, surprised and educated me along the way. It has been such a pleasure to watch people grow throughout their courses and end with quality, publishable articles. Read more ...

 

 

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER!  

This competition acknowledges excellence in creative writing in the Short Story genre. It's open to any beginner writer in South Africa who's had fewer than four stories/articles published in any format (print or digital).