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Author: Public Record Office Victoria
Author Hazel Edwards is offering a year-long non-fiction masterclass next year, with the aim of participants completing their books by December 2020. The workshop will run in the Victorian Archives Centre conference room on the first Friday of each month throughout 2020.
This year-long course will appeal to procrastinators and those involved in a non-fiction book length project who wish to finish their manuscripts within the year. Subjects can include memoir, autobiography, 'how to' books and family histories. You can enrol regardless of what stage you are at with your book. All participants will be required to present a draft chapter each session.
This is the fourth year this masterclass has been based at the Victorian Archives Centre with all participants from previous years completing family histories and other non-fiction works within the year, many utilising the records of Public Record Office Victoria and National Archives within their research. Some past participants have also crafted additional, history-based picture books for children in their families using their research.
You can read articles from past students on the PROV blog:
- https://prov.vic.gov.au/index.php/about-us/our-blog/and-then-research-went-sideways
- https://prov.vic.gov.au/index.php/about-us/our-blog/missing-piece-puzzle
- https://prov.vic.gov.au/index.php/about-us/our-blog/researching-houses-are-no-longer-there
- https://prov.vic.gov.au/about-us/our-blog/finish-your-book-mentoring-class-hazel-edwards-2017
Topics to be covered in 2020 include:
- pitching proposal
- synopsis
- title importance and non-boring elements
- possible structures and narration perspectives
- ‘anecdultery’ and story shaping
- formats
- themes
- research skills including interviewing
- value of work-shopping chapters
- editing
- query letters
- publishing processes and options
- participants will also receive a short tour of the archives during one of the sessions.
The 2020 class will:
- be limited to 25 participants (with a minimum of 16 students required for the course to go ahead)
- include 3-hour monthly sessions on the first Friday of each month throughout 2020, 9.30am to 12.30pm on the following dates:
3 January
7 February
6 March
3 April
1 May
5 June
3 July
7 August
4 September
2 October
6 November
4 December
Participants should try to attend all 12 sessions to get the most out of the course. Hazel's invoiced fee, $600 plus GST ($660) for the year, is to be paid direct to Hazel before the first session with no refunds if you drop out before the end of the course.
Registration
To register for this course please contact Hazel Edwards via email at hazel@hazeledwards.com