UPCOMING EVENTS & TEACHING

Full-day Writing NSW workshop - Writing Setting and Landscape

When: Saturday 20 September 2025, 10am-4pm

Where: Writing NSW, Lilyfield, Sydney

Setting is far more than just a backdrop to narrative – vividly rendered external worlds have the power to enrich character and enhance story in powerful and unexpected ways. This is especially true in a country like Australia, where our dramatic landscapes are so often integral to our stories.

In this workshop with award-winning author James McKenzie Watson, you will explore the role setting plays in character development and practice crafting landscapes that speak to your narratives. Drawing on his own experiences describing rural NSW in his novel Denizen, James will explore the importance of introspection in landscape description and identify what makes good descriptive language work.

The workshop will include practical advice, techniques and examples, in-class exercises, and resources to take home.

Book here

Siang Lu: Ghost Cities (Sydney Writers Festival)

Take a tour of the absurd with author Siang Lu, whose Miles Franklin Award–winning novel Ghost Cities leaps from China’s abandoned megacities to parallel histories in an endlessly inventive allegory for today.

An instant landmark in experimental Australian literature, Ghost Cities, much like its author’s nebulous internet presence, is at once a tongue-in-cheek satire and a bold exploration of failed expatriation and erasure.

Discover Siang’s rich literary worlds in this conversation with James McKenzie Watson.

Where: State Library of NSW, Library Auditorium

When: October 2 2025, 7:30pm - 8:30pm

Learn more and buy tickets here

Book here

SELECTED Past Events & Teaching

2025

In Conversation with Matt Rogers (The Forsaken Book Launch) - July 9 2025 at Harry Hartog, Mosman.
In Conversation with Ashley Kalagian Blunt (Cold Truth Book Launch) - February 6 2025 at Royal Oak Hotel, Balmain. A recording of this event is available here.

2024

Writing Setting and Landscape (Writing NSW) - October 26 2024. Full-day course.
Laneway Learning - July 23 + September 11 2024. Creative writing classes for adults.
In Conversation with Michelle See-Tho, winner of the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize - August 14 2024 - at Warringah Mall Library, Brookvale.
Bathurst Writers and Readers Festival - May 25 2024. Panel: Rural Crime Fiction: A Cross Examination with Rhys Gard, Aoife Clifford and Jenny Barry (convener).

2023

In Conversation with Benjamin Stevenson - December 6 2023 - at Warringah Mall Library, Brookvale.
Podcast Education Session for High School Students - August 15 2023 at Cromer High School.
National Young Writers' Festival - September 30 2023. Panel: Partners in Crime with Hayley Scrivenor.
Dubbo Writers' Festival - September 9 2023 - judge of the 2023 Dubbo Writers' Festival Cup short story competition.
South Coast Writers' Festival - August 19 2023. Panel: Writing and Bodies with Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Hayley Scrivenor (convener).
In Conversation with Ashley Kalagian Blunt - August 8 2023 - at Northern Beaches Library, Mona Vale.
Feast of Words - July 24 - 26 2023 at Coonabarabran High School. Three days of teaching writing workshops to students in Years 7 - 11, with Jeff McGill, Melina Marchetta, Mandy Nolan and George Catsi.
On a Bright Hillside in Paradise Book Launch - July 20 2023 - at George Street Dymocks. In conversation with 2022 Penguin Literary Prize winner Annette Higgs.
Boorowa Literary Festival - July 14 2023 - panels with Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Hayley Scrivenor.
Yarram Storyfest - July 1 - 2 2023. Panels: Hearts and Minds: Celebrating Community with Kgshak Akec, Tom Ballard, Ben Hobson, Janine Garvey, Eric Collier and Ben Langdon (convener); Good Mental Health: Writing and Writers Exploring Trauma and Recovery in Regional Australia with Kgshak Akec, Eliza Henry-Jones and Scot Gardner (convener); Breakfast with James McKenzie Watson.
Sydney Writers' Festival - May 22 - 28 2023. Events: Denizen in conversation with Ashley Kalagian Blunt (Penrith); Life in the Landscape with Robbie Arnott, Fiona McFarlane and Susan Wyndham (convener) (available as a podcast); Beginnings (reading from Denizen).
Newcastle Writers' Festival - March 31 - April 2 2023. Panels: I'd Like You to Meet... in conversation with Lee Kofman; New Blood with Shelley Burr, Matthew Spencer and Anna Downes (convener) (available as a podcast).
Scone Literary Festival - March 11 - 12 2023. Panels: Looking Forward to My Brilliant Career with Catherine du Peloux Menagé (convener); What Book Would You Change the Ending to and Why? with Dominic Smith, Michael Burge and Richard Glover (convener).

2022

Reflective Writing Workshop - November 2 2022 at the Western Cancer Centre, Dubbo.
In Conversation with Chris Hammer - October 30 2022 - at The Book Nest, Mudgee.
The Guardian Rural Network Book Club - October 5 2022 - author appearance via Zoom.
BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival 2022 - September 8 -10 - Panel: Three Prizewinners Walk into a Bar... with Vicky Petraitis, author of The Unbelieved, Veronica Lando, author of The Whispering and Phillipa McGuiness (convener).
Writers Unleashed - Sutherland Shire Writers Festival - September 3 2022 - Panel: Black and Blue: The Craft of Rural Noir with Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town, and Michelle Barraclough (convener).
Port Macquarie Author Talk - August 27 2022 - at Port Macquarie Library.
Amy + Laura's Book Club (Secret Book Stuff) - August 22 2022 - author appearance via Zoom.
Coonabarabran Author Talk - August 20 2022 - at Coonabarabran Library.
Denizen Melbourne Launch - August 3 2022 - at Readings Emporium, Melbourne, in conversation with Lee Kofman (author of The Writer Laid Bare and The Dangerous Bride).
Denizen Sydney Launch - July 28 2022 - at Gleebooks, Glebe, in conversation with Ashley Kalagian Blunt (author of How to Be Australian).
Denizen Online Launch - July 21 2022 - presented by the Words and Nerds Podcast, hosted by Dani Vee. With special guests Lyn Yeowart (author of The Silent Listener) and Petronella McGovern (author of Six Minutes and The Good Teacher). A video recording of this event is available at the Dani Vee Books - Words and Nerds Facebook page. Also available as an audio podcast episode via James and Ashley Stay at Home.
Denizen Dubbo Launch - July 19 2022 - at Dubbo Library, hosted by The Book Connection, in conversation with Nic Healey (host of ABC Western Plains Breakfast).