Finish Your Novel. Craft That Script. Publish Your Story.
Join thousands of writers who’ve transformed their writing through personalised coaching – online and at your pace.
Our Courses Are For You If...
You’ve started a writing project – and stalled.
You want one-on-one feedback from a published author.
You’ve tried writing alone but get stuck in self-doubt.
You dream of publication, but don’t know where to begin.
Over 12,000 writers
trained worldwide
Award-winning
tutors
Dozens of
publication wins
Rated 5/5
on Google
What Makes NZ Writers' College Different?
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Step-by-step course design
Our structured lessons take you from blank page to finished manuscript faster than you thought possible. -
Personalised feedback from award-winning writers
Every assignment receives detailed, honest critique to sharpen your voice and style. -
A proven path to publication
Students have gone on to win national competitions and sign book deals. -
Work at your own pace, from anywhere
No pressure. No fluff. Just results.
Student Successes:
“There is no way I would have been published without Alex’s guidance.”
— Gareth Ward, winner of the Tessa Duder Award and Sir Julius Vogel Award, author of six novels
“Something pulled me towards the NZ Writers’ College Short Story Course, and I never regretted trusting my instincts on that one. In fact, I went on to enrol in two more courses.”
— Megan Frith, winner of several short story awards, author of a published novel
“I don't think I would have finished the book if it wasn't for the Writers' College or Alex's guidance and encouragement. Thank you so much for making my dream come true!”
— Catherine Jarvis, winner of short story awards and a major award for her debut published novel
What You'll Learn
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Master proven creative writing techniques
We’ll reveal the writing skills that famous authors and professional writers use to bring their work to life, create authentic characters, and invent compelling plots and story structures. Skip the uncertainty and find out exactly how it’s done! -
Follow a step-by-step process taking you from idea to final draft
These straightforward strategies can help you finish your creative writing project months faster than you ever thought possible. -
Uncover your writing blindspots with the help of your award-winning tutor
Eliminate self-doubt and uncertainty with feedback on the specific writing errors that are holding you back. Receive detailed constructive critiques on every assignment from an award-winning, professional writer. -
Discover the mistakes made by virtually all beginner writers
Almost everyone makes the same common problematic mistakes – we’ll help you identify and eliminate them. -
Explore a wide range of publication outlets to enhance your chances of success
Find out how and where to professionally submit work for publication, and exactly what steps to take when approaching different markets.
Our Writing Students Get Real Results.
Suzanne Main
Winner of the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award; published novelist
Martin Steyn
Bestselling, award-winning thriller author of four books and counting
Trish Nicholson
Winner of Flash500 and many international short story awards; published non-fiction author
Shelley Kirton
Multiple short stories placed in international competitions or published in magazines and journals
Tanja Wijnen
Published children's book author with a sequel in the pipeline
Riaan Grobler
Published his bestselling debut novel with Penguin Random House, quickly leading to a second novel.
Whether you're 18 or 80, you can master the tools to start and finish your writing project.
We'll show you how.
‘I can honestly say my writing improved by leaps and bounds. Don’t hesitate. Just do it.’
—Edward Hallifax
‘Life-changing and worth every hour of work it inspired me to complete.’
Kirsty Chalmers
‘I would not look anywhere else to do an online course but here. Being a repeat subscriber of the College's courses speaks for itself.‘
— Lesley Sefton
‘Choosing to do this course with The Writers' College was without a doubt the right decision. It has been an eye-opening, life-changing experience for me.‘
— Natasha Alexander
‘The Writers' College is a hidden gem among online writing programs. It has the high, rich quality of an Oxford Continuing Education writing course for an incredibly affordable cost. I cannot recommend it enough in all my writing circles.’
— Irina Novac
Ready to Start?
Writing success isn’t just about talent. It’s about support, structure and feedback. You bring the passion. We’ll help shape it into a publishable work.
Courses open now –
limited places available.
Sign up today and start writing straight away.
The Basics of Creative Writing
Master the skills required for all forms of creative writing. Practise your writing in dozens of fun exercises in this four-month writing course. Suitable for all levels of writers. Tutored by award-winning author of more than 60 children’s books and a beloved tutor at NZ Writers’ College for over 18 years, Helen Brain.
The Short Story Writing Course
In this course, we provide the tools you need to write compelling short stories. We also share tips on how to get them published in print and online journals. Tutored by multi-award-winning short story writers and authors, Alex Smith, Sonny Whitelaw and Andrew Salomon for the past 15+ years.
The Write a Novel Course
This course covers everything you need to write your manuscript - chapter by chapter. Learn how to write believable dialogue, create solid characters, how to structure your plot and create tension. Walk away with a proposal ready for the publisher's desk. Be mentored by literary powerhouses – multi-award-winning authors and tutors for over 15 years, Alex Smith, Sonny Whitelaw and Andrew Salomon.
The Write a Romance Novel Course
Have you ever dreamed of writing romantic fiction? Our Write a Romance Novel Course can turn that dream into a reality. Covering everything from Historical and Fantasy Romance to Paranormal, Erotic, Romantic Suspense, Rom-Com, and LGBTQ+ Romance – plus many more subgenres!
The Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy Course
Do you have an amazing idea for a fantasy, science fiction or paranormal story? This course for intermediate and seasoned writers alike takes you step-by-step through the processes that successful speculative fiction writers use to develop screenplays, novels, graphic novels, comics and games.
An Introduction to Poetry
This course teaches you the basic skills of poetry, including line length, figures of speech, metered verse, tone, imagery and lyricism. Tutored by multi-award-winning poet and much-loved mentor, Arja Salafranca.
The Scriptwriting Course
Write and sell your own stage play, radio play or movie script. This course will guide you from your big idea to a saleable finished product. Tutored by Karen Jeynes for almost 20 years at the Writers' College, a multi-award-winning playwright and author (including two Emmy nominations for TV comedies).
The Writing for Video Games Course
Learn to write for one of the fastest growing industries in the world! This ten-module course teaches you how to write dialogue, concept documents, in-game text and the host of other narrative assets that you'll find in video games. Explore small screen storytelling with industry expert and one of our most popular tutors, Paul Dunn. With his personalised feedback, you can transform your big idea into a marketable, ready-to-pitch digital media offering.
Writing Books for Children | Part One
You're about to enter the exciting world of writing a book for children. This potentially lucrative market is always open to new writers who have cracked the code of what inspires children. Guided by Helen Brain for almost two decades, she's a much-loved NZ Writers’ College tutor and the award-winning author of over 60 books for children.
The Write Your Memoir Course
This course offers expert, one-to-one training by a professional writer to give you a solid foundation in the craft of memoir writing. Tutored by Alex Smith, a multi-award-winning author and tutor extraordinaire at the Writers' College for the past 17 years.
Want to Transform Your Writing? Get Your Free Report!
Discover 10 Amazing Ways to Improve Your Creative Writing Today
Free Report
The courses below are follow-on courses aimed at completing a full manuscript or anthology.
Advanced Short Story Writing
Our Advanced Short Story Writing Course is designed to guide you step by step to write a collection of short stories for a personal anthology.
(Conditions apply.)
conditions apply
The Advanced Creative Writing Course
Our Advanced Creative Writing Course builds on the skills you acquired in the Basics of Creative Writing Course. Use these skills in more sophisticated ways to achieve mature, polished writing. Open to graduates of the Basics Course.
CONDITIONS APPLY
The Advanced Write a Novel Course
Our Advanced Write a Novel Course builds on the manuscript that you wrote in the foundation course. Now complete your manuscript up to 70 000 words with one-to-one guidance from an award-winning writer.
CONDITIONS APPLY
Writing Books for Children | Part Two
This follow-on course from Writing Books for Children (Part One) will provide the tools and support you need to complete your chapter book for 8- to 12-year-olds.
CONDITIONS APPLY
The Advanced Poetry Course
Our Advanced Poetry Course will take you a step further on your journey towards crafting poems that could be considered for publication by literary journals. Your experienced tutor will teach you how to find your poetic voice, how to edit your own work, and how to become more technically proficient as a poet.
CONDITIONS APPLY
The Advanced Scriptwriting Course
This advanced writing course provides all the support and structure you need to develop a complete script for film, stage or a TV series.
CONDITIONS APPLY
The Advanced Memoir Course
Our Advanced Memoir Course builds on the manuscript that you wrote in the foundation course. Now complete your manuscript up to 70 000 words with one-to-one guidance from an award-winning writer.
CONDITIONS APPLY