Our Student Success Stories
Here are some success stories from our students from around the world.
If your story, manuscript or article was accepted for publication after completing one of our courses, please do let us know: admin@nzwriterscollege.co.nz
How One of Our Students Became New Zealand’s Most Wanted… Author
We are so proud of one of our very own graduates in New Zealand, Gareth Ward, who studied on the Write a Novel Course under the guidance of the wonderful Alex Smith.
Gareth wrote The Traitor and the Thief on the course, described by readers as ‘a cracker’ and ‘a story for all ages’. This thrilling steampunk adventure went on to win the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award, the 2018 Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Youth Novel, and a 2018 Storylines Notable Book Award, as well as being a finalist in two categories at the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Not bad for a debut!
But Gareth was just getting started. Since then, he has built an impressive and wonderfully varied catalogue of eight novels, from the steampunk sequel The Clockill and the Thief, to the comic fantasy of the Tarquin the Honest series, to the cosy crime world of The Bookshop Detectives (co-authored with his wife, Louise).
The latest series has taken on a life of its own, with Dead Girl Gone becoming the number one bestselling New Zealand fiction title of 2024, and the follow-up, Tea and Cake and Death, taking home the Booksellers’ Choice Adult Award in 2025.
Gareth, you give courage to every writer who has ever stared at a blank page and wondered what if. We couldn’t be more delighted for you!
From Numbers to Narrative: How a Writing Course Launched an Award-Winning Career
Can a creative writing course transform an aspiring writer into an award-winning novelist? The extraordinary path of New Zealand author Suzanne Main proves that it absolutely can. Before capturing the hearts of young readers nationwide, Main spent her days working as an accountant. However, a deep-seated desire to create led her to enrol in the Basics of Creative Writing Course at NZ Writers’ College, studying under the guidance of tutor Helen Brain.
This decision sparked a phenomenal literary career. Armed with the foundational tools, feedback and confidence gained during her studies, Main channelled her new skills directly into her debut children’s novel. The results were immediate and historic. Her manuscript for How I Alienated My Grandma won the prestigious 2014 Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award. Once published, it became a Storylines Notable Book and a children’s choice finalist in the 2015 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Far from a one-hit wonder, Main proved that the discipline and techniques learned in her course created a sustainable path forward. Her follow-up adventure, How Not to Stop a Kidnap, was named an NZ Book Awards finalist in 2018. Demonstrating the massive commercial appeal of her work, both novels were subsequently optioned for film. Main’s literary momentum has only grown, culminating in the 2025 release of her highly anticipated third novel, The Hatchling.
For any aspiring writer sitting on a story idea, Main’s transition to celebrated author is a huge inspiration, proving how structured mentorship and creative dedication can turn a distant dream into a thriving, multi-book career.
Graduate Shelley Kirton: A Writing Journey of Dedication and Discovery
A graduate of the NZ Writers’ College, Shelley Kirton completed both the Short story Writing Course and the Advanced Short story Writing Course, and has been building an impressive body of work ever since. She did so while profoundly deaf, with neither hearing aids nor implants able to assist her. Writing, she says, has been her saviour.
Her first published short story, ‘The Peace Lily – A Story in Three Breakfasts’, appeared in MindFood magazine, inspired by – of all things – a peace lily in her bathroom. MindFood also published her short story ‘The Stray Cat Cafe Blues’ in 2022. Her work has since appeared in Flash Fiction Friday, Free Flash Fiction, The Centifictionist and Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine, among others. She also placed second in the Atlantis short story competition and was published in the resulting anthology.
The honours have continued to stack up. Shelley earned an Honourable Mention in the NZ Writers’ College Short Story Competition in 2020, was longlisted by the Australian Writers College in December 2021 and was published in the New Zealand anthology Pav Deconstructed in 2023. More recently, she has been a multiple finalist in the prestigious Women on Writing (WOW!) contests across both flash fiction and creative non-fiction essays and took out the top prize in the September 2024 WestWord Flash 1000 competition.
Her curiosity extends beyond fiction. Shelley has researched and written a 5,000-word non-fiction piece, How Deffe an Earre, which explores deafness from multiple perspectives, including that of deaf writers. She is also currently working on a 5,000-word memoir, and an 80,000-word short story collection. She describes her tutors at the Writers College as having taught her the power of effective, and sometimes ruthless, editing, and credits the discipline of structured learning as a powerful motivator.
Shelley’s story shows what steady, passionate dedication to writing can achieve – in any conditions.
Look What a Grammar Course Can Lead To — Celebrating Philisiwe Twijnstra!
We are delighted to feature one of our talented Writers’ College students, Philisiwe Twijnstra, whose writing journey reflects creativity, resilience and an unwavering commitment to telling bold and imaginative stories.
Philisiwe completed the Grammar Course at The Writers’ College in 2016. While we cannot claim credit for her remarkable imagination and literary voice, the course gave her the confidence to pursue her creative ambitions more seriously. Within a month of graduating, she applied for an MA in Creative Writing, a pivotal step that introduced her to magical realism, folklore, speculative fiction and writers from across the globe.
Like many emerging writers, Philisiwe faced years of rejection before finally getting a breakthrough. In May 2025, she won the Jacana Literary Foundation’s prestigious From Pitch to Publication competition and in April 2026, her short story collection Flying Cows and Other Traumas was published by Jacana Media.
Her work includes contributions to Gendering Taboos: 10 Short Plays by African Women, a collaborative anthology of African women playwrights. Her plays in the collection include Yanci, The Arrangement, A Woman Has Two Mouths, Who Is in My Garden?, The Taste of Justice, Desperanza, Oh!, In Her Silence and Horny &. Her work explores memory, identity, folklore and the lived experiences of being a Black woman.
Her short story Little Black Sandals was shortlisted for the Short Sharp Story Award and later produced by Talisman Theatre in Kenilworth, UK. Her play Salty Pillows took second place at the PANSA Playwright Festival in 2017. She received the Stockholm Fringe Award for Best Digital Experience Play and the Good Theatre Award for Best Performer. In 2023, she was named among the Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans in Media & Film and received the AWPN/Ghana Playwright Academy Theatre Residency.
Today, Philisiwe is a writer in residence at Het Veerhuis in the Netherlands, where she is developing her latest play, Black Kitchen, while continuing to share Flying Cows and Other Traumas with readers around the world.
Rather than allowing rejection to silence her, she continued refining her craft, developing a distinctive voice that is fearless and unapologetically original. And it all kicked off with a Grammar Course!
Juliana Giraldo completed several of our creative writing courses. Juliana let us know,
‘My novel “Ain’t no wave pool” is now finally self published under the pen name JK Starling and earning good reviews. I would particularly like to thank Sonny Whitelaw and Alex Smith, who were amazing tutors.’
Well done Juliana!
Graduate student Catriona Findlay was a co-author of the book Searching for Ann Walker – an historical non-fiction anthology set in 19th-century England. It was published in April 2026. Here is the link to Amazon. https://amzn.eu/d/0cT42GWF.
Isobel Brink recently completed our Self-publish Your e-Book Course. She has now finished and published her first novel, ANNA (Stories of Dingle Bay). under the pen name Isa Brinn.
Kath Denton recently completed our Self-publish Your e-Book Course. She has now finished and published her first novel, Mind the Queer Gap. well done Kath!