Welcome to the Creative Write-it family! Our team comprises of working professional writers with vast experience in the world of writing. We are passionate about words and creativity, and love inspiring the next generation of writers.
Amy Han is the Founding Director of Creative Write-it. After completing her BA (Creative Writing) and a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing, she tried many different ways to support herself and her passion for writing, until she realised that her passion and her 'work' didn't have to be two separate things. In 2011, she started teaching one monthly workshop at her local library, and from there has grown Creative Write-it around the idea of the place she used to wish for as an enthusiastic child writer. Amy is the author of two novels for young adults, Ru Dreaming and Breaking Jumps, and a number of published short stories. She is currently working on her third book. After initially leading all workshops, Amy now focusses on the development and direction of Creative Write-it. Outside of Creative Write-it, Amy is an enthusiastic parkour practitioner, a beginner ukelele player, and a person who likes to spend time daydreaming in trees. Read more: www.amyhan.com.au
Ben Pearmain is the Studio Manager of the Balwyn North Studio. He also leads the publication of Creative Write-it books, including our annual anthology Writ-Bits. With a BA in English and Creative Arts from Murdoch University, he has worked as an editor and proofreader, co-written scripts, and illustrated children’s books. His future best-selling novel bio will describe him as: a Pulitzer, Nobel Prize and Lotto winner. His multi-disciplinary career was kickstarted by leading children's creative writing workshops. He lives on Mars.
Marie Kelly spent most of her childhood creating her own books by stapling paper together and writing stories with drawings inside the pages. These days she runs her own poetry and creative writing blog, which led to publishing two books: one an anthology of short stories and the other a collection of poems. Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Masters of Screenwriting, Marie has been indulging in screenwriting and "set life”. One of her films recently won first prize at the UnScene Short Film Competition. A dog whisperer, she plans on owning fifty dogs in the not-so-distant future. Her website is www.mariekellywrites.com.
Marie Kelly spent most of her childhood creating her own books by stapling paper together and writing stories with drawings inside the pages. These days she runs her own poetry and creative writing blog, which led to publishing two books: one an anthology of short stories and the other a collection of poems. Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Masters of Screenwriting, Marie has been indulging in screenwriting and "set life”. One of her films recently won first prize at the UnScene Short Film Competition. A dog whisperer, she plans on owning fifty dogs in the not-so-distant future. Her website is www.mariekellywrites.com.
Vicki Renner writes fiction and non-fiction, with work published in the UK and Australia. Her young adult historical fiction novel, People of the Hammer, won a Varuna Publishers' Fellowship Award and she is now writing the second novel in the trilogy. Vicki loves watching the way people, both young and not-so-young, light up when they write something they are proud of. Working at Creative Write-it is both a dream come true and a whole heap of fun. Vicki has a Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing and Editing) and a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and English Literature).
Tamara Drazic is an Australian writer of fiction and poetry. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing, and has worked as a writer and editor in both Queensland and Victoria. In 2017, she was awarded a Gullkistan Residency for Creative People in Laugarvatn, Iceland, where she finished writing her first novel. She was also awarded a Lord Mayor's Young and Emerging Artists Fellowship to fund the creation of new work. Tamara's writing can be found in literary magazines such as Into the Void Magazine, Grouch Publishing, and in the debut issue of Vantage Point, a collaborative project by Bowen Street Press and The Lifted Brow. Her website is www.tamaradrazic.com.
Tamara Drazic is an Australian writer of fiction and poetry. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing, and has worked as a writer and editor in both Queensland and Victoria. In 2017, she was awarded a Gullkistan Residency for Creative People in Laugarvatn, Iceland, where she finished writing her first novel. She was also awarded a Lord Mayor's Young and Emerging Artists Fellowship to fund the creation of new work. Tamara's writing can be found in literary magazines such as Into the Void Magazine, Grouch Publishing, and in the debut issue of Vantage Point, a collaborative project by Bowen Street Press and The Lifted Brow. Her website is www.tamaradrazic.com.
Jess Mackay is a Melbourne-based writer, editor and content creator. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing and Journalism, and is currently completing a master’s degree in Writing and Publishing from RMIT. She has previously worked for the University of Queensland Press and Meanjin Quarterly journal in an editorial capacity, as well as a freelance writer for various publications and content agencies. Her creative and journalistic work has been published by the Grattan Street Press, Grouch Publishing and Rummage Magazine. She hopes to be able to pass her vivacious love of literature onto the next generation and one day finish her first novel. You can find out more about her here.
Gemma Mahadeo (she/they) has lived in England and the Philippines before coming to Australia in 1987. She often looks for excuses to write about cats, reading, videogames, and often ponders how Alex the studio bunny moves locations overnight. When not teaching, she edits Melbourne Spoken Word reviews, reads submissions for US-based speculative fiction publication Syntax & Salt, and writes poetry and non-fiction.
Nadia Niaz has a PhD in Creative Writing and Cultural Studies from the University of Melbourne, an MA in Creative Writing and an MA in Literature. Her poetry, short stories, essays, and research have been published in journals and presented at conferences. She has also taught Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne, and run other writing and language courses for several years. She writes poetry, short stories and essays because she wants to, and academic articles because she should.
Liam Jose is a Melbourne-based writer and editor. Before he completed Honours in creative writing at Deakin University, Liam founded a micro-press, which produces an award-winning literary journal, and has published eight books. When not reading comic books and running workshops at Creative Write-It, Liam can be found at the bookshop he runs in Fitzroy, Grub Street, with his boss Jimmy, who is a dog.