Deep Reading for Writers
Energise your writing and deepen your critical reading with Emily Maguire, award-winning author of seven novels and three non-fiction books. This 10 week course will develop your writing craft through close reading and applied writing practice.
Applications now closed. Applicants will be notified of outcome by 18 September.
Dates: 6:00-8:00pm (AEST) Tuesdays, 6 October - 8 December 2026. Please see below for a list of all class dates
Delivery: Online
Fees: $1550 or $1450 for Varuna alumni. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront
Places: 8 participants will be selected for this class (small group)
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By closely reading a variety of fiction texts, participants in this course will explore the craft at work beneath the surface: how writers build scenes, control pace, handle point of view and make stylistic choices that bring their work to life.
Weekly readings and discussions will be paired with writing exercises designed to hone your craft, expand your writing toolkit and re-energise your writing practice.
This is a small group program for 8 participants.
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Week 1 — What Does it Mean to Read Like a Writer?
Reading for pleasure vs. reading for craft
The idea of the text as a made object
Noticing choices vs judging merit
Week 2 — Character on the Page
Character revealed through action, choice, contradiction
Interior vs. exterior characterisation
Specificity and implication
Week 3 — Point of View and Narrative Distance
Ist, 2nd and all of the 3rds
Narrative distance and psychic access
Reliability and limitation
Week 4 — Voice and Style
Voice vs. style
Syntax, rhythm, diction and lexicon
Consistency and strategic variation
Week 5 — Dialogue
Dialogue as action
Subtext and omission
Tagging, beats and white space
Week 6 — Scene Structure and Momentum
Scene goals, conflict and change
Micro-structure within scenes
Transitions and pacing
Week 7 — Plot, Pattern and Narrative Shape
Plot vs. story
Causality and escalation
Pattern, repetition, and variation
Week 8 — Setting, World and Sensory Detail
Setting as active force
Sensory specificity
Place and psychology
Week 9 — Revision: Reading Your Own Work Like a Writer
Diagnostic reading vs. line editing
Macro vs. micro revision
Asking the right questions of a draft
Week 10 — Building a Lifelong Practice of Reading to Write
Developing a personal reading practice
Keeping a reading notebook
Reading across genres and traditions
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Emily Maguire is the author of seven novels and three non-fiction books. Her novel An Isolated Incident was shortlisted for the Stella Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award, and her 2022 book Love Objects was shortlisted for the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year.
Her latest novel Rapture won the 2025 Queensland Literary Award for Fiction and the ARA Historical Novel Prize Reader’s Choice Award, and was longlisted for the Stella Prize and the Indie Book Award for Fiction and shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction and the ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year. Emily was the 2018/2019 Writer-in-Residence at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney and the 2023 HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellow at the Australian National University. She works as a teacher and mentor to emerging writers.
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Entry to this course is by application. Writers will be selected based on the creative potential of their work, commitment to craft, openness to collaborating with peers and the balance in the group.
Course fees are $1550 or $1450 for Varuna alumni. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront.
Applications close at 5pm on Monday 7 September 2026. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by 21 September.
Please refer to Varuna’s general submission guidelines for any questions on formatting your work.
Feel free to call 02 4782 5674 or email amy@varuna.com.au to discuss your application.
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