School Holiday Workshops

Wednesday 9 July, 2025

MAITLAND LIBRARY

Sorry, we are fully booked.

HURRY, there are a few spots still available in our 5 July Zoom workshop. CLICK HERE.

School Holiday Workshops

Wednesday 9 July

The Magic Library

MAITLAND LIBRARY

10.30-11.30am

Become a published author! Submit your work for publication on our website and in our next book.

Image
Our July school holiday workshop is fully booked. Join our mailing list to be notified of upcoming workshops.

BIG CHANGES ARE HAPPENING!

We have moved out of our Maitland studio and are currently building a writers retreat at Limeburners Creek, just off The Bucketts Way. We'll be developing an exciting new program, featuring children, teen and adult workshops, as well as promoting visiting authors. Keep an eye on our website for details.

Wednesday 9 July 2025

The Magic Library

Welcome to The Magic Library, where every book is a portal to a new world!

Join children’s author Karen Hughes for this fun and challenging creative writing workshop. You’ll learn how to craft a compelling story that enchants and entertains. Maybe you’ll explore a hidden faerie forest filled with mythical creatures or board a space shuttle heading for the moon. Perhaps you’ll visit a school for clever young witches or meet a dragon inside a lonely mountain. Anything is possible!

Don’t just read about adventures—write your own. Join us in The Magic Library and discover how to build rich characters, develop a thrilling plot, and write a story that all your friends will want to read.

$5 per child. Bookings essential.

Suitable for ages 8-12.

  • The Magic Library

For kids aged 8-12.

1 hour workshop from 10.30am to 11.30am. All materials provided.

BIG CHANGES ARE HAPPENING!

We have moved out of our Maitland studio and are currently building a writers retreat at Limeburners Creek, just off The Bucketts Way. We'll be developing an exciting new program, featuring children, teen and adult workshops, as well as promoting visiting authors. Keep an eye on our website for details.

ImageImage

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

10.30am - 11.30am

The Magic Library

Welcome to The Magic Library, where every book is a portal to a new world!

Join children’s author Karen Hughes for this fun and challenging creative writing workshop. You’ll learn how to craft a compelling story that enchants and entertains. Maybe you’ll explore a hidden faerie forest filled with mythical creatures or board a space shuttle heading for the moon. Perhaps you’ll visit a school for clever young witches or meet a dragon inside a lonely mountain. Anything is possible!

Don’t just read about adventures—write your own. Join us in The Magic Library and discover how to build rich characters, develop a thrilling plot, and write a story that all your friends will want to read.

$5 per child. Bookings essential.

Suitable for ages 8-12.

Writing is my super power.
“Everything you can imagine is real.” —Pablo Picasso

Friday 21 April

10am - 1pm

Join us from anywhere on Zoom

Shipwrecked!

We'll create a quirky main character and shipwreck them on a desert island, just like Robinson Crusoe. How will they survive? What kind of shelter will they build? What will they eat and drink? Are there any dangerous creatures hiding on the island? Join us on Zoom to find out.

Book Now
Become a published author! Participants are invited to submit their stories for publication in our 2023 anthology.
Writing is my superpower.
Book now

THURSDAY

6 October in Maitland NSW

Ready, Player One

What if the world you see around you is actually one big computer game? In this exciting new workshop, we’ll create a quirky main character and send them on a wild adventure in cyberspace. It’s a dangerous place. Who knows what might happen!

Book now
Image
Book now

Friday 21 April on Zoom

10am - 1pm

Shipwrecked!

We'll create a quirky main character and shipwreck them on a desert island, just like Robinson Crusoe. How will they survive? What kind of shelter will they build? What will they eat and drink? Are there any dangerous creatures hiding on the island? Join us on Zoom to find out.

Book Shipwrecked! Now
If you have any issues with your booking, please visit our website on a desktop computer rather than a mobile device and use the alternative Paypal dropdown button provided.
Image
Book now

THURSDAY 6 Oct

Maitland Studio

Ready, Player One

What if the world you see around you is actually one big computer game? In this exciting new workshop, we’ll create a quirky main character and send them on a wild adventure in cyberspace. It’s a dangerous place. Who knows what might happen!

Book now
Image
Book now

Wednesday 19 April in our Maitland Studio

10am - 1pm

Witches, Cats and Broomsticks

You meet a witch in the deep dark forest. What spells will she teach you? What secret ingredients must you find to throw into her cauldron? How will her spells change you?

Image
Book Witches, Cats and Broomsticks Now
Image
Book now

THURSDAY 6 Oct

Maitland Studio

Ready, Player One

What if the world you see around you is actually one big computer game? In this exciting new workshop, we’ll create a quirky main character and send them on a wild adventure in cyberspace. It’s a dangerous place. Who knows what might happen!

Book now

WEDNESDAY

5 October on Zoom

Lock and Key

Shhh ... there is a mysterious door with a hidden key that only you can find. The door is in a secret passageway in an old abandoned house. Will you open the door? What will you discover on the other side?

Create a quirky main character and send them on an adventure that is out of this world. The only limit is your imagination.

Book now
Image
Book now

WEDNESDAY 5 Oct

 Zoom Workshop

Lock and Key

Shhh ... there is a mysterious door with a hidden key that only you can find. The door is in a secret passage in an old abandoned house. Will you open the door? What will you discover on the other side?

Create a quirky main character and send them on an adventure that is out of this world. The only limit is your imagination.

Image

Sharing the magic of words

Our workshop facilitator, Dr Karen Hughes, has been the director of Hunter Valley Writers since 2019 and has worked with hundreds of kids during that time. She is the author of the Kalika Magic series, exploring themes of courage, adventure, and the power of the imagination. Karen grew up on a cattle station on the Liverpool Plains, where she spent her childhood climbing trees, riding horses, and reading Narnia books. She attended a primary school with only six pupils, before being packed off to boarding school at age 12. Karen was a lawyer in Canberra for almost 10 years, but has now thankfully recovered. She is currently writing her fifth Kalika Magic book and working on a speculative novel for adults.

PhD English/BA(Asian Studies)/Bachelor of Laws/Grad.Dip Legal Practice/Adv.Dip Classical Herbal Medicine/Children's Book Council of Australia/Australian Society of Authors/International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts/Speculative Literature Foundation USA