School Holiday Workshops
Tuesday 15 April, 2025
Thursday 24 April, 2025
MAITLAND STUDIO
School Holiday Workshops
Tuesday 15 April
My Cyborg Friend
Thursday 24 April
The Haunted House
MAITLAND STUDIO
Become a published author! Submit your work for publication on our website and in our next book.
2.5 hour workshops from 10am to 12.30pm. Morning tea and all materials provided.
Tuesday 15 April 2025
10am - 12.30pm
My Cyborg Friend
What if you found out your best friend was a cyborg – half human / half robot? Would you still be friends? What kind of adventures would you have? Maybe he's escaped from a top secret government facility and needs your help. Maybe he's going to your school as some kind of experiment. Maybe he's an evil robot planning to take over the world.
For creative kids aged 9-14 who love to write stories.
Thursday 24 April
10am - 12.30pm
The Haunted House
It's midnight. You should be home, but your friends have dared you to go into the old abandoned house on the corner. What will you find inside? Ghosts? A witch? A secret tunnel to another world? Maybe the house is bigger than it looks, like the charmed wizarding tents in Harry Potter. Maybe the walls move when you're not looking. Maybe you'll be stuck in there forever.
For creative kids aged 9-14 who love to write stories.
- My Cyborg Friend
- The Haunted House
Tuesday 15 April 2025
10am - 12.30pm
My Cyborg Friend
What if you found out your best friend was a cyborg – half human / half robot? Would you still be friends? What kind of adventures would you have? Maybe he's escaped from a top secret government facility and needs your help. Maybe he's going to your school as some kind of experiment. Maybe he's an evil robot planning to take over the world.
For creative kids aged 9-14 who love to write stories.
Thursday 24 April
10am - 12.30pm
The Haunted House
It's midnight. You should be home, but your friends have dared you to go into the old abandoned house on the corner. What will you find inside? Ghosts? A witch? A secret tunnel to another world? Maybe the house is bigger than it looks, like the charmed wizarding tents in Harry Potter. Maybe the walls move when you're not looking. Maybe you'll be stuck in there forever.
For creative kids aged 9-14 who love to write stories.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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?
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!
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.
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.
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