Duration 
Units 
Taught by top industry experts
Learning is led by accomplished authors who bring real-world publishing experience to the classroom. Gain invaluable insights, personalised feedback, and practical tips to ignite your passion for writing and improve your skills to professional levels.-
Enhance your writing craft
Build a contemporary toolkit of creative writing techniques allowing you to generate fresh ideas, unleash your artistic potential and write the stories you're burning to tell. -
Diverse forms of writing
Engage with diverse forms of writing including fiction, poetry and plays as well as non-fiction, including content writing, in our immersive and hands-on course.
Don't just take our word for it, read the written works of our most notable staff and alumni, and feel inspired.
Images sourced from Amazon Australia.
Meet the teaching team
Donna Mazza
Associate Professor
Donna, a notable fiction writer and researcher, specialises in environmental and feminist speculative fiction. Her recent novel "Fauna" (2020) was shortlisted for Aurealis Best Science Fiction Novel. She's the author of "The Albanian" (2007), winning the TAG Hungerford Award. Donna is a prominent figure in conferences, festivals, and radio discussions, while also contributing to public art projects.
Dr. Aksel Dadswell
Lecturer
Aksel Dadswell is an award-winning West Australian horror and weird fiction writer. Holding a PhD in creative writing, his work explores race and belonging, featured in anthologies like "Test Patterns: Creature Features" (2018) and "Hymns of Abomination: Secret Songs of Leeds" (2021).
To find out more about our teaching team download the course guide.
Admission requirements
To gain entry to the Graduate Diploma of Creative Writing, applicants must have:
- A bachelor’s degree in any discipline; or
- Equivalent prior learning, including at least five years of relevant professional experience or students must submit a piece of published work.
If you would like more information, contact one of our Student Enrolment Advisors on 1300 707 760 or request a call-back.
Remain flexible while you pursue your postgraduate degree with our gateway qualifications. If you need to exit early, you could still receive a Graduate Certificate of Creative Writing after completing your first three units.
Graduate Certificate
3 units
or continue studying
Graduate Diploma
+ 3 units
(6 units total)
Master Degree
+ 4 units
(10 units total)
Or
Master (Fast-Track)
+ 1 unit
(7 units total)
The Graduate Diploma of Creative writing is for students looking to enhance their writing skills. Students will learn modern writing principles and practices - empowering them to thrive as skilled wordsmiths.
Enhance your writing craft
- Build a contemporary toolkit of creative writing techniques allowing you to generate fresh ideas.
- Unleash your artistic potential and;
- Write the stories you're burning to tell.
Write your own story
- Tailor your skills to the forms of writing that inspire you with our dynamic course.
- Apply new learnings to passion projects and work towards personal writing goals.
- Choose electives that best align with your interests.
The online Graduate Diploma of Creative Writing consists of 6 units from a pool of 8.
Units you will study:
- Foundation Units
Foundation Units
Foundation Units
- Writing Fiction
This unit introduces the fundamentals of writing fiction through reading a range of short stories.
- Writing Realities
This unit explores writing based on actual events, including history, biography, true crime and stories of place and family.
- Writing for Performance
This unit introduces skills for writing drama or monologue for performance.
- Writing and Audience
This unit cultivates a writer's understanding of their work with consideration of genre and readership, including online audiences.
- Editing and Publishing
This unit explores the business of writing, editing, and publishing, including processes and workflow for professional editing, seeking publication, and presenting the professional author platform.
- Writing for the Planet’s Future
This unit takes an ecocritical approach to writing about place and environment in the production of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
- Writing and Empathy
This unit explores the core practice of writing and embodiment - including writing about love and characters outside our own viewpoint.
- Writing Fiction that Scares and Unsettles
This unit explores the darker aspects of fiction including genres such as horror and gothic, as well as thematic concerns like violence, trauma, and conflict.
