School Holiday Creative Writing
December/January 2025-26 School Holiday Workshops
Creative writing workshops for young people aged 6–15, face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park (Field Studies Tower in the Education Centre, Bicentennial Park).
Bookings for December and January holiday workshops are now open. All workshops led by award-winning author Dr Bernard Cohen.
Book by 4th December 2025 for earlybird discount.
All times are for Sydney, Australia. Prices are in Australian dollars.
Venue
Field Studies Tower, Bicentennial Park
Education Centre, Bicentennial Park
Bicentennial Drive (off Australia Ave)
Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127
December 2025
Thursday 18th December
Spy Stories workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Ssshhhh! We can’t tell you too much about this writing workshop because it’s classified — but this is the one for you if you’d like to dive deep into the information trade, meet smiling double agents, create mysterious devices and secret codes… and trust no one! Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch, a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, a hat, and suspicious attitude…
Thursday 18th December 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
NEW Friday 19th December
Skilled Writers: Narrators in the Wild, Unexpected Perspectives & The Weight of the World workshop for 10-15 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
It is said that there are only seven basic plots in the world of stories. What makes a telling unique and compelling is the narrator’s personality. Develop your own striking narrative voice in this workshop led by award-winning author Dr Bernard Cohen. This workshop is the most advanced offering in our holidays program. We offer new content and approaches for skilled young writers every holidays. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch and a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Friday 19th December 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Monday 22nd December
Write Your Own Book creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
How to set, plan, build and finish your own extended story. Create atmospheric settings, memorable characters and gripping plots. This full day will give you all the skills and inspiration you need to write your own book. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring a hat, lunch, snack (no nuts please), drink, and brain turned to HIGH.
Monday 22nd December 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Tuesday 23rd December, Morning
Future Inventions creative writing workshop for 6-9 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Invent the most useful machines in the history of invention: devices that make life fun, easier, more exciting... but what if things don’t quite work out as well as you expected? Write your own stories of new inventions that go whirr, vroooom, clunk, and (maybe) ouch! One break for recess. Bring a snack (no nuts, please), drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Tuesday 23rd December 10.00am - 1.00pm. $110. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Tuesday 23rd December, Afternoon
Selective Schools and Scholarships Test Preparation workshop for students entering Year 6 in 2026. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Build creative writing skills for the NSW Selective Schools Placement Test and scholarship tests. The workshop focuses on writing across a range of textual forms, flexible thinking, ideation, and showing your writing ability and potential in the test format. How to deliver your best on the day. Materials and notes provided. Short break only.
Tuesday 23rd December 1.30pm - 4.30pm. $132. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
January 2026
Monday 12th January, Morning
Hilarious Holidays creative writing workshop for 6-9 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
When my parents mentioned a beach holiday, I didn’t expect the beach to knock on the front door… Strangest holiday meals, unexpected visitors and what to do when your tent runs away. Write your own hilarious stories and poems. One break for recess. Bring a snack (no nuts, please), drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Monday 12th January 10.00am - 1.00pm. $110. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Monday 12th January, afternoon
Poetry of the Natural World creative writing workshop for 9-14 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Learn poetic techniques to make your writing as glorious as the beauty of the natural world. Explore unique perspectives and engage in deep thinking about the interaction between humans and nature. We will take an observation walk through the surrounding Badu Mangroves Boardwalk and parkland for inspiration (weather permitting). One break for recess. Bring a snack (no nuts, please), drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Monday 12th January 1.30pm - 4.30pm. $110. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Tuesday 13th January
Spy Stories creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Ssshhhh! We can’t tell you too much about this writing workshop because it’s classified — but this is the one for you if you’d like to dive deep into the information trade, meet smiling double agents, create mysterious devices and secret codes… and trust no one! Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch, a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, a hat, and suspicious attitude…
Tuesday 13th January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Wednesday 14th January
Tales of Mystery and Suspense creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
All the techniques to make your mystery stories all the more mysterious and suspenseful. Who is that figure in the town square? Is that house truly abandoned? Why is the one patch of grass so strikingly green? Create your own gripping literary puzzles. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch, a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, a hat, and mysterious attitude…
Wednesday 14th January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Thursday 22nd January
Write Your Own Book creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
How to set, plan, build and finish your own extended story. Create atmospheric settings, memorable characters and gripping plots. This full day will give you all the skills and inspiration you need to write your own book. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring a hat, lunch, snack (no nuts please), drink, and brain turned to HIGH.
Thursday 22nd January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
friday 23rd January
Rhetoric and Persuasion creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
In ancient times, rhetoric was treated as a science, and no one has ever really changed minds with three examples and a strong belief. This workshop will help you advocate effectively for your deepest passions, as well as test the logical limits of causation and consequence. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch, a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, a hat, and your curiosity.
Friday 23rd January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Tuesday 27th January, Morning
Selective Schools and Scholarships Test Preparation workshop for students entering Year 6 in 2026. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Build creative writing skills for the NSW Selective Schools Placement Test and scholarship tests. The workshop focuses on writing across a range of textual forms, flexible thinking, ideation, and showing your writing ability and potential in the test format. How to deliver your best on the day. Materials and notes provided. Short break only.
Tuesday 27th January 10.00am - 1.00pm. $132. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Tuesday 27th January, Afternoon
Future Inventions creative writing workshop for 6-9 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Invent the most useful machines in the history of invention: devices that make life fun, easier, more exciting... but what if things don’t quite work out as well as you expected? Write your own stories of new inventions that go whirr, vroooom, clunk, and (maybe) ouch! One break for recess. Bring a snack (no nuts, please), drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Tuesday 27th January 1.30pm - 4.30pm. $110. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Wednesday 28th January
Skilled Writers: Narrators in the Wild, Unexpected Perspectives & The Weight of the World creative writing workshop for 10-15 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
It is said that there are only seven basic plots in the world of stories. What makes a telling unique and compelling is the narrator’s personality. Develop your own striking narrative voice in this workshop led by award-winning author Dr Bernard Cohen. This workshop is the most advanced offering in our holidays program. We offer new content and approaches for skilled young writers every holidays. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch and a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Wednesday 28th January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Thursday 29th January
Creative Science Writing: Truth is Stranger than Fiction creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Science writing should be as fun and linguistically inventive as fiction! Explore your bubbling questions about the world around you. Use facts, guesses, and jumps-to-conclusions for fabulous pieces of hybrid writing. Join us for an observational walk through the surrounding Badu Mangroves and parkland (weather permitting). This workshop will be led by Workshop Leaders Emily Chan and Dominique Houghton. Emily is currently studying a Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) at Macquarie University. Dominique is currently studying a Bachelor of Communications and a Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation at the University of Technology Sydney. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch and a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Thursday 29th January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
Friday 30th January
Fantasy Worlds creative writing workshop for 8-13 year-olds. Face-to-face at Sydney Olympic Park.
Create places that work on magical logic and are full of infinite possibilities. Meet your new best friends or greatest foes in the form of carefully-crafted characters. At first, these may appear to be utopias, but not all is as it seems… Skills in evocative worldbuilding and effective characterisation. Two breaks for recess and lunch. Bring lunch and a snack (no nuts, please), a drink, hat, and your curiosity.
Friday 30th January 10.00am - 3.30pm. $180. We accept NSW Creative Kids vouchers.
Places available. Book now
More information
Learn more about our approach, meet our workshop leaders
The Writing Workshop takes COVID-19 seriously and will always prioritise the safety of participants, staff and our community. We are registered with the NSW government as a COVID-Safe business and follow NSW Health rules and venue (Sydney Olympic Park Authority) requirements.